Mona has been a friend for many years, and in the last few years she has become increasingly involved in the Macedonian Ministry at Campus Hill church.  It's an often difficult crown to reach: teen moms who are sometimes wards of the state.  But it has been deeply rewarding for her personally, for the church as a whole, and the program has made a lasting impact on the local community.  People know they can trust and lean on those involved, and Christ's light is visible on the faces of those who serve there.

BZ: Tell me a little about you. What do you do? Where are you from?

I'm a gypsy soul who's settled and bought a house. I'm a passionate pediatric nurse who recently left the bedside for a position where I mentor &  inspire new grad RNs to go above and beyond their job description to make the difference in a patient's day and life. I was born in Bucharest, Romania, and lived there until I was 4 years old. Now, I live among the few remaining citrus groves of Redlands, CA.

BZ: How did you end up devoting quite a bit of your time volunteering for a church sponsored program? (did I get that right?)

After finishing nursing college, I spent a year in Romania working at a children's home for runaways and street kids. A few years after returning home, I happened to be at Campus Hill Church when they were having a baby dedication for the children of a group of teen girls the church tutored every week. The girls are wards of the state and live in a nearby group home. There was something about those girls that reminded me of the kids in Romania.  I called to get the details on the program and  showed up the following week.

BZ: What is the program and how did it come about?

The senior pastor of Campus Hill Church found herself at the airport sitting next to the director of a group home for adolescent girls. They struck up a conversation and realized they were in a perfect position to help each other. Macedonian Ministry first began at Campus Hill Church in the winter of 2003. This ministry was named because of the Greek work boethe which the Macedonians used in an appeal to the apostle Paul in Acts 16:9. It means a shout and run that denotes a call for help. We heard the call from the group home agency, and responded with a team that provides tutoring and mentoring to adolescent girls living in group homes.

Our desire is to make a measurable difference in these girls' social and academic lives by helping them with their homework, and studying for the GED or other studies; being a dependable, reliable, and responsible role model in their lives; and expanding their life's horizon by introducing them to aspects of life they might otherwise not have a chance to experience.

Over the years, we have taught classes in smoking cessation, anger management, life skills, nutrition classes, resume writing and interviewing skills. By sharing their own lives, volunteers have introduced the girls to new experiences such as differences in life in Madagascar, viewing the moon through a telescope, appreciating the fine arts by going to live theater, making biology real by visiting an embryology museum, and enjoying each other's company at the park or pastor's house on Saturday afternoons after going to church together.

We meet each Thursday evening from 5-7pm at Campus Hill Church. We provide healthy snacks for the girls and begin our evening together with "Beefs and Blessings," a time for everyone to share the good and the bad of the past week. We then have worship and take prayer requests. Then we divide up into smaller groups for individualized attention on homework or other activities. Occasionally, the School of Nursing, or other local students will drop in and have additional activities for the girls in order to fulfill their school requirements. These are usually a big hit with the girls.

We want to make a loving and long-lasting impression on each of these girls, to instill a desire for a better life, and to help them realize that having a better life really is within their reach and control.

BZ: If I wanted to start an outreach like this, what would it take? What process did the church (Campus Hill) have to go through to implement this program? How did it begin?

All you need to start are volunteers willing to help and a group of people that want help. Everything else fell into place with time. I wasn't around for the programs first year. By the time I joined,  it was less tutoring and more life skills training. We had a physician come and speak on STDs, how to be assertive, and anger management. We went over nutrition basics and cooking with them one month. Then another month we taught them how to write poems and finished off with a open mic night in our meeting room that had been decorated like a cafe.

BZ: Describe an average week working at the outreach for you.

Typically, Wed. night I'll start thinking about making a plan and Thursday I'll leave work by 4 to put some activities and a worship thought together. Then the girls come from 5-7pm. I usually stick around another half hour or so speaking to volunteers after that - sort of like an informal debriefing. Friday morning, I'll take a few moments to put together a report of the meeting to email off to the group home. I also send it to the volunteers, in case any of them were missing, and attach any announcements that need to be made. If something special is happening - like a baby dedication (we tend to have them once or twice a year as new babies come in - the moms always want them), it takes quite a few more hours to plan for a special day like that.

