What would drive a well-established, “empty-nester” couple – Gerry
and Bruce Melville - decide to leave their community, their jobs, their friends
and family and for a one or two-year commitment to work at a school in Tanzania?
The answer to this question is surprisingly mundane – no earth-shaking
revelations or visions, no dramatic or sudden “call” – merely
a simple quest to discern the path that God had chosen for them, one step at
a time.
Gerry remembers that the journey began with a friend recounting Stephen Lewis describing the heart-breaking situation of Africa’s AIDS orphans. His words, “Go over and rock a baby if you can’t think of anything else to do …” haunted Gerry, whose life had been spent raising three children of her own and working as an early childhood educator.
At first, Gerry considered volunteering her time for 6-8 weeks, working through an agency of some sort and finding a way to work somewhere in Africa. Her search took her to a presentation given on behalf of “Volunteers in Mission”, where she hoped to find someone who would be able to help point her in the right direction. A simple question – “What’s on your list now?” revealed a request for a senior math and science teacher at a school in Tanzania, along with someone to run an early childhood centre. Bruce Melville had gone to the meeting with Gerry so he could support her dream. It soon became apparent that, given his experience as a high school math teacher, the volunteer project for one could now expand to include them both.
Bruce and Gerry were now on a journey together. Their next goal was to find signposts, and they quickly found guides. Barry Jenks who had spent three years in Guyana advised them to set up a timeline and work through issues one by one. They met teachers who had spent time in Dar es Salaam and Tanzania. They began the somewhat time-consuming process known as “paper work”. The VIM application package required statements from them as to where they were going, why they wanted to go, and what was motivating them, as well as five references each.
Eventually Gerry and Bruce reached the Diocesan Panel, a group of five people who encouraged them to feel that they were not being “tested” or “examined” but rather being “assisted through the discernment process”. At any point along this path, Gerry or Bruce could have been discouraged or even rejected from going any further, but it soon became clear that doors and opportunities were opening, and that their journey to Africa had begun.
With each step, the goal of “rocking babies in Africa” became more and more feasible, and the means of achieving this within reach. A partnership shared by the world-wide Anglican communion was making it all possible. The Anglican School in Tanzania was looking for assistance from within the church family, someone to join their community and be useful – which was precisely what Gerry and Bruce felt called to do. Bruce explained that “mission work” today is more than going forth from a developed country to help a third-world community. Within the Anglican Church this sort of community spirit travels in both directions. For example, the Bishop of Rupert’s Land had occasion to remember a gifted Ugandan minister he had met while in that country, and was able to bring him over to Manitoba as a priest for an aboriginal community. What better fit, than to find a minister who knew what it was like to be under a colonial system, with a majority white leadership? The world-wide Anglican community is more than a dream, it is a working reality.
Gerry and Bruce are looking forward to their time in Dodoma, the capital city of Tanzania, with the same sense of “mission” they have here in Victoria. Their home church of St. John the Divine shares the same mission as the church in Dodoma – to live according to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and be his witnesses on earth. They see themselves as givers and receivers – they will reach out to the community with their teaching and nurturing skills, and know they will receive a great deal back: lessons that a new community can teach them about to live their faith, how to give to others and how to receive those gifts which others would give in return.
Previous models of “missionary life” emphasized
what “we” could give to the non-Christian world. Many times mistakes
were made that now, in retrospect, we very much regret. Here in B.C. we don’t
have to go all the way to Africa to see the terrible results of Residential Schools
and the repression of peoples’ cultures. Gerry and Bruce certainly have
goals in mind of services they will be able to provide, but acknowledge that
they have a great deal to learn as well. They are looking forward to sharing
the insights and lessons they know they will learn, and that they are open to
receiving, with those of us back here in Victoria.
The school itself was founded in 1950 as a K-7 “primary” school. It now provides free education for students through to grade 7, along with a play-based preschool program. The cost of uniforms and school fees (which amount to a year’s income for most parents) is quite prohibitive, and only 15% of children attend beyond Grade 7, and only 4% beyond Grade 10. The school is comprised of 45% Muslim, 45% Christian, with 10% of other faiths, or no religious affiliation. How does the church deal with issues such as hymns, prayers and worship practices at their school, given this diversity? Gerry and Bruce are keen on discovering the answer.
For every volunteer who is able to devote time to mission work, several supporters are needed, and there is no limit to the partnerships that can be formed at home. Barbara Jenks is the chair of the group of 10 people who are working to support the Melville’s mission. Besides the January potluck, and The Incredible Experience Auction on the evening of June 2, they will be keeping SJD’s congregation up-to-date regarding their work. Gerry & Bruce will maintain a blog while they are away. June 29th is their departure date – for those who feel they could never be part of such a mission, the Melville’s journey will be a chance to participate first-hand by offering financial and prayerful support. For those who now see how it is possible to take a dream through a step-by-step process and make it happen, this mission could open entirely new doors. When Gerry and Bruce leave at the end of June, every one of us should reflect on the simple beginnings for this journey – the picture in one woman’s heart of “rocking babies in Africa …”