By Luke Hallowell

First off, we want to share that our views are possibly a bit biased. Here at the Center for Sharing, we’ve been beneficiaries of the hard labor of immigrants, and are intentionally located in an immigrant community. Without the generosity of Broetje Orchards and the wonderful people who work there—many of whom are immigrants, the Center for Sharing probably wouldn’t exist and certainly wouldn’t be able to do much of the work we do today. Having said that, we also recognize that we live in a city that is nearly 30 percent immigrant and often find our community is divided and misinformed on the issues of immigration.

Here in our local Tri-Cities community, the divided state of our nation on this issue became very apparent when candidate Loren Nichols ran for city council and proposed that undocumented immigrants should be shot at the border or be put to death—a statement that defies the rule of law this country was built on. To our surprise he still received twenty seven percent of the votes in that election and took 2^nd place. As an organization dedicated to developing servant leaders, we’d like to take a hard look at what servant leadership has to teach us about how we should respond to the dilemma facing our country.

Robert Greenleaf’s test of servant leadership, which is difficult to administer in many situations, states the following:

“Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?”

We believe simply applying this test to the immigration debate helps bring a great deal of clarity to what our leaders should do. However, many of these immigrants have been dehumanized and alienated to the point that many don’t believe this test should apply to them. That somehow they don’t deserve the opportunity to be served, to grow, to become healthier, wiser, freer or more autonomous. They are referred to as “illegals,” as if they mere existence is against the law.

What would be the best way to ensure the immigrants who live here grow as people? Should we deport them all? Should we shoot them at the border, as Mr. Nichols suggests? Or should we care about them– where they are from and why they are here?  Should we alienate them and deprive them of their rights? Or should we see how we can be a part of their growth as families and individuals? The answers to these questions will determine the future of our country.

We need your help. We believe this country is great because of our ability to discuss issues like immigration with civility and to find a way to make a world that works for everyone. We’d like to start a conversation about servant leadership and immigration, using the book “Welcoming the Stranger” as a guide to our discussion. If you’d like to be a part of that, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact Luke by phone at 509.546.5999 or via email at luke@centerforsharing.org. We’d like to create a group of thoughtful servant leaders who can help this community, state and nation make wise choices with regards to the way we treat immigrants to our country.

Notes From: Walk Out Walk On: A Learning Journey Into Communities Daring To Live The Future Now

www.walkoutwalkon.net

(Wheatley and Frieze)

Notes By Cheryl Broetje

What does it mean: daring to live the future now? For those who try it, we experience what’s possible when we change our beliefs about what people are capable of and how change happens…for all, not just a few. When we abandon hope of being saved by the perfect or heroic leader or perfect program and instead, look inside of our community we can see there are resources and wisdom already there.

When people walk out on subscribing to a world of scarce resources, limiting belief, destructive individualism, and instead, choose to walk on together, we find out what is truly possible.

Healthy and resilient communities have learned to trust themselves, find solutions to challenges, take control of their future. They develop greater capacities as they learn what works and how to work together. They become confident that they can deal with whatever problem confronts them next. In the face of hunger, poverty, economic injustice, ill health, etc. they respond, adapt and invent.

These experiences can become trans-local as discoveries in one community inspire other communities. Diverse peoples learn from them and try their own local experiments.

Inside dying systems are those few leaders who refuse to work from dominant values that permeate the bureaucracy…like speed, greed, fear and aggressiveness. They champion values and practices that respect people, rely on others inherent motivation, creativity and caring to get quality work done. They create protected places where people can practice.

Pioneers have to expect to feel ignored, invisible and lonely…what they are doing is so new and different that others can’t see their work even when its staring them in the face. That’s why it’s so important that pioneers work as community, encouraging each other through trials and risks natural to those giving birth to the new in the midst of the breakdown of the old. Each community has unique and invisible qualities of place, including social and cultural heritage.

Notes on ‘scaling up’/’scaling over’: Scaling up is about replication of uniformity, standardization,, franchising, a formula…mono culture on a global scale. The local is suppressed. We patent a product, standardize a process, franchise a formula in order to produce maximum growth. Best practices are studied and disseminated, with the belief that what has been invented in one place can be parachuted, transferred into another. Often these ‘best practices don’t work. This view assumes that organizations are machines.

