Recently, you may have received an email or a letter from our organization, VMM, stating that our cohort of volunteers will be the last and that VMM will be closing their doors. While this is sad for us, we also realize that there is a time for everything. That ending on a good note is important at an organizational and community level. Rather than making promises to future volunteers, funders, and project partners, we can tie up loose ends and make a good exit, being proud of what VMM stands for, what volunteers have accomplished and the way these programs have changed a multitude of lives. We are sad for the loss of opportunity for another married couple to follow in our foot steps. Davie and Sarah, Billy and Kristin, and Kyle and I would all attest to VMM being a life changing experience, as individuals but as a couple as well. An opportunity that isn’t always readily available to married couples in this type of setting.
So while this is a sad loss on a variety of levels, we are thankful for the opportunity that VMM USA has given us these two years and are thankful for the critical discernment that took place over the last few months through board members, former VMMers and other stakeholders. We know that the vision of VMM will continue through the VMM-Europe branch, and we know that seeds of the VMM USA branch are just beginning to grow in the communities where VMM volunteers have been. We know, for a fact, that VMM’s work has impacted the lives of many--the people we all have met in our communities, and in our lives, as volunteers who have been the hands and feet of the VMM for 35 years.
We know that transitions and endings can be difficult, but also know that this decision has not been taken lightly and in the end, is the best decision for this time in VMM history. The conversations we have begun having with important individuals here in San Nicolas are difficult and sad. But also a great reflection on the great work VMM has done sending awesome volunteers to this community. Not a bad word can be said about any of the volunteers that have lived and worked in the community, and the individuals we have spoken with really express their sincere gratitude for the past 6+ years of relationships that VMM has had with San Nicolas (And special thanks to Chepe Barnett who started the process of finding this amazing volunteer placement!). We will continue to have these conversations and will reflect on the time VMM has spent in San Nicolas, but also look to the future as individuals and as a community.
An important note, is that Kyle and I and Clare (Managua Volunteer) will be supported and funded until the end of our 2 year term (mid year 2017).
We also want to take this opportunity to thank ALL of you who have given us, and VMM, your support of over our time here, financially, spiritually, and in community. We appreciate it more than you know! And thanks to VMM for being an awesome organization that has given us this amazing opportunity to learn, grow, and accompany the community of San Nicolas.
We also know, deep down, that this will not be the last connection we have to San Nicolas. We want to stay connected in whatever way we can and hope that whatever this connection looks like, it will open doors in our future and the future of the community. Until then, we know that there are many more seeds to plant until we wrap up our time to, and many more memories to make! And we are excited for what the next few months will bring.
Below you can read the letter that was sent out to donors, partners, and newsletter subscribers:
VOLUNTEER MISSIONARY MOVEMENT
November 29, 2016
Dear VMM Supporter,
As many of you know, Volunteer Missionary Movement has spent the last six months discerning its future. We are deeply grateful to all those who contributed to the conversation about what makes VMM so appealing and discussed ways to keep VMM viable. It is evident that the Spirit has been present in this process. The rich wisdom literature from the Hebrew Scriptures spoke to our decision:
There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for everything under the heavens.
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot
the plant.
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. (Ecclesiastes 3)
We, the Board of Directors of VMM, have decided that 2017 will be the final year of Volunteer Missionary Movement USA. Our sister organization, VMM-International will carry on the Spirit and Lifestyle from its offices in Ireland and the UK. The words of Edwina Gateley, our foundress, helped support our conversation:
Maybe the Holy Spirit is doing a new thing - as She did with the VMM 46 years ago... The vision is yet dim - we see "in a mirror darkly" but we know it is there, for God is faithful and will create anew on the foundations of what we, in the VMM-USA, have so faithfully built in the last 35 years.
We have achieved much,
We have made a difference in the world.
We must recognize that and celebrate it.
This decision was not made lightly and the focus has always been on our missioners and the communities in which they serve. A recent blog post by Alli Stiffney sums up the "onda," or feeling, VMM volunteers have about their commitment to accompany the people they live and work alongside:
"It has been such a blessing to feel accepted by our community here in San Nicolás. I thought I knew about hospitality and what it means to be a good host, but so many here in Nicaragua have shown us what it means to TRULY host someone with time, talk, and a cafecito (a bit of coffee!) We feel like the luckiest volunteers in the world."
All those who have served with VMM likely feel the same way. They could not have lived through their experience without the financial and spiritual support of so many of you: benefactors, families, friends, and religious communities. To all of you, we say THANKS.
At this time we are not soliciting donations for VMM-USA however monies that continue to be received will be used to support our current missioners. Monies remaining following our closing will be distributed to likeminded organizations
Just like we hear in Ecclesiastes, "there is a time to laugh and dance," we intend to do just that and close VMM with a celebration. The Board plans for 2017 to be a year of gratitude. The plan is to celebrate and remember while walking with our final round of volunteers: Kyle and Alli Stiffney and Clare Morrison.
Over the next few months VMM will be reaching out to you for input as to how to finalize VMM-USA. Please do take a few minutes when you receive the survey that will be coming out, to share your input. VMM-USA will also be asking for your stories, experiences, and pictures that you would like to share that speak to your VMM experience so as to archive our wonderfully enriching history.
Again, thank you for your sustained support of VMM and we hope you will join us in celebrating the 35 transformative years of VMM-USA.
Con Paz
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