And Jesus said, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to the Father who is in heaven.” Mt. 5:16 The Transformative Power of Service One way to measure the true value of a service initiative is by weighing how much has positively changed after the […]
“Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.” William James A Life Worth Living From thirty-six nations a vibrant group of 120 RYS volunteers poured into Manila to prepare for an experience in service and cross-cultural cooperation. After an initial five-day stay in the busy municipality, we were anxious […]
The Value of Digging Story by John W. Gehring “A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.” – Gen. Colin Powell Have you ever done serious labor with a shovel or pick? Tackled a day with sweat on your brow earned by digging shovel by shovel towards a measurable goal. […]
Some Memories Stick for a Lifetime Excerpt from Tales of Love and Service: Stories from the Heart, by John W. Gehring. The following story took place on a Religious Youth Service (RYS) project in the Philippines. I have been carrying with me for decades certain recurring memories; some are rich in emotional warmth while others carry with […]
When Tonga’s Baron cleans the beach, who can litter! “Eternal gratitude towards the past. Unlimited service in the present Unbounded responsibility for the future.” – Dr. Huston Smith-Scholar, served as an RYS Senior Advisor A Touch of Tonga Spirit The Kingdom of Tonga, once known as the Friendly Islands, contains 176 lush tropical islands that cross […]
Working Out Resentment (continues from yesterday’s post“Untying the Knot of Resentment”) The construction site on our arrival was simply a foundation and we with some additional professional help were going to build the structure. As the structure took shape and grew so did our confidence. While working together we drew encouragement from each other and […]
The Knot of Resentment is Painful “It is easy to be friendly to one’s friends but to befriend the one who regards himself as your enemy is the quintessence of true religion. The other is mere business.” – Mohandas Gandhi There are some situations that seem almost impossible to fix. One seemingly unfixable situation is […]
True Religion: To care for the needy, the widows and the orphans The words of Sandra (from last weeks post) were a powerful reminder of what young people are expecting from religion. Religion needs to be relevant, it needs to be driven by a desire to improve the lives of people and link them to […]
A Time of Great Transition In the summer of 1991, the European nation of Hungary was in the early stages of a massive transition from a communist state to something refreshingly new. People who had been longing for change found themselves empowered with new freedoms and opportunities. A vitality and optimism filled the air when […]
A Special Love Making contact with many people did not prevent Melinda from establishing one very special relationship. Each day Sonia, an undersized, undernourished two-year old girl could be seen clinging to Melinda. These two grew closer and closer with each passing. Often we would see them as they walked together, sometimes sharing food or […]
