ELCA's Young Adults in Global Mission program comes to Palestine

Young Adults in Global Mission, a program of ELCA Global Mission, has arrived in the Lutheran communities of Palestine.

The York (Pa.) Daily Record ran an article about one Young Adult in Global Mission, Marta Spangler. Read it here: http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_10236546?IADID

Here's the lead:

Gettysburg woman heads to the West Bank

"When 22-year-old Marta Spangler of Gettysburg graduated from the University of Pittsburgh this May, she didn't know if she wanted to go to graduate school or step into the real world.

"The world she decided to step into is very real.

"She packed up everything she coud fit into one bag and headed Saturday to the West Bank.

"Spangler said she learned of global missions with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America while she was still attending Gettysburg Area High School. But she put it out of her mind when she went to college.

"After graduating as a religious studies and English literature major - and with no idea of what to do next - she looked back at the program and decided to sign on for a yearlong program to assist in mission schools."

[complete article at http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_10236546?IADID ]

ELCJHL welcomes six Young Adults in Global Mission

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land has featured the Young Adults in Global Mission on its calendar page. You can download and print the September calendar for posting in your church - http://www.elcjhl.org/resources/calendars/

There's a swell picture of the young volunteers, and here is the text:

There’s sure to be talk about “yaggums” around the ELCJHL these days. But don't worry – they’re not contagious and they won’t infest your house-plants. Instead, “YAGM” stands for Young Adults in Global Mission, a program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America’s Global Mission department. For the first time, six YAGMs have been assigned to Jerusalem and the West Bank. For the next year, they will serve in various ELCJHL school and other ministries.

The ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission program provides one-year mission service and learning opportunities in inter-national settings. As the young adult volunteers offer themselves in service, they also learn more about themselves, their relationship with God and their place in God’s world. Young adults are transformed by their experiences, equipping them upon return to take on responsibilities within the church and to provide a global perspective on issues facing the church and society.

And here's the prayer for all to share:

God of new beginnings, thank you for bringing these young people into our midst. Bless their service in the Holy Land that all may be blessed by their presence. Give them ears to hear and eyes to see the lives of your peoples in the Holy Land, so that they may tell the story to all who will hear. Grant that they become firmly planted and much beloved in this community. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The home page of the ELCJHL is - http://www.elcjhl.org/

For more information about the YAGM program in Palestine, go to the ELCA web site: http://archive.elca.org/globalserve/youngadults/jerusalem.asp

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