FT. LAUDERDALE — Being called to serve as a missionary used to mean going to another country to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with native people. For Katy Robinson, 23, becoming a missionary meant traveling from Savannah, Ga., to Christ Church United Methodist here to work among the homeless people of Broward County.

Robinson is a US-2, a young adult missionary assigned to a leadership development ministry within the United States for two years. She was one of 15 young adults between the ages of 20 and 30 commissioned by the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) last August. She is serving as director of children’s ministries at The Shepherd’s Way homeless shelter for families, a ministry of Christ Church.

Robinson works with a team of volunteers three nights each week providing a meal and activities for children at the shelter, while their parents attend life skills training. On Friday nights, she assists with the Confident Kids class that teaches the children life skills and Bible lessons and helps build their self-esteem. She helps with Bible study and group activities during the Jesus Rocks program on Sunday nights.

Robinson also works with the Broward County School Board’s Homeless Education Program to make sure children living at The Shepherd’s Way receive the services they need from the schools, including bus service.

While much of her time is spent teaching children, Robinson said she is learning from the families. "…things aren’t as easy to figure out as the general public likes to think," she said. "You can’t stereotype people and situations. You can’t just say, ‘They’re homeless because…’ There’s always an individual story. It’s not so easy to figure out, and it’s not so easy to fix."

From Micheal Elliot’s book "Why the Homeless Don’t Have Homes and What to Do About It" Robinson learned that the average homeless person in the United States is a child. "There’s a new face to homeless today," she said. "It’s not the same problem it used to be."

Robinson got her first exposure to mission work through service projects with her church youth group and her own spiritual development.

She became a US-2 after graduating from Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. "I was a religion major in college, but I didn’t want to go to divinity school," she said. "I wanted to do some service work, but I didn’t know what. I wanted to work in the church, but I didn’t know how."

Her pastor told her about the US-2 program.

Robinson said she is enjoying her work