Since January 2016, Christian E. Ruehling has been serving as a volunteer missioner for VIDES+USA, a volunteer missioner organization that is dedicated to education and development for youth and women in situations of poverty, marginalization, or difficulty, both in the Untied States and worldwide. His missionary travels have taken him through Ethiopia, Rome and Geneva. Prior to deciding to pick up the volunteerism mantle, Christian worked 10 years in the private sector, where he specialized on due diligence, anti-corruption and anti-money-laundering issues for major corporations.
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Final thoughts one year later
Notes from the Field - Most people would agree that time flies. But for me, it did not. My year of service was slow. The year never seemed to end, but I appreciated that I had more time to enjoy the year and to do the work that I set out to accomplish.
Seeing the United Nations at work
Notes from the Field: After spending five and a half months teaching English to young adults at a technical/vocational school in Dilla, Ethiopia, it was time to make the trip north to Geneva to begin the second part of my volunteer mission.
From Ethiopia to Switzerland: one journey ends, another begins
Notes from the Field - I concluded my mission as an English teacher in Dilla, Ethiopia. While it would have been nice to return for the fall semester, it was time for me to continue my year of volunteer service with the Salesians elsewhere, at their human rights office in Geneva, Switzerland.
The ecclesial life in Dilla and a special Easter triduum
Notes from the Field - The community of Dilla, Ethiopia, and its Mass celebrations at Mary Help of Christians Church, helped me understand what it truly means to celebrate the passion and death of the Lord.