Missions, At Home & Away

ELMIRA, ONTARIO - For many International Teams staff members, the question of whether to serve at home or abroad is a complicated one.

Marcee Groen, an IT Canada staff member, spent several years serving in Bolivia and is currently investigating the possibility of establishing an International Teams program there, or the possibility of returning there herself. Marcee spent four years working at a girls' home in Santa Cruz before returning home in 2009. She says her main focus during her time in Bolivia was to provide pastoral support, mentoring, and accountability for the girls in the home, most of them abused and abandoned and ranging in age from 2-20 years old.

Many of them were behind in their schooling and suffered from behavioural issues in addition to the complicated issues of their sexual identities and the social stigma that surrounded their lives. Marc?e tells the story of one young woman with whom she had what she called a love-hate relationship, saying 'She wanted me to be her mom, to fill that role in her life, but she would frequently mouth off or throw things and tell me she hated me. I had to learn how to show the love of Christ to someone who was so distorted in her own view of herself.'

Marcee returned to Canada and became IT's Co-Director of International Programs in 2009, where she is responsible for providing accountability and support to IT's partners in countries like Sudan, Romania, Rwanda, Ecuador, and others. She became the female supervisor of the Welcome Home refugee house in early 2010, where she lives and focuses on both the practical side of running the house as well as offering support and evangelism to the refugees who live there, hearing their stories bit by bit and looking for opportunities to talk with them about Christ.

She loves her work in Canada but still misses the girls she worked with, and is returning to Santa Cruz for a 5-week trip this spring to investigate the possibility of a new partnership with International Teams. 'I still feel a high sense of responsibility to the girls I worked with. Even though this is not an IT project anymore, they've given me the freedom to wrap up what I started. I'm really hoping to figure out if I still have a place in Bolivia, and mostly to figure out if we can start a new international program there.'

In the meantime, Marcee says she keeps imagining her reunion with them. 'I keep imagining walking in and seeing the girls for the first time in eight months, reuniting with them and reconnecting with them ... I'm really looking forward to being back in the sounds and smells of Bolivia, and finally speaking Spanish again!'