But communities are not machines. It is said that people only support what they create. What works is when teams from one organization travel to another and through that experience see themselves more clearly, strengthen their relationships and renew their creativity. These learning journeys disrupt our old ways of seeing and widen our view of what’s possible.

This ‘scaling over’ (instead of ‘scaling up’) preserves a deep reverence for the uniqueness of place. By visiting one another, we can come to see ourselves more clearly…carry new insights home and develop them in our own unique, local way. In order to build healthy and resilient communities, we must walk the pace of the slowest…we can’t leave anyone behind. This is the practice of solidarity. Speed is not the goal. Growth is not the primary purpose. Winning is not evidence of our success. What gifts can we discover as we slow down, look around, invite more people in and enjoy the journey together?

For communities that choose to go down this path, there are several important questions to ask themselves:

• What are we walking out on?
• Who are we choosing to be?
• What is our name?
• Whom will we connect with for nourishment?
• What stories will illuminate our path?

Our actions, no matter how small,  are a declaration of our new identity: we are walk outs, who walk on. We accept the risk, step onto the invisible path, and walk into the unknown. And there, we discover the many beautiful people already bringing this new world into form.

“You thought I knew where the road was and you followed me.

But no, I didn’t know where the road was.

We had to make the road together.

And that is what we did.

That’s how we got where we wanted to be.

We made the road. It wasn’t there.”

(from Zapatista Stories)

Titit's old house

At home with Titit and her new house

This is a story shared by our friends in the Philippines, who went through the servant leadership course as a community and as a result decided to form the Center for Servant Leadership, Philippines. This is a story of the  power of prayer and transformation that can happen when we are aware of God’s call to reach out to a broken and hurting world. 

By Ruth Ortega with Francis Hernandez

One of my favorite essays is Elizabeth O’Connor’s  “Who Hears Prayers?” In the story, two old, mentally ill women dominate the scene – one kneeled to pray and the other taunted her – “Get up woman! God don‟t hear your prayer!” O‟Connor then poses the question to herself, “Does God hear her prayer?” “Then I remembered. God is in me and where I am God is. The real question was, Did I hear her prayer? What would it mean to hear her prayer?”

In CSLP’s new curriculum, one of our subjects is the “Outer Journey”. This is where students are encouraged to go out of our gates and be a part of other communities, listening to people‟s stories and learning through action and reflection. In fact, as a result of this subject, almost every house in Guinhawa (our local community) has been entered by a CSLP student. We were all struck by the story of our senior student, Francis and his group, after they visited the home of Maritess Ugbac – whom they call Titit.

Similar to the women in O‟Connor‟s article, Titit is mentally ill. She has four children – ages 12, 10, 9, and 5. Her husband, age 74, suffered from a stroke in 1995 and since then had a hard time providing for the family. He earns a little money from fishing but spends it mostly on alcohol and gambling as a temporary escape from his destitute life. Titit does the neighbor‟s laundry and earns Php200 ($4.80) per week. Our students noticed Titit’s house and how unaccommodating it is for her family. The roof leaks and its one small room doubles as a living room and a bedroom for the couple and three of their children. The house is lopsided because its wood pillars are about to collapse.

During the first visits with Titit there was little cheer in her face. We wondered – what would Titit be praying about? Actually, Titit stopped praying a long time ago – she figured God didn’t hear her prayers anyways. But Francis and his group made sure that after every visit they ended with a prayer. It didn‟t take long until Francis‟ groupmate, Angie heard Titit‟s prayer. (Angie and her family lost their house to a fire set by her alcoholic father who later abandoned them. Her eyes are very keen on the need of people for houses.) A week later, the students contributed from their small allowances for house materials and gathered sasa leaves for pawid (a traditional style roof in the Philippines) from the CSLP farm. CSLP cut down mahogany trees for wood and altogether the community worked as one to replace Titit’s house anew. Now, a typical Filipino house (nipa hut) is rising for Titit and her family. Of course it was much more fun doing things WITH them than doing things TO them. Titit’s family shared their resources and contributed to the house construction.

