A lifelong peacemaker
The skills you develop and the activities you spend time on can not only create peace now, but can prepare you to be a more effective peacemaker later on. For instance:
- Learn a new language-it's easiest before you turn 20. When choosing which language to learn, consider where there are conflicts in the world.
- Volunteer for a peace group. The work doesn't end-websites to update, envelopes to stuff, phones to answer, signs to design, cookies to bake.
- Read the Bible and books link to Anne's youth book pages to help you better understand Christian peacemaking. Read these articles on peacemaking for a start and see this list of Bible verses about peace. Develop your relationship with God. Learn to center yourself through prayer, to lead worship and to fast.
- Learn about your conflict style, how to be a good listener and how to manage yourself when you are angry. Then learn about mediation.
- Live simply so you can share your income and so you use fewer of the earth's precious resources, given us by our creating God. link to new article on simple living Huge school debts sometimes prevent young people from taking lower-paying jobs for peace groups or doing voluntary service.
- Hang out with peacemakers. Go to peace meetings. Read Christian Peacemaker Teams news releases. Study nonviolence.
- Become a global citizen by having as many cross-cultural experiences as you can. Learn to see the United States through the eyes of the rest of the world by reading their newspapers on the web.
- Donate money to a peace group. Really! If you are a typical teenager, you have more money to spend than many families in the world. Check out the Global Rich List to see exactly how wealthy you are. Peace groups never have enough money to do their vital work.
