NEXT Intern Makes Global Connections
Young adults today, sometimes called Gen Z, are truly a global generation. “Younger generations today often share more in common with young people from different backgrounds than they do with older adults in their own families or cultures,” Jolene Erlacher and Katy White observe in their book “Mobilizing Gen Z.”
NEXT is a Global Partners internship, providing young adults the opportunity to rub shoulders with ministry teams serving at eleven unique sites around the globe. Interns serve from two to four months, immersed in another culture. They gain experiences to increase their self-awareness and bring clarity to what God might have for them.
Three interns are currently serving in the Czech Republic. Pablo Sicilia, 22, is from Senda de Vida, a Wesleyan Church in Mexico City. Pablo took the semester off from his university studies in genomic science to grow, “and NEXT is the best way to do that.” He continued, “NEXT is a way for me to prepare for the next steps God has for my life.”
“The Czech Republic is suited to prepare me for the scientific mindset,” Pablo said “I’ll be working with people like this the rest of my life.” Pablo already has had a specific conversation about genetics with a man from an English Conversation Club at Majak, the ministry center in Brno, Czech Republic. This conversation led to an even deeper conversation about life.
NEXT offers scholarship opportunities for all interns. In fact, we have awarded more than $40,000 in scholarships over the past four years. The “Everywhere to Everywhere Scholarship” is specifically awarded to interns who have passports from outside North America. This scholarship is double the amount given to those from the U.S. and Canada to make NEXT internships more accessible to those who might otherwise struggle financially to reach their goal.
“Pablo is opening up a lot of new good conversations,” reported Sabrina Hadsell, Czech NEXT Site Leader. What a joy for a Mexican to link arms with American peers and to serve alongside missionaries in one of the most atheistic countries in the world. Global connections are being made!