The new way to do missions is to start with a vacation. With over 140 countries and thousands of choices, we have something for everyone. Consider using your vacation time to volunteer in one of these opportunities. This isn’t the end game, however, but could be the start of an unbelievable life changing experience beyond your wildest imagination.
The best way to explain is to share my personal experience. It started when I took a job teaching IT at a school in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This wasn’t the end game. I used my vacation time to travel to the north of Ethiopia and explored the rich history. I took a volunteer job teaching IT in a local school. This also wasn’t the end game. I used my time to establish connection with local churches, individuals and community groups.
From your grade 9 chemistry you may or may not remember the definition of a catalyst- “an agent that provokes or speeds significant change or action.” This is the end game- not to do things yourself but act as a catalyst in connecting with local churches, individuals and community groups. You start a chemical reaction and watch the explosion. The following is a list of projects that came out of the explosion benefitting 10’s of thousands of people- none of the programs existed previously. All projects have been successful and a book could be written about each.
- Mobilizing Christian university students to start a Big Brother/Sister project with street kids.
- People Living with AIDS in the northern city of Bahirdar where the outcasts of society became one of the main providers of food for the city through a massive gardening and dairy project.
- Vocational training for women at risk where hundreds of women have been rescued from the streets, trained and found meaningful employment or started their own businesses.
- Microloans and Microfinance benefitting 100’s of people starting their own business.
- Village Savings and Loan programs with thousands benefitting and churches able to expand into hostile or unreached areas.
- Agro-Forestry programs changing the environment, and expansion into unreached people groups or hostile areas. This program has resulted in millions of trees planted, transformed unreached people groups and brought peace between hostile tribal groups.
My wife and I acted as the catalyst to start all these projects. It is like a nuclear reaction and can no longer be contained expanding into all areas of Ethiopia. If we were to try even one of these projects on our own it would be a guaranteed failure but by connecting with local groups, individuals and churches a reaction started that cannot be contained. It is like finding a powder keg and lighting the match. In addition to the projects listed above it inspired the formation of Devxchange to provide a platform for people with similar experiences to operate with projects in more than 30 countries and expanding every year.
You don’t have to sell your house, quit your job and move to a foreign country as my wife and I did. You can start the same journey with a simple vacation. We have partnered with all the top volunteer agencies in the world and provide an almost limitless selection of volunteer opportunities for you to use your vacation time in volunteering in a meaningful way. That is not the end game, however, as you can use your volunteer experience to connect to local churches, individuals, community groups and light the match. Start a chemical reaction that cannot be contained. Most of our Project Lead Members have full time jobs in Canada, are retired, or are students. Lead Members (Catalysts) are from every age and walk of life. We have had Lead Members from ages 17 to 90. Most of our Lead Members started their journey while on vacation.
We have done all the grunt work for you in finding your volunteer match. Visit our Global Volunteer Hub and use our powerful search engine to find your perfect match in beginning the “Journey of a Life Time”. Imagine the change that could come to every country on the planet if thousands of catalysts simply “lit the match”.
Start your journey now by visiting our Global Volunteer Hub and find a vacation match! Here is link to Global Volunteer Hub