Her neighbors and relatives once in a while pop in and ask questions. “Will you be requiring Titit to go to Guinhawa Church on Sundays?” However, we are more convicted of bringing Jesus to the people instead of JUST telling them to come to Jesus. But still, Titit went to Guinhawa Bible Church the next Sunday. When I saw her, her slightly cheerful face has bloomed to a radiance of joy and freedom. She had a different aura, far from the depressing image she was the last time I saw her. She didn”t return to church the next Sunday, but our CSLP community continues to help her. Then arose another question, “Why are you building a house for them for free?” Why? – because God DOES answer prayers! God has all the answers but He doesn’t give it all by Himself. We are God’s partners, his eyes, ears, hands, and feet!

Amazingly, this act of looking through God‟s eyes with compassion and love to our neighbors has been contagious.
Guinhawa Bible Church, located eight meters from our CSLP compound, saw how we worked as a community. This caused them to reflect on their role as partners in building God’s kingdom. They realized that, what they used to think was impossible, was actually possible. The church has now “left their gates” as well – and they have started building a house for the homeless in their community. I like the words “contagious community.” May it be that the CSLP community, with the love of Christ it has experienced be able to infect love in those who are searching for it in their prayers, and become contagious themselves. God does hear prayers.

If you’d like to support the work that the Center for Sharing is doing in the Philippines and around the world, please visit this page: http://www.centerforsharing.org/involved/donate/

Thanks for your support!

By Salome Meeme

I attended Servant Leadership Seminar (SLS) that was held in September, 2007 in Kisumu.  The seminar was meant for Western Kenya Ministers and I was privileged to be among the only two lay people in the session.

I feel very privileged to have attended, because after going through the seminar  I kept on asking myself two questions:-

1. Am I devoted to serving the needs of those I served?  Do they grow as persons; do they while being served become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants (Greenleaf).
2. What is my stake in serving the less privileged in the community, do they benefit from my service? Do I serve them with commitment and passion?

I specifically started thinking on how to improve and support the much needed attitude of service—an attitude where service to each other takes little or no effort. My focus has been pulling out of the self-serving, domineering kind of attitude so that I can provide better service to those I serve.

Greenleaf said “it begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first.  Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.”  I challenged myself on whether my service brought out the best to those I serve, lead and mentor.  In the organizational set up, I realized that if my services are good, other employees will be satisfied, customers and other stakeholders are satisfied and thus are willing to trust in me & the organization, and this positively impacts the overall performance of the organization.

My work has been mainly administrative duties and supporting other offices. SLS helped me realize that I can lead through the power of relationships with others which is made possible when I bring the spirit of servant hood to work.  I also try creating an empowering work environment by providing joy and fulfillment in meaningful work to those I supervise and support. Listening has been a key to my service; I learned that one can easily identify the needs of those that we serve and more importantly focus on not only meeting their needs but accomplishing them as well.  It is a powerful tool that can help build communities and give opportunities to the most vulnerable and avert further deprivation to the less privileged.

SL is a long term, transformational approach to life and work.  The last two years have been challenging for me.  I, however, realized that building the right attitude, with patience, perseverance, and above all foresight was a key to realizing my dreams.  It is not a quick fix approach.  SLS helped me dream and have the right attitude beyond the challenges and obstacles that I faced.

SLS has also taught me to groom and build others so that they can better serve the community and assume leadership roles.   Currently, I am working for a community-based organization dealing with humanitarian issues, ranging from reduction of poverty, provision of clean water and access to proper sanitation, environmental conservation and adaptation of climate change. I also work on empowering the less privileged (women and the poor) to support vulnerable and marginalized communities. I lend administrative support to over fifteen (15) programs. SLS has come in handy since serving communities—and especially the vulnerable people groups in them has been my vocation. SL has been my guiding philosophy; it has offered me personal growth spiritually, professionally, emotionally as well as intellectually.

In conclusion, I thank God I met Cheryl and Glenn who made me realize my potential as a Servant Leader and even more for genuinely believing in me and my service.  This has helped me “dream big dreams,” endeavor to make a difference whenever I have an opportunity, and impact someone’s life.

Thank you.

