Would you like to go meet the neighbors? The gospel calls us to love our neighbor, and we know that means all of God’s children, but it’s difficult to think about people, much less love them, when we know nothing of their lives, their hearts or their history.
A Trip of Perspective is an opportunity to spend eye-opening days with people who may not have material things but, spiritually, are rich people. In spending time together, relationships are born and nurtured. And knowing someone, caring about someone, changes the way we see anything that affects them, from the weather to international policy. On a Trip of Perspective, you will see through new eyes as we make cross-cultural connections between faith and money.
How are our trips different?
A Faith and Money Network Trip of Perspective is different from most faith-based group trips. It’s not a guided group tour, though we do experience the beauty and richness of the local area. It’s not a mission trip; we’re not there to “help” someone. (There is nothing wrong with helping, of course, but that’s not the purpose of our trips.) Our trips are a chance to step away from daily routines, spend a week living with and forming relationships with people in a community here in the US or another country—people who don’t have societal power and privilege but have spiritual riches and richness of solidarity. We get a new perspective on the reality that we are ALL connected and part of the same human family. We form relationships that bridge extreme gaps and discover what piece each of us is called to carry to help heal the gaps.
Personal interviews on Trips of Perspective
To hear more about Faith and Money Network’s unique adventures, download here free, the personal interview with Kim Montroll and Djaloki Dessables, who share fascinating and touching stories from leading Trips of Perspective to Haiti.
Currently scheduled trips
Haiti November 2018 – Contact Mike Little for more details mike@faithandmoneynetwork.org
Faith and Money Network has led Trips of Perspective for more than 30 years to a dozen countries on five continents, but we return again and again to Haiti, deepening our relationships with some of our closest neighbors. On this trip to Haiti, we will meet dedicated, grassroots leaders who are building inspiring, liberating, community-based responses to systemic challenges. Hosted by our Haitian partners Limye Lavi (Light of Life) Foundation, we will learn about Haiti’s culture, its history and policies in relation to the US, and experience solidarity and accompaniment in action.
With a focus on Limye Lavi’s transformative work to end the restavek (child servitude) system, part of our time will be spent in a rural community, living in the homes of Haitian peasants: building relationships; discovering abundance in what looks like scarcity, and seeing long-term solutions by helping us make the connection with our own lives and communities at home. Daily reflection will anchor our experience.
For more information contact: Mike Little mike@faithandmoneynetwork.org
Appalachia, Wise County, VA
Contact Mike Little for dates for 2018 Trip mike@faithandmoneynetwork.org
Why come?
AWARENESS: Witness the devastating effects of mountaintop removal coal mining on Wise County communities of Central Appalachia. Dismantle stereotypes and build relationships with the wonderful people of Wise County.
LIFESTYLES: Make the connection between our energy demands and the earth’s limited resources.
ACTION: Become a part of the solution personally and politically.
We will learn from and be inspired by individuals and groups who are bringing creative solutions to the environmental injustice known as mountaintop removal coal mining. This trip begins by traveling together from Washington, DC, to Wise County, VA. Each day there, we will meet and hear a variety of speakers, visit mountaintop removal sites, and have ample opportunity for dialogue and sharing with local residents themselves.
Virginia doesn’t sound like exotic travel, does it? But we don’t have to go abroad to cultivate our solidarity with people whose lives are different from our own. FMN board member Jim Marsh, Jr., adventured to Wise County, VA, in 2014. Though he’s from neighboring NC, the trip affected even his dreams. Read Jim’s personal story here.
To hear more about Faith and Money Network’s unique adventures, download here for free the personal interview with Kim Montroll and Djaloki Dessables, who share fascinating and touching stories from leading Trips of Perspective to Haiti.