BZ: What are the girls like?

Animated. Curious. Bored. Quiet. Talkative. Sad. Happy. Brave. Insightful. Hard to control at times. Eager to participate other times. They're teenagers - and if they're pregnant or just had a baby . . . whew! you can imagine the roller coaster ride we go on each week :) But we like roller coasters, so we always get back in line for more :)

BZ: What would be a situation where you felt you made a real difference in someone's life?

I like to take photos of the girls and then give them copies. There's a church member who comes a few times a year and gives the girls endless amounts of scrapbooking supplies so we'll sit and make memory albums for the 2 hrs we're together. Many times I've noticed that the majority of the pictures that the girls are scrapbooking are the ones I've given them. Some of the girls have even said that the only photos they have of their pregnancy or their babies are the ones they got from us. That's something so basic that we take for granted. If I can give that to them I'll keep coming back. It's not something they've ever taken advantage of. They're truly grateful and thankful for their photos.

BZ: Do you know what the financial investment made by the church has been for this ministry?

We usually have a small budget that varies from year to year depending on how the church budget is doing. This is the first year that we've been interested in putting a number amount on what it takes to run us. We're tracking expenses so we'll see where we end up. We (the volunteers) have always just paid for what we needed out of our own pocket and then claimed it as a deduction when it came to tax time since it's for a church ministry. We're blessed to have volunteers that are willing to do that.

BZ: Are there more needs that haven't been met?

Well, there are always dreams of bigger thing we would like to do that require more money, like have a retreat for the girls in the mountains with a ROPES course and trained counselors. They have their therapists they see each week, but it's different when you're working with each other and view yourself as part of a team.

BZ: I would imagine your biggest "expense" is man hours, and personal time. How do you inspire others to give of themselves for your ministry?

My main goal is to just get the word out there that we can always use more help. Once a volunteer comes, she usually sticks around for a long time or leaves quickly. It's either something for you or its not. You really need to have an internal drive to put that much of your time, energy, and emotion into these girls. That said, the girls we work with are our inspiration.

That said, I do try to organize a volunteer training meeting once every three months or so. We'll have one of the pastor's come and have worship with us and then invite a special guest speaker to come provide some helpful tips to our volunteers on how to work with the girls.

None of the volunteers are trained in working with at risk youth, or even in tutoring. They just come because they have a heart to help. So we've had an adolescent psych nurse specialist come in and talk about therapeutic relationships and give pointers on boundary setting. Our last guest was a school teacher for the pediatric inpatients at LLU Children's Hospital. She gave us really good pointers on how to set realistic goals for our work with the girls and gave us tricks on how to help the girls learn without making it feel like an extension of school. The volunteers that attend have always left inspired and motivated.

BZ: Tell me a favorite story. Something that keeps you coming back for more, in spite of the difficulties.

One of the 16 year old girls had been with us for half a year or so. Her baby girl was around 5 months. Several of us volunteers noticed that the baby had a really flat affect and never smiled, even if we cooed and played with her. I asked the house staff if the mom (the 16 yr old) ever played with her at home or just held her and baby talked, etc. The answer was no :( So I asked the staff to show the mom how to play with her, to interact with her, make eye contact, etc. The bonding basics. I didn't blame the 16 yr old - she likely didn't get much of it herself - so she was just doing what she knew how - feed the baby and keep it clean. We came back the next week and the girls raised her hand to say her blessing for the week. My eyes well up with tears when I heard what she said. "I'm thankful that the staff is showing me how to play with my baby." Her little girl is close to a year now and is quite lively and full of smiles :)

BZ: What's your favorite thing to do in your "free time"?

Free time?!? I make time to play with my puppy every day - she helps me relax.  Gardening is turning into a new hobby - although my thumb still has a ways to go before it turns green.   Otherwise, I love to read, get out to the beach, go camping/backpacking, or go to plays and musicals.  I enjoy foreign films also.

BZ: Thanks so much for your time. We hope to see you around here often, posting about what's going on at Macedonian Ministry, and giving us some ideas and inspiration that we can incorporate into our own communities!

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