Salome Meeme

This is part of a series of stories from Servant Leaders who have been trained by the Center for Sharing over the past fifteen years. We will be highlighting leaders across the globe who have submitted their lives to serve and now find themselves in positions of leadership. This story is from Wilson Dumelod, who was a part of the 2007 Servant Leadership cohort in Mindoro, Philippines.  Wilson trains and equips other pastors to serve within the 

It has been quite a time to be personally in touch with you. I know you are mindful of me. Take a moment to listen to my story.

One may not fully realize the impact of giving one’s presence for others. For in giving one’s time, one shares his or her own life. This is a lasting legacy of life.

Your coming is very unusual. You came when I thought I knew much in life. But you came not to simply feed the mind. You came with an open hand to touch the heart. You listened more than you spoke. You discovered our pain with a healing hand. We opened our souls without any pressure. We discovered freedom and safety in our brokenness. We learned to dream. For you were there, right here, one amongst us. Years had passed. Yet the dream lives on. And such a grace, indeed, to be part of the dream of God.

So a community was born. Mindoro Bible College is becoming more of a family than an institution. It is a transformation process that deals the issues of the heart. We learn to share our pains and fears with listening ears and loving embrace.  We learn to be real because there is a community that cares. Each one is our greatest wealth.

We are called to make a better world. Right here in our world of influence. For Mindoro Bible college to be named as “Center for Servant Leadership Philippines” is a prophetic name in itself. The Lord has a stored plan in a name. Center for Servant Leadership Philippines exists to model an authentic community that develops servant leaders who are equipped for holistic Christian ministries. With this dream, we hold on to the grace of God.

I commit myself in the hands of the Lord as I decided to be part of this movement of God. First quarter next year, as an office policy of ABCCOP, I will be tendering my courtesy resignation as the Minister of Theological Education. I will be filing this courtesy resignation with an intent to remain and continue with my present ministry. Last November 3, through the joint election of the national and district leaders of ABCCOP, Pastort Chito had been given a second term four-year mandate as the National Minister. I have presented my case to him and has respected my decision. The National Council of Elders will make the final decision with regards to my desire to serve in the National office on February 2012.

For me, to be reinstated as the Minister of Theological Education of ABCCOP, is secondary. Primarily, I now see myself to be aligned and work closely with Center for Servant Leadership Philippines. This is a crucial decision I have consulted with my wife Bee who gave her consent and to stand with me in the ministry. With my wife’s consent, I hold on to the Lord’s word: “…Do not leave your post; calmness can lay great errors to rest” (Ecclesiastes 10:4b). The “post” is not simply my present ministerial position but my lifetime mission to teach, equip, and mentor servant leaders in building authentic communities. I made this decision clear to Dan and Pong, who have been faithfully journeying with me in prayer, to know the mind of the Lord for my behalf. And both of them affirmed their partnership for us working together in building the Lord’s community in the Philippines.

My 12-year old son Larkin is aware of my present journey in the ministry. I have informed him about my decision and he agreed to it. Yes, my community starts in the home. And it is a joy for my wife and my son to be my greatest support. It is a journey of faith. And we hold on to the sufficiency of the Lord’s grace.

Larkin will be turning first year in high school in the University of the Philippines Integrated School come 2012. I have great lessons from my son. One time he personally asked me, “Tatay” (Tagalog word for “Father”), “what do you fear most in life.” I answered, “Anak” (Tagalog word for “son”), “as our only child, what I fear most in life is to lose you.” Then I returned the question to him, “How about you my son, what do you fear most in life?” And he answered, “Tatay, what I fear most in life is to sin against God.” And as I see him grow, he means these words in his heart. My son, may not fully realize that he is my “hero.” For in time of temptations I call to mind the very words of my beloved son.

Bee is back to teaching since the first semester this school year. She is not yet done with her dissertation on her doctoral program. The politics within her college has played a great part for the difficult progress of her studies. We dearly hold on to the sovereignty and grace of God.

Last year had been stressful for me. Not much due to the strains on travels and trainings to different regions but more of the internal concerns in the organization of ABCCOP. I am glad things are getting better and with a hope for us to become persons and a better organization. May I be found faithful to do my part. As a family, we yearn for a refreshing time of rest at the close of the year.

The Lord is true and trustworthy. And for this, we have every good reason to be grateful. Thanks for taking time to listen. May all be well with you.

Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!

Grace and peace to us all.

Sincerely,

Wilson

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”  - Jesus Christ,  from Matthew 5:9

This is part of a series of stories from Servant Leaders who have been trained by the Center for Sharing over the past fifteen years. We will be highlighting leaders across the globe who have submitted their lives to serve and now find themselves in positions of leadership. This story is from John Koskei, who was a part of the 2007 Servant Leadership in Kisumu, Kenya.  Below are some of his reflections.

The servant leadership course had three areas of critical importance to my life:

1. Knowledge was imparted to me and to be honest I did not know there was something called a project proposal. After receiving that training I got to know how to do it and I put it into practice.
2. The spirit of servant leadership:  I had undergone ministerial training but not as a servant leader.
3. It became an eye opener to me, to serve not only the Methodist Church, but the community at large and to encourage all to strive for self-sustenance through income generating projects.

Immediately after the training I wrote proposals for the following projects:

1. To construct churches-congregations were worshiping under trees, services could be interrupted by rain, sun or any other distractions. I thank God because through the projects proposals I wrote 3 churches were constructed. Another has been constructed by members themselves.
2. To have income generating projects to make the mission area self sustaining. In this we bought a piece of land and planted Tea which is doing well and commercial trees.

In 2010 there was a formation of truth justice and reconciliation commission in Kenya (TJRC). We took the advantage and mobilized the communities in South Rift, where they had been having conflict. We had several consultative meetings with the opinion leaders of these communities. In all the meetings I remember asking them this question “What is this that we cannot pray for and get a solution (peace)?”

Many issues were raised by the communities which include: land and boundary disputes, marginalization, inequitable distribution of resources, cattle rustling, and politics. We all agreed that each community should document their issues so that it can be presented to TJRC, Parliament and the government. In these forums leaders were chosen to lead these communities in their documentation of historical injustices and having come from the Kipsigis community I was elected to be the chair of the committee documenting issues on behalf of the Kipsigis community.

The following are critical issues communities in the South Rift are facing–historical injustices, and violence, especially post election and gender based violence. Out of this, the Centre for Peace and Community Transformation  (CPCT) was born, to coordinate peace initiatives and activities.

Here’s a little sampling of what CPTC is currently doing as an organization:

1. For women who were raped during post election violence, we meet every two weeks on Saturday to pray with them and give them room to narrate their stories so that they may get healed.  We also fundraise for those who need medical attention. Five women have benefited from this.
2. Others who were wounded and some who still have bullets inside them receive counseling and medical attention, but we need more resources. We were able to help two individuals, but we’ve identified four more who need bullets removed from their bodies.
3. We also are helping these victims with small micro loans from a micro-finance organization.

I have an admission letter from Egerton University in Kenya for my MA in Sociology: Peace studies and conflict management. I will start classes in December 2011, God willing on a part time basis. The course is relevant because I need more skills to carry out organizational objectives, goals, mission and vision.

God bless you all…John

The focus of our Servant Leadership training efforts over the past five years in Kenya have focused heavily on educating the community leaders there from the Methodist Church Kenya to work to build better communities. Recently, Roseanne Mbaya, one of the leaders who went through our servant leadership course decided to start something new, a dream of her own. One of our goals during our last trip to Kenya was to assist in the formation of a new NGO to help Roseanne follow her dream. Roseanne has been our on-site organizer for Servant Leadership each year in Kenya, and she has worked for the Methodist Church Kenya for 9 years.

Roseanne organized a two-day board formation meeting which Glenn Cross, Cheryl and Suzanne Broetje attended. In collaboration with VHF, we 3 have agreed to work with her founding board for the time being, which includes 3 Kenyans and Roseanne. Our partner (VHF) Vista Hermosa Foundation is looking at taking the financial initial lead on getting this program off the ground. SLEC, (Servant Leadership and Environmental Conservation) will be working with local communities to promote SL and conservation around farming techniques, protection of trees, and locating sustainable water sources. It will be ecumenical in scope.

The new board expects to receive its certification soon, upon which a bank account will be opened, an office rented and set up, and ready to go by January 1, 2012 pending funding approval by VHF. We are told that funding organizations there will watch it for about 3 years, and then if it has a proven track record, should be willing to start partnering financially with SLEC, allowing VHF to start backing off. In the meantime, participants of any and all new initiatives will be asked what they can contribute first (time, labor and finances).

