Shelby Lingeman

A Reflection on ABIs

My experience with the ABI program has taught me, among many things, how to

implement the results of social analysis. Using tools such as the pastoral circle, alternative break

immersions have taught me about the complex and interwoven network of influence that

operates beneath the surface of any given social issue. Poverty, then, is not an issue that can be

solved by giving people money. Homelessness is about more than just the lack of a home to live

in. Every societal ill that we perceive is borne of, influenced by, and exacerbated by a

multiplicity of factors that are not always salient to the untrained eye. Enter social analysis.

Going beyond the sometimes-problematic mission trip ideals of (at best) sympathy and (at

worst) pity, the ABI program seeks to utilize the time participants spend in an unfamiliar cultural

context with in-depth reflection, hands-on and eyes-open learning, and careful, intentional

listening. We are trained to constantly ask, why? Why does this group of people lack

something that someone else doesnt ever worry about? Why are there legal obstructions to

achieving this particular goal?

With its four pillars of simplicity, deepening faith, doing justice, and building

community, the ABI program seeks to achieve a full immersion in another culture that is deeply

rooted in Jesuit Catholic teaching and reflection while seeking ways to make lasting social

change, all while creating deep and meaningful human connections. All of this happens in a

careful and wobbly balance of the knowledge that we cannot fix people or take their voice

from them, but that we also cannot be silent in situations of injustice. How do we tread lightly in

other cultures without leaving the same way as we came? How do we maintain a lens of analysis

without sacrificing our human empathy? And how do we bring about lasting change?
 Most of the time, were left with more questions than answers. Our hearts get broken and

our minds get tired and angry. Alternative break immersions arent trips that people come home

from feeling warm and fuzzy. But nobody comes home the same. And that is more important

than our comfort. This challenging cycle of seeing an issue, immersing ourselves in the context

in which its happening, analyzing the influences and effects of the issue, and then learning to

become agents of change is one that has stretched me like nothing else. I dont see the world in

the same waynothing is black-and-white and Im still learning to navigate the grey area with

patience. But now I have the tools to dive in and the confidence to know that I dont need to have

all of the answers, I just cant stop looking for them.