As Sarah McKay (Advance #3021517) nears the end of her two years as a Young Adult Missionary, she is excited about the work she is doing and the future. Commissioned as a US-2 missionary in 2012, after her graduation from Appalachian State, Sarah was assigned to the Wesley Foundation at Florida International University and Miami-Dade College (FIU-MDC) and serves as the Campus and Community Liaison for Missions and Social Justice.
Young Adult Missionary Sarah McKay with Haitian Child
Sarah, who hails from Apex, NC, oversees the Wesley Foundation “Change the World” Micro-Grant Program, coordinates the annual Freedom Campaign to create awareness of local and global human trafficking, encourages on-campus advocacy and awareness of social justice issues for students, and coordinates the Wesley Foundation mission to Haiti.
When her missionary service ends in July 2014, Sarah plans to attend seminary at either Iliff School of Theology or Wesley Theological Seminary, two UMC schools with strong social justice programs.
“I am thrilled about the idea of partnering a theological education with a strong focus on social change because that is where my passions lie. I want to be working with social justice on throughout my life.”
March will be a busy month, as the FIU-MDC will hold its third annual Freedom Campaign to raise awareness and educate students about human trafficking locally and globally. Sarah was honored to speak last fall at What’s Next in St. Louis about how the Freedom Campaign is an example of the incredible outcomes of what student care and concern can foster and how it encourages them to explore potential results of their care and concern for justice, people, and issues that are present in the world today.
Also in March, Sarah will be co-leading a team of FIU-MDC Wesley Foundation students to Cange, Haiti. This will be the fourth time FIU-MDC Wesley students have visited Cange, to partner with the people in Cange and strengthen on-going relationships. Sarah writes, “We are simply coming along as guests and as friends to be of service in the positive change that they are already enacting.”
To learn more about mission and service opportunities for young adults (age 20-30), visit the Global Mission Fellows web page.