Head Pointed Toward the Sun, Feet Moving Forward: A Little Bit About the Team

“I know there is strength in the differences between us. I know there is comfort, where we overlap.” -Ani DiFranco

The SEED program at MCC is unique in that it gathers participants from around the world to serve together. Building relationships with the communities we will be going to is important and one focus of our training, but building community with each other is also a large component of the program and our time together in Bogota, where we currently are. The SEED website says this about the group:

"This multi-cultural community allows people to see each other not as other or different, not as distant or disconnected, but as brother and sister in one same body of Christ that walks together towards building the Kingdom of God. With trust built within the group, each person learns to see differently, from the eyes of other community members, like a mirror that they give each other to see themselves and the world from a different perspective. Participants learn to talk together, seeing each person as an integral part of the community and looking at how each person is part of a connected life, each of their lives affecting the other. In community, Seed reflects on topics of economy, politics, war, culture, power, geography, and theology and they analyze together how these things at a macro level affect local communities where each are working, as well as the local communities each one comes from. They also put into practice this reflection at a micro level, talking about the same topics within the group, the intentionality of the group breaking down barriers of language, culture, theology, economy, politics, and more."

I am happy to say that our group has quickly developed into a tight knit group of friends. We come from five countries, three languages, spread the gamut from 20-29 years old, and have ten different life stories.

I'd like to present to you...

SEED THREE TEAM!

Name: Jhon Henry

Country of Origin: Bogota, Colombia

Community where SEEDer will be serving: Barranca, Colombia

Fun Fact: Jhon Henry loves to dance and he is fantastic at it! We have had many nights in our apartment in which salsa music is blaring and poor Jhon Henry is trying to teach us how to move our hips. Once he gets his feet moving, there is no stopping him!

Name: Kelly

Country of Origin: Chicago, IL, USA

Community where SEEDer will be serving: Usme, Bogota, Colombia

Fun Fact: Kelly is finishing her master's in social work at the University of Puerto Rico. She loves reggaeton and Marc Anthony. She is a regular in Jhon Henry's dancing lessons. This is her favorite song now: Vivir mi Vida

Name: Godswill

Country of Origin: Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Community where SEEDer will be serving: Cali, Colombia

Fun Fact: Godswill is one of a kind with his sense of humor; one can never tell if he is joking or serious. He is just learning Spanish, but he already speaks 12 languages so he is picking it up quickly. However, sometimes he spouts out things that don't make sense or are taboo without knowing it, and we always end up laughing until it hurts.

Name: Rut

Country of Origin: Piura, Peru

Community where SEEDer will be serving: Ibague, Colombia

Fun Fact: Rut loves to dance (also one of Jhon Henry's students), listen to music, cook Peruvian food (so yummy!), and correct people's Spanish if they use vocabulary that is different from her Spanish which always leads to plenty of laughter and jokes within the group.

Name: Simon

Country of Origin: Bogota, Colombia

Community where SEEDer will be serving: Medellin, Colombia

Fun Fact: Simon grew up in Bogota, but he was born in Medellin and he is very excited to return there for the next two years. His favorite activity is to joke around with people and his second favorite activity is to play games that require speed. My favorite activity is to beat him at these games.

Name: Giles

Country of Origin: Harrisonburg, VA, USA

Community where SEEDer will be serving: Choco,Colombia

Fun Fact: Giles is the tallest in the group and one of the quieter members. However, Giles is still getting comfortable with Spanish and once he masters the language, he says he'll be much more outgoing. Giles is a nurse, a cyclist, and a husband (see next group member).

Name: Amy

Country of Origin: Harrisonburg, VA, USA

Community where SEEDer will be serving: Choco,Colombia

Fun Fact: Amy is an English literature teacher, a wife, and a master of ironic jokes. I also believe that she makes up phrases and calls them "American sayings." She says things I have never heard of in my life! Or perhaps it is just that I am uneducated in American phrases.

Name: Pedro

Country of Origin: Managua, Nicaragua

Community where SEEDer will be serving: San Nicolas, Bogota, Colombia

Fun Fact: Pedro has the largest smile of anyone I have ever met and he is always wearing it. He brings joy to the group just with his smile, but also it is very easy to convince him of anything and we often end up laughing with Pedro once he figures out he has been tricked.

Name: Alejandra

Country of Origin: Cali, Colombia

Community where SEEDer will be serving: Pichilin, Colombia

Fun Fact: Alejandra also recently earned her master's in social work and has done work with Afrocolombian and indigenous communities in Colombia. She is tremendously intelligent and dedicated, but she also comes up with the sliest, most hilarious comments out of nowhere.

Last but not least, our two fearless leaders: Nate (USA) and Carolina (Colombia). They do so much to teach us, build community among our group, and keep us safe (we can get a bit crazy and not make the best decisions... like crossing the street without looking, which can be very dangerous in Bogota).

I am so grateful to be a part of this group. I think I conveyed more or less how much we laugh together, but it is rare that even a serious conversation doesn't end in us all laughing together. I am excited to have this network of friends here in Colombia as support for the next two years!