By Brad and Sue Cox, BVS Unit 336
Looking at the pictures of the Brethren Volunteer Service orientation units over recent years, it appears most of them have either an individual or couple who doesn’t quite look like everyone else—that “grandparent” figure who is a good two generations older than the rest of the younger folks.
For BVS Unit 336, that was us.
After we spent our early and mid-life years consumed by careers and raising our family, we found ourselves at the fortunate place in life where we could retire while our minds and bodies were still (mostly) healthy. We had the time and skills to find new ways to offer a positive influence on the world. And we were ready for an adventure.
From our initial arrival at the BVS orientation in fall 2024, it was clear this was going to be fun and rewarding. The young people in our unit proved to be fascinating, smart, and pleasant, with a diversity of backgrounds and talents.
Now that we have served at the World Friendship Center in Hiroshima, Japan, for the first year of our two-year commitment, we have found that orientation prepared us well for interacting with the diverse visitors who come to the WFC from around the world. In addition to hosting visitors, we also get to know many Japanese people in the weekly English classes that we lead and have opportunities to work beside them to remind the world of the importance of peace and nuclear weapon disarmament.
One highlight is the opportunity to assist the aging group of hibakusha (A-bomb survivors), who are eager to tell their experiences during and after the detonation in Hiroshima 80 years ago. They saw first-hand the tragedy of war. They don’t blame the people who dropped the bomb on them; they know that their militarist leaders would have done the same thing if they could have. They blame war itself.
They have dedicated their lives to doing what they can to reduce or eliminate the chance of others experiencing what they did. For us, being able to provide these talks to people young and old, and to speak with them as they comprehend the reality war has dealt to these resilient survivors, is one of the most fulfilling parts of our mission here.
We are the 43rd directors who have come to the WFC. We are fortunate to be able to have these interactions with hibakusha who have an average age over 86. Sometime soon, BVS volunteers to the WFC will not have that chance. But the center and the city of Hiroshima are working hard to ensure that the descendants of the survivors continue telling the story to world travelers searching for understanding of the complex situation the world has put upon itself. We hope the visitors and hard-working members of the WFC have found our service as rewarding for them as it has been for us.