I was in sixth grade, during the first Gulf War, when I decided that peacemaking was going to be a priority for me. I couldn’t stand seeing the images of entire neighborhoods blown apart and the enthusiasm of some of my classmates who watched and cheered the destruction. Since then, I’ve been trying to work for peace in any way I can.

I have served as a human rights worker in Israel, Palestine, and Iraq for over three years. My activism has also taken me to Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, the U.S.-Mexico border, and jail. It has also brought me back to my hometown, my church, my college, and my seminary in ways I never expected.

I have learned that peacemaking takes place everywhere, in all different circumstances, in ways large and small. You don't have to move to the Middle East to do peacemaking work. If you’ve ever wanted to do something to change the world but didn’t know where to start, here are my thoughts on becoming a peace advocate, as shaped by my experiences.

	Le Anne Clausen participated in a march at the U.S. /Mexico border. Crosses were used to remember all those who have died crossing the desert that year in search of work in the United States.

1. Be a follower.
A decade ago at Wartburg College, my classmates and I attended an intensive urban ministry course in New York City. When we returned, several friends revived the defunct Students for Peace and Justice group on campus. I didn’t join right away; I was skeptical and wanted to see if they were going to be an active and effective organization. When I saw how well they worked to get our college’s nondiscrimination policy to include LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, & Questioning) persons, I knew this was a group I could support. After that, we organized a Martin Luther King Jr. Day teach-in to discuss race issues and faith perspectives. We invited Iraqi artists to campus to showcase their work and talk about their experiences of war.

I soon realized I had found a community that cared about issues that were important to me, too. By joining this group, I learned the impact that a few individuals could have to bring about change in a larger community.

2. Or strike out on your own.
During college I planned to participate in the ELCA’s Young Adult Global Mission program after graduation. But then two of the countries I applied for fell into armed conflict, canceling our potential placements. A third considered me too young and unqualified. I was devastated. But then I found a grassroots Palestinian women’s organization that needed an English-speaking volunteer office assistant. That opportunity led me to work with a Palestinian-Israeli peace group. Later I participated in Christian Peacemaker Teams. Before I knew it, I was living in the Middle East for four years.

I learned that you don’t have to know all the answers when you start out. You just have to have faith, be open, and trust that opportunities will come.

3. Bloom where you’re planted.
After four years in war zones, I realized that if I could have an impact on the peace process in faraway places, I could apply what I had learned in my home country and community.

In Chicago I coordinate the Center for Faith and Peacemaking, an interfaith grassroots organization that connects seminary students with opportunities to serve as volunteers and social justice advocates. In time, we hope to launch interfaith peace teams that would bring teams of people skilled in human rights and interfaith dialogue to places of inter-religious violence in the world.

4. Or buy that plane ticket.
“Bloom where you’re planted” might be used as a reason not to go overseas, but the Bible is full of stories of God calling people to far places to do God’s work. The stories of Abraham, Moses, Ruth and Naomi, and Mary and Joseph are all good examples.

Being a good visitor when working overseas means being well prepared. Learn the culture and political system and some of the local language. Go with a humble spirit and the desire to build lasting relationships with others. If we go expecting to teach as well as to be taught, we can do a lot of good.  (continued on next page)

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