I am Angel Collie. I wear many hats and enjoy many things. I am just a simple guy with a passion for Jesus and Justice. I’m on staff with MCC as a Program Assistant and Co-Lead of their Transgender Resource Team. I am also a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill majoring in Religious Studies with a minor in Sexuality Studies. I have been on the Soulforce Equality Ride across the United States, twice, visiting Colleges and Universities who discriminate against LGBTQ people. During my free time I enjoys going to church, getting inked, and doing social justice... all in the same day if possible. My passions really are Jesus, Justice, and Activism. I love MCC and the opportunity I have to serve the denomination and the trans community. I think three unique things about me are that my favorite animal is camel, I love country music even though I do not look like your typical country music fan, and I spent spring break in Kyrgyzstan! For fun I usually go to UNC athletic events, get tattooed, and watch FRIENDS- I am addicted to that show and have every season on DVD!
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1. Honestly, what are the top three reasons you signed up for this trip?
I signed up for this trip for quite a few of them. First off, having an opportunity to continue the work we began last year. I hope to see familiar faces and spend time with them. I hope to experience this journey with the other participants from MCC and foster lasting connections that will contribute to creating a strong vibrant future generation of MCC leaders. I also hope to meet and work with the transgender community of MCC Santo Domingo. In addition, I would like to learn more Spanish.
2. How do you want to change and grow through your mission trip? What would you like for God to accomplish in you?
I want to push myself to step further outside of my own comfort zone and open up to being truly vulnerable. I want to be a light and vessel that brings love of God to the Dominican. I hope to be close with the other youth and young adults embarking on this journey and make lasting connections but specifically to support and empower one another through this experience.
3. How do you want to help the people in the DR – and show off God’s greatness? What do you expect God to do through you on this trip?
Having been on the mission trip last summer I know that the journey promises to be a life changing encounter for all involved. Being in the Dominican Republic forced me to step outside of my daily life and be able to understand how privileged we really are. I know there had been times I didn’t want to eat because I didn’t like the food or didn’t want to wear certain clothes or shoes but after being in the Dominican it is eye opening to know many people are thankful to just have food, clothes, or shoes at all.
Being there it took time to really see and understand what was going on. At first, I thought it was a tight knit community and it took paying attention to realize that when bottles of water disappeared while working that the children were taking them because they were thirsty and desperately wanted clean water. It’s hard to see something so essential to survival as a luxury in comparison to our wasteful society. It took a while to notice that the street children were salvaging our leftover food out of the trash can and that it may be the only food they get that night. It makes you think when you live in a “All You Can Eat Buffet” America in which we fill our plates with more food than we could ever eat in one sitting and throw away. For the first time it put a face and a smile and a Child to the cliché phrase I always ignored from my Mom when I would throw away leftover, “there are starving kids who would love to have the food you are wasting.” It’s like you know it exist but until you truly experience it and feel it then it’s hard to truly understand.
God opened our eyes last year and created a desire to want to serve God through taking care of God’s children who are not able to take care of themselves. God did amazing things many times. Over and over language barriers were transcended by love and human connection. The smiles, joy, and love on the faces of the children and the effect of a simple hug. I couldn’t communicate with many people last year because of my lack of Spanish knowledge but it just didn’t matter. We still made connections and deeply touched one another.
I think the most touching thing last year was when some of the children begin to wear stickers at places I had piercings and begin calling the stickers Tattoos. :) It touched my heart and is something I will hold for the rest of my life. Having began this ministry and having the opportunity to go back I know many things like this and more will happen as God works within all of us to simply love God’s people. I want to bring smiles to their faces, be there to give them hugs and joy, and make a difference in their lives so when we leave they have experienced the love of God. I hope to have the opportunity to work with MCC Santo Domingo and the rising trans community there so that they too know that they are a gift from God, and loved fully as their true selves without reservation.
