Genafine Bartoo ’21
Good Neighbor Team Specialist, World Relief
I joined the M.A. in HDL program having interned with refugee and anti-human trafficking organizations. I felt like biblical grounding on what it means to serve people living in vulnerable situations well. The HDL program helped me to see that the main identity of the people we serve are people made in God’s image and likeness and not just ‘refugees’, ‘victims’ or ‘survivors’. Knowing this shifted my perspective, worldview and increased my love of the people we are serving. HDL imparted the value of serving in humility and seeing the people we serve as the expert of their own stories. We basically enter people’s life in humility, with a listening and understanding posture. As I serve with World Relief, in partnership with Local Churches, we welcome and walk alongside our newest neighbors, and we train and equip our church- based volunteers to serve well, love well and desire mutual transformation.
If you want to learn more about the humanitarian world and see it from a biblical perspective, HDL program is your best choice. If you want to grow in intentional community and process what you have experienced in the fields and invite others to pray and support you, HDL community could just be the right place for you. If you desire cross-cultural experiences in a class setting and outside the class, you will find that in the HDL community.