Roseanne has chosen three Kenyans for her founding board: Rosemary Kirambia, an agriculturalist, Ruth Ketyenya, MCK Health and Welfare Director, and Dr. Richard Bagine, a zoologist, natural resource management and bio-diversity scientist, who happens to be a personal friend of Richard Leakey, the famed paleo-anthropologist. He sits on numerous national and international boards.

1. The ‘leader’ is invested with all the power. “Father” is often designed term, implying that the leader is to come up with the ideas and resources and make it happen. But economic development comes as power is shared in a sense of personal responsibility by all participating.
2. Personal warmth is valued over content.
3. Younger people are not to question or critique those older than they.
4. Development often means subsidies from outside, while they rely on religious beliefs that God will provide magically. Witchcraft is still quite common as well, with curses for getting out of line.

(It has been said that culture is the mother, and institutions are the children. More efficient and just institutions depend on modifications to the culture. (Daniel Etounga-Manguelle, quoting Tocqueville). Important to note, is that the collapse of ‘dependency theory’ is increasingly seen as the result of cultural values and attitudes.)

1. HIV/AIDS is still not able to be openly talked about in public due to cultural silence around sexual issues, and is referred to “the long neck disease” or “the finisher”. In Busia County, Alice told the group “every home has a fresh grave.” This after many years of work trying to reduce/stamp out this virus. In addition, some of those who use meds, don’t take them consistently. Thus, officials are seeing new, stronger, more resistant strains of HIV/AIDS appear as a result.

In Nairobi, Kisumu and Mombasa, participants were asked to describe the current context in which they are living. Water seems to be the greatest need in every community, followed by food security issues. Disengaged youth are a great concern as well. Many are dropping out, due to lack of funds, and often, poor quality of education (with 100 or more students per class). Cheap alcohol is increasingly a panacea. 27 died while we were in country, due to drinking toxic brew.

Participants were asked to share what actions they have taken to apply SL:

1. Beatrice is helping women’s groups in her two churches get registered in order to be able to apply for government funds available for community projects. Most are fearful of any interaction with government, so don’t do it on their own. She started a nursery school by fundraising, and renting out the church for meeting space. Said she was “trained as a pastor, but never to be a leader”. Now she is training people in small cell groups to become leaders.
2. John Koskei came to the Kisumu course in 2007 as a pastor, and three month later, post-election violence erupted in the country. He was later tapped to get involved with a newly forming Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission. He has since gone to remote areas to take testimony from many who were tortured or had family members killed. Those stories have been handed over to the court at the Hague, who is now trying several Kenyan leaders for crimes to humanity. John also lobbied for a branch campus of KEMU at Kericho. They have started with 20 students there. He also formed a CBO. He says that he came to our course as a pastor. He is now a recognized national leader in TJRC work in addition to his pastoral duties, and the tea farm which came out of the ’07 course.
3. Joseph is pairing up more affluent parishes with less able parishes. Members visit and report back weekly on what support they have been able to offer each other.
4. Peter is repairing a 50 yr old water project, starting rabbits, goats and chickens projects, and encouraged St. Pauls, the MCK seminary, to start offering a course on the “theology of work”. Mercy Kanyaru told about meeting a poor woman who said she and her husband had worked hard last year, so this year they are resting their bodies. The link between cultural values and economic development is strong.
5. Lemayian is working to empower girls and women in his community. He is being criticized for it.  But his uncle for example, has 6 wives, and 87 children. The girls are married off early so the dowries will give the fathers more cows. Lemayian says cows are becoming a thing of the past for economic sustainability. So he is promoting small business start-ups there, as well as water conservation by installing gutters on the local school. And, he has built a dam on his land! He feels passionate to ask people (especially young people) what they can contribute to the well-being of their community using the resources at hand. There is no empowerment so powerful as self-empowerment…raising one’s own capacity to lead and serve oneself and others. It often does take a question asker as a catalyst.  A good question asker will ask: What is going on? What do we need to do to help make it right? The other option… “Who did this to us?” arises from and increases a culture of fear, paranoia and stagnation.

GRAFCO-SACCO is a savings and loan organization in Kenya, with 2500 members. CFS was asked to present a two day workshop on servant-leadership for their board and administrative staff. This was a follow up to the two day event we presented for their parent organization PWW this summer in Grand Rapids, Michigan. PWW intends to use SL as their philosophy in all their affiliates around the world.

GRAFCO is their largest affiliate, and has been under-going some tension between board and staff between the desire to help people start sustainable business initiatives as well as meet societal needs in a business – as – ministry style. However, due to several challenges, they find themselves unable to pay dividends to current business owners. Some think they should pay the dividends anyway, showing compassion for those suffering.  Others are holding out for stabilizing the businesses first, and paying dividends/helping others later. We talked about the critical importance of commitment to a shared vision.

Our observations:

1. This group needs more access to local business consultants with the expertise to help their businesses grow. Board and staff members, loan recipients themselves, are struggling. It is difficult then, to reach out to new potential members confidently with the right kind of help. We spent time talking about the need to focus on growing social capital (strong positive relationships) and spiritual capital (values such as trust, integrity, service, honesty, compassion…) as well as economic capital if they want Grafco-Sacco to be sustainable and grow.
2. About 30 people participated. They seemed to find it difficult at first, to participate in our style of teaching….that is, finding the way forward through mutual dialogue and listening to the sharing of ideas and experiences, stories of failures and successes as well as current challenges. When we used small group exercises and worksheets to work through together the second day, they seemed to perk up. We did receive some very positive feedback from Grace, the country director who was present for the training. So we know that the seeds of SL have been planted in their minds and hearts! What follows are her comments:

On the servant leadership training, I think this went well. It was a little quiet for many but it had an impact on all the participants. It brings out a different view of how we look at life and the things that we value more. I spoke to one staff just to find out what they took home and for them, it was interesting how we view leadership from the top and how this is all different when servant leaders lead from the bottom by showing love and care to the people who in turn trust in you and see you as a leader. This was through an illustration shared by the Broetjes with a triangle upside down and leadership being at the top wider side of the triangle.

I am challenged to continue sharing this culture of leadership that begins with the will, love and care for the people that is seen in how you serve them such that people see the authority in you and trust you. I have learned how important it is to value and build the social capital that we have around us and in the organizations that we serve. At this point, my mind is up on moving ahead to encourage the people I am working with on the value of relationships.

I must say the training was remarkable.

In Mombasa, the pastors who gathered were tired, and struggling to stand with their people who are hungry. People are literally limiting themselves to one meal per day, pastors included. Bishop Tuji, a member of our ’06 course, stepped on a nail a couple of months ago, and due to diabetes, it didn’t heal. Finally, two toes were amputated. His foot is black and blue, and hugely swollen still. Pray for him. Rev. Samuel didn’t even get to the meeting as he ended up in the hospital instead with kidney stones. Some haven’t been paid for months. Yet they are so committed to bringing the gospel to those they serve.

A local pastor, who clarified his call to serve Muslims during our course in ‘06, told another of his famous stories:

…a man stole our church bell, and dropped it in the Tana River. The village chief tried to find out who had done it, but after a week, no one came forward. One month later, a huge cyclone came, and crushed the house of this Muslim man, killing his two children inside. In terror, he came running to the church to confess that he had stolen the bell, and asked what he could do before God killed him?! The pastor told him to go fetch the bell from the river, which is infested with crocodiles and hippos, and bring it back to the church and put it in its proper place. The man did. He said that since stealing the bell he had had no peace. So, he repented, and received the invitation to accept Christ as his Lord, and was baptized then and there.

