World Service Corps
Is for All Ages

World Service Corps came to my attention several years ago when some youth from our home congregation participated. Because my husband, Larry, and I are retired and older, we didn’t know if we could volunteer, but we asked.

We learned that we could be considered, but with nine grandchildren, we decided we weren’t willing to give up one–two years to travel. Then we were asked if we would be hosts in Independence. We accepted.

For two years, we shared our home and family life with new friends from Kenya, Nepal, and Democratic Republic of Congo. We became “parents” and enjoyed the new relationships we developed over six- to eight-week periods.

The next year, the invitation came to consider going to Grand Cayman. We would be working with a small congregation in an English-speaking country, and the worship setting would be familiar. We were asked to be part of a team of ministers, and we would stay about three months.

As we approached the island, we saw its overwhelming natural beauty. We couldn’t help but think what a wonderful artist God is. The pastor, Vernon Webb, met us at the airport and took us to the mission house that church members had built. This was where we would live.

The congregation was very welcoming and loving, and it drew us right in. We learned all the names of members and began to participate in every aspect. The families invited us into their homes, and we invited them to the mission house. We learned that we truly had family on Grand Cayman, and we found Jesus in the faces we met and interacted with.

For two years, we arrived in March and stayed until June. Again and again we were reminded how much alike—rather than how different—we are. Families love and care for one another, and they need the same things we all do, though facing different circumstances.

As I work at my desk in the Temple in Independence, Missouri, creating services for the Daily Prayer for Peace, I am reminded that one of the best things we can do to promote peace is to learn about one another. World Service Corps is a wonderful way to begin.

In a world becoming smaller and smaller, the challenge is more urgent to “love your neighbor as yourself,” as well as to understand that “Collectively and individually, you are loved with an everlasting love.” We must continue to remind one another of both.

To learn how you might volunteer with World Service Corps, go to www.CofChrist.org/worldservice/.

—Nadine Stallbaumer reporting

Photos: Larry and Nadine Stallbaumer recruit help from the Village Heights
congregation, Independence, Missouri, represented by Gary Woods (at piano)
and Hazel Browne and Marica Hubbard.