NEW ROCHELLE, NY (October 11, 2011) – Salesian Missions has announced that fourteen volunteers have been commissioned for mission work as part of their Salesian Lay Missioners program. Thirteen of the volunteers will serve in missions overseas while one will serve as a Salesian Domestic Volunteer at Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School in Takoma Park, Maryland.

Salesian lay missioners go above and beyond the typical volunteer assignment. While volunteering their time, they give up the comforts of home to live and work among the impoverished, often sacrificing years of their lives.

"We live with the people and are part of the communities we serve," says Adam Rudin, director of the program. "We are with them day and night, sharing meals and stories. As they learn from us, we, in turn, learn from them." He adds that all volunteers have conversational knowledge of the language spoken in the community. "A sense of humor and a spirit of sacrifice are also essential," he adds.

The volunteers' acts of service start long before their feet touch ground at their new placements. Lay missioner training involves four weeks of orientation that consists of psychological testing, cultural cross-training and conflict management –along with other essential skills necessary for being a successful volunteer in remote villages.

"Our training goes beyond the typical – preparing for culture shock – and instead prepares volunteers for the possibility of being the only outsider the local people have seen. Not to mention the potential personal emotions that go along with that," says Rudin. "Volunteers spend an entire week of the orientation learning what it means to live and work as a Salesian missionary among the people they are there to help."

This most recent group of volunteers includes eleven women and three men who come from all walks of life and range in age from early 20s to 50s. They come from communities in California, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia.

Overseas volunteers will serve in Bolivia, Cambodia, Ethiopia, and the Far East. Their work will include teaching English and other skills in Salesian schools, caring for orphans, engaging in community outreach, and helping in a local parish. Their work has a profound effect on the people and communities they serve, but also on the volunteers themselves.

"The experience has a tremendous effect on the people who volunteer," says Rudin. "One wonderful aspect is that the experience is different for every lay missioner that serves; however, there are some common themes such as learning to appreciate what we have here in the States and learning the beauties and complexities of other cultures." Rudin adds that the experience is enhanced "by the absence of noise that invades our lives such as cell phones, the internet, radio and television—the experience is extremely personal and life-transforming."

ABOUT SALESIAN MISSIONS:
Salesian Missions is headquartered in New Rochelle, NY. The mission of the U.S.-based nonprofit Catholic organization is to raise funds for its international programs that serve youth and families in poor communities around the globe. The Salesian missionaries are made up of priests, brothers and sisters, as well as laypeople – all dedicated to caring for poor children throughout the world in more than 130 countries, helping young people become self-sufficient by learning a trade that will help them gain employment. To date, more than 3 million youth have received services funded by Salesian Missions. These services and programs are provided to children regardless of race or religion. To date, more than 5 million Americans have contributed financially to this work. For more information on the Salesian Lay Missioners, go to SalesianLayMissioners.org.