By Ruth Ortega, from the Center for Servant Leadership, Philippines

There was a time when we sat down and asked ourselves what wealth makes us and what poverty makes of us, who we would want to be identified with and to what will our lifestyle witness. On our second week of having no money in the fund to buy food for 27 stay-in students, nothing to buy for gas for the stoves, nothing to keep the lawn mower useful, nothing to spend for operational expenses, we gathered at our community time and reflected on what the Lord is requiring us to do about it. Amazing reflections came out. The student monitor for the dining hall initiated that students contribute financially and manually. She found out that the community can survive for long with the small cash and in kind donations from the students, faculty and staff, and the neighborhood. Some neighbors let the students gather vegetables from their backyards. Another volunteered to get banana blossom for viand from the farm in his Christian service area in Banilad, Pinamalayan. When the community learned it was for CSLP, they added more to what he was supposed to take. Jean Vanier says, “In a poor community, there is a lot of mutual help and sharing of goods, as well as help from outside. Poverty becomes a cement of unity.” This was an eye opener for the members of the faculty and staff who haven’t received their salaries yet.

Another student who is not used to sharing, went to buy coffee and realized that it felt no good to drink alone so she decided to buy for everybody else. She termed it as a “lessening of her greed’. This was true for Ate Remy (Academic Dean), who for her love of pets, budgets a certain amount of her income for animal food. When she saw the situation at the dining hall, she sat down with her husband and discussed the matter. She realized she could choose to close her eyes to the needs and cries of others but she cannot neglect the needs of her pets. She concluded she loved her pets more than people. With that, she decided to stop talking about it and start acting. She decided to buy fish for the students instead of her pets. We had a festive lunch that day. Of course she continued to do that after- not neglecting the needs of her pets while attending to the needs of others.

For some reason, our cook did not report for work. The students assigned themselves to do the cooking. It brought so much joy to the community to hear laughter and singing from the dining hall as the students fan the flames from the charcoals that slowly cook the community food, as they do the shredding of the coconut to extract milk, as they slice tomatoes for the fish sauce (bagoong), as they set the table, wash the dishes, do the chores. This is true wealth, something money cannot buy, something we would not have experienced and realized if we would have otherwise been provided with all the material things we needed. We witnessed creativity, oneness, love, sharing, and the inner beauty of each one. Vanier talks of his own experience when he says, “When people love each other, they are content with very little. When we have light and joy in our hearts, we don’t need material wealth.” It is a wonderful experience to live the theories we are attesting to before we go out and preach it to others. Ultimately, we are truly grateful to the God who created all things, that He is indeed our great provider, and has never fell short in answering to our needs (Philippians 4:19). The community realized what true wealth means and that CSLP is very wealthy.

Adela with Gladys

Thirty years ago, Gladys lost her son…but more than that, she may have lost herself and her family. She left everything she knew and began to wander from her native El Salvador, migrating north and living in the streets. She became a broken woman, and she lost all contact with her family and left her native country to head to Mexico. We know little more than that about Gladys and her years of wandering, other than the fact that she showed up at a homeless shelter adjoining the local hospital in Juchitan, Oaxaca over 30 years after she disappeared from her family.

That’s when she met the fourteen wonderful young women who are part of el Centro de Compartimiento, a program that was created to develop leaders out of young Oaxacan women from indigenous villages. Many of these girls would have quit school after sixth grade, but a caring group of Mexican and American people decided that wasn’t ok. They worked together to remove the largest barrier to these girls being able to study—a place to stay in the city where they could access higher education. But that’s not all that happened. El Centro de Compartimiento developed a vision of a creating a different kind of leadership in Oaxaca—Servant Leadership. These girls have begun to live into that vision—they serve the poor, those with special needs, the environment and the homeless—like Gladys.

The girls met Gladys while helping feed and bathe the elderly who sometimes come at night to sleep in the homeless shelter in Juchitan. They started to notice that Gladys wasn’t just passing through, but she didn’t seem to have anywhere to go or anyone to care for her. Some of our girls know how that feels, and as a result, they “adopted” Gladys and spent a month helping feed and care for her. Gradually out of that friendship, Gladys began to talk about her past, especially about where she was from. She began to name the places, and after looking them up on the internet, the girls realized that Gladys was from a small town in El Salvador. They began the search to see if they could find any family that Gladys might still have.

The first thing they did was to contact the immigration officials in Mexico; they came and talked with Gladys. They told the girls and Adela, our board chair, that Gladys was Mexican. The girls weren’t convinced. Adela contacted the Salvadorian consul, and he did some further research. It turns out that Gladys is in fact Salvadorian and she still has family living in El Salvador! Currently we are arranging for Gladys to be reunited with her family! Praise God!

For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. Luke 15:24