How do you connect the service you engage in to your faith or personal beliefs? How does the Belize Mircolending project fit in? Conduct a short interview with a member of the clergy or spiritual advisor about service and spirituality. Reflect on this conversation in your entry.
I have always been taught to be thankful for the wonderful gifts I have been given. I've had strict Catholic upbringing my entire life and my parents instilled religious morals in me at a young age. My parents are extremely involved in service work at our church, particularly my father's unbelievable handy skills have helped countless people in our close knit community. The ideal of "the more you help others, the more God gives back to you" has been a quote that I like to follow, because I have seen it work in action. As I said, I have always been involved with hands on work at our church. As a kid, I would often complain about spending my weekends helping set up events at church or fixing something that was broken, but as I've gotten older I appreciate the little things in life that have made me a more patient person. If I could turn back time, I wouldn't have changed a second of the service work I've been involved with.
In high school, a group of my closest friends and their parents started an organization called Furniture For Families. We delivered used furniture and groceries to poor mothers who had no way of furnishing their small homes. This was some of my first experiences with real poverty, and I was an eye opening experience that I will never forget, happening within my own area. Then my group decided to go to Belize in the summer of 2006 to do hands on mission work, and it changed my outlook on life. Honestly, I was scared to leave my family and live in a hostile for a week because I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but it was one of the best choices I've ever made in my life. Here I am, four years later returning to Belize again and I can't even believe I've been so blessed. The project is something that has become a part of my religion and my life because I am reminded by myself, and my peers of what an amazing opportunity it is. This is the perfect way to help people, learn the business field, and follow the footsteps of my families traditions.
I talked to a priest named Fr. Dan who has known my family and frequented our dinner table on a biweekly basis since I was in diapers. He knows all about our Belize Project and has always been willing to write a check and talk all about the service work I've been around. He has written multiple letters thanking me for taking an interest in service and explained that service is the ultimate way of expressing your spirituality. Church on Sundays lacks meaning if we do not put our beliefs into action. I'm so glad to have a good education and I want to continue to help people because someday God will reward our actions. Go Team Belize, you guys are awesome!
-Christopher John
Monday, February 22, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Belize Blog 2
Blog Entry 2: What is your reaction to Yunus’ ideas? How do you connect or differentiate this ideology with a) philanthropy and b) service?
Ok so 20 days until we leave for Belize, and I cannot wait! What better of a model for our organization than Muhammad Yunus? He is such a caring and interesting man that it is difficult to think of where to start dissecting his brilliant ideas. This is a guy who recognized a serious problem within his homeland and decided to singlehandedly put an end to poverty, even if bankers told him it would never work. To me, that is true courage and dedication to go against the norms and work so hard for something you believe in.
What amazes me most about Yunus himself is that he was not afraid to share his ideas with people even if they thought he was crazy. When he learned that 22 cents was a difference in someone’s life, he could not believe it. I feel like I can relate to Yunus because he talks about the millions of dollars that people are trained to learn about when they are in a college setting. In my business classes at Bellarmine, teachers are constantly talking about how much money certain companies and employees can make over a short period of time. I almost have to deactivate my finance brain at times, and stop and think about how lucky I am to even have food and water.
I love the service aspect of Yunus’ ideals because it encourages community fellowship. When the first recipient received a 25 dollar loan, she did not think she was going to be able to make ends meet. Her fellow community members told her, “Look we all have to go through it, we will support you. We are here for just that. Don’t be scared. We will all be with you.” I love this line in the book because it is a great example of how society should function. We can all learn a lesson from the women borrowers of Bangladesh because they are being courageous by breaking down the standard pattern of behavior and empowering themselves. Yunus is not only a role model to people of service, but also a model to psychologist, philosophers, sociologist, economist, business people, women, you name it…
With that being said, I know Team Belize will follow in his footsteps and keep Yunus’ ideas alive. Go team!
Ok so 20 days until we leave for Belize, and I cannot wait! What better of a model for our organization than Muhammad Yunus? He is such a caring and interesting man that it is difficult to think of where to start dissecting his brilliant ideas. This is a guy who recognized a serious problem within his homeland and decided to singlehandedly put an end to poverty, even if bankers told him it would never work. To me, that is true courage and dedication to go against the norms and work so hard for something you believe in.
What amazes me most about Yunus himself is that he was not afraid to share his ideas with people even if they thought he was crazy. When he learned that 22 cents was a difference in someone’s life, he could not believe it. I feel like I can relate to Yunus because he talks about the millions of dollars that people are trained to learn about when they are in a college setting. In my business classes at Bellarmine, teachers are constantly talking about how much money certain companies and employees can make over a short period of time. I almost have to deactivate my finance brain at times, and stop and think about how lucky I am to even have food and water.
I love the service aspect of Yunus’ ideals because it encourages community fellowship. When the first recipient received a 25 dollar loan, she did not think she was going to be able to make ends meet. Her fellow community members told her, “Look we all have to go through it, we will support you. We are here for just that. Don’t be scared. We will all be with you.” I love this line in the book because it is a great example of how society should function. We can all learn a lesson from the women borrowers of Bangladesh because they are being courageous by breaking down the standard pattern of behavior and empowering themselves. Yunus is not only a role model to people of service, but also a model to psychologist, philosophers, sociologist, economist, business people, women, you name it…
With that being said, I know Team Belize will follow in his footsteps and keep Yunus’ ideas alive. Go team!
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