Reflections on Villa's ministry

A member of Villa's board asked me to write about my role in Villa's ministry. It prompted this reflection that seemed appropriate to share:

"Peacemaking is my favorite part of Villa. By offering each guest a place within the community, none are alone in a strange land. When they are lonely or homesick- or get the flu, or learn a loved one has died, I get to hold their hands or bake them cookies or find the flu medicine or help them arrange an emergency plane ticket home. We also get to celebrate holidays, birthdays, small successes like making a first omelet or large successes such as a paper accepted for publication or a significant discovery that will advance the understanding of what enables a cancer cell to be so resilient. Villa is a gift to me. It enriches my life spiritually by letting me reflect the face of God to all God’s children who come to Villa, as best I know how with what energy I’ve got. I get to show compassion and be helpful. I get to play a role as a Christian that is much nicer than I am as my own person. I get to be a missionary. I get to show people throughout the world that Christians and Americans not only care about them, but respect their countries, their traditions, and their cultures. I also get to put Villa’s volunteers in touch with these folks. The volunteers who have so much love and caring for others get to share that love and caring with people far from home, who serve a higher calling of world health. If Villa manifests the fruits of the spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (not so much) then I get to have a part in that. Sometimes I get to share with our guests the faith that sustains me, but more often I get to make their lives more comfortable or happier. I get to share a homey atmosphere with them – and then I get to watch as they make it their home."

--Camille

Christmas Day at Home Away from Home

One of my favorite parts of Villa's hospitality ministry is sharing holiday traditions with our guests. Every year, we host a Christmas Dinner for everyone in the house, and for anyone else who wants to come. Many are Christian, but simply cannot afford to cross the world to join their families for the holidays. Many are not Christian, and so this dinner is often the first impression of the family aspects of Christmas.

This year's dinner served 18 current and former guests. The menu started with a traditional American feast of Turkey, sweet potatoes, rolls and coconut cake, with a few wonderful additions. After comparing what each guest would be eating if they were at home, talk at the table broke into 3 or 4 smaller conversations.  While one end of the table was talking about Japanese film and literature, the middle of the table (a virologist from Cameroon, a public health official from China, a psychologist from Taiwan, and a engineering student from the US commonwealth of Saipan) started talking about the Dalai Lama.  A common subject, shared by uncommon partners.

While fighting off the coma of a proper feast, some guests helped wash dishes, some put the dining room back in order, and others conspired to stage a karaoke night.  Instead of spending Christmas alone and far from home, we joined together for a warm family celebration.  Another good night to be at Villa.

Villa featured in Pakistani youth magazine

I want to share a fun article by a former Villa guest. It was published in July.

http://e.thenews.com.pk/newsmag/mag/detail_article.asp?id=1617&magId=9


"I tried to count. There, relishing the biryani, were friends from India, Spain, Brazil, Germany, China, Korea, Hong Kong, Portugal, Lebanon, Nigeria, the Caribbean, Bolivia and the US of A. If you had walked past our Villa that night, and looked into our lit-up dining room and seen people from every caste, colour and creed, laughing and complimenting each other with smiles, you would have thought, God, aren’t they having a ball! Why don’t these people run the world - it would be fun! And maybe even felt a pinch in your heart that you’d have liked to be there, too."

What a wonderful party we had!

On the first Tuesday of every December, we take time to show how much we appreciate our volunteers with our annual Volunteer Appreciation Chrsitmas Party. Joining the villa staff in celebrataion were 82 volunteers, friends and Villa guests. An especially pleasant surprise were several of our former guests who are now volunteers. 

The headline of the celebration is always the feast.  This year's menu included:

dilled salmon
pork loin with fruit (modified, of course)
green beans (for our vegans)
asiago cheese grits
orange avocado romaine salad
peppermint bark cheesecake
chocolate raspberry mousse (5 gallons, and not a drop of leftovers!)

After dinner, we recognized Jean Krugman as Volunteer of the Year.  She's been a wonderful volunteer for many years, teaching conversational English to hundreds of guests, and offering them trips to the mountains, Mary Macs Tea Room and the grocery store.

Virginia Slack and Dan Curl also received special thanks for their tireless generosity of time and talent to both Villa and its guests.  Finally, to the enjoyment of the crowd, the indefatigable Betty Bolander led us in singing Christmas carols and jingling sleigh bells (a first for many of our guests.)

A great big thanks to all who helped with the party.  We were grateful for those who came, and we missed those of you who weren't able to make it.  We hope to see you next time!

Annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner

place-holder for villa's blog

This blog is still in development, but here's a place-keeper for the meantime:

Do people still write blogs, you ask?

Well, not many people do anymore, but they are still a great tool for organizations to index events, transitions, and any time-sensitive information. This is the kind of venue where we can say "come on a trip with us to Stone Mountain next weekend" and it will only demand our attention so long as it stays on the top of the page. After the event is over, we can replace the post with a report of how the trip went, and voila, the blog's content is still interesting and relevant. It's easy, and it doesn't risk any flubs in the layout of villa's website

It also makes a great yearbook effect for nostalgic guests, or for people trying to measure villa's activities and successes.

So how can you support this venture? contribute to the blog!

Thanks for reading,
Villa's webmaster