Travis Taflinger
Bio:
- Hometown: Kokomo, IN
- Served: Chicago, IL 2001-2002
- Did Mission Year: In the Middle of College
- Where They Are Now: Indianapolis, IN
What made you decide to do Mission Year-what was the draw for you?
When I was a sophomore at Anderson University, our Chapel speaker for the “Impact Your World Week” was Bart Campolo. Bart encouraged us to love God and others, particularly those who I had never known how to love in practical or tangible ways (i.e. the poor and oppressed).
Describe the types of service and outreach your were involved with during your Mission Year.
In the mornings, I was a second grade teacher's assistant at the school across the street. In the afternoon, I volunteered at an after-school Christian organization that prepared high school students for college (tutoring, discipleship, and mentoring). Thankfully, I also got to work with the youth group at my church (Lawndale Community Church) and with the youth group of another church (La Villita) a few blocks away. Other outreach opportunities included spending lots of time with my neighbors, hanging out at a Catholic community center, and tutoring 7th and 8th graders on Saturdays.
How are you different from having lived for a year in the city?
I could easily write several pages on how MY changed the way I live my life. Obviously, the city taught me about poverty, social injustice, racial reconciliation, simplicity, economics, and how Christianity looks in the city. What I learned could never be learned from reading a book or watching a television show; it had to be learned through experience. The city changed the way I viewed the poor, money, minorities, community living, health care, education, law enforcement, and many other related issues. But the craziest thing about the city and Mission Year was that it brought me closer to God by showing me things I can still do in my home town, at school, or anywhere God chooses to put me.
How has your Mission Year experience affected your future plans and goals?
Before Mission Year I had majored in Athletic Training/Sports Medicine. One day during my Mission Year, as my teammates and I discussed education, I found out that the school across the street had a first grade class that had gone through three different teachers in the first semester because they were so bad. Eventually, they decided to divide up the class, putting the good students with another teacher and bringing in a parent with no teaching credentials to “baby-sit” the bad students, whom the school had labeled “Untouchables.” That next week I started volunteering at the school to try to help out those kids; but it turned out that those kids helped me. As God worked in my life, the experiences with those second graders helped me to realize that I wanted to help educate and love children that rarely get to experience justice. When I returned to Anderson University I changed my major to elementary education in hopes of one day educating, loving, and ministering to children who seldom get to experience that.
What did you learn about God during your year? What did you learn about yourself?
My life up to Mission Year was fairly easy and comfortable. I really had no idea that this kind of world existed this close to my small little town. God taught me that suffering, serving, being simple, helping the poor, seeking justice, and living in a community would bring more joy and fulfillment to my life than any other endeavor I could ever pursue on my own. I learned that I have a significant role to play in this life (even if it may be small or unnoticeable), and that through listening and obedience to God I could learn how to love Him and everyone else around me.
Can you give some words of wisdom to potential team members?
It is extremely hard to get away from this world, think on your own, be challenged, learn, live in a community of believers, serve all day, and grow mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, all in one place. But a year with MY in the city can change, mold, sharpen, break, and form you into the person God has called you to be (that is exactly what it did for me). I encourage you to be open to the wonderful opportunities God has put in your life. Mission Year is a great opportunity that puts many things (relationships, careers, lifestyles) into perspective and I encourage you to let God have your life for a year in the city and see what He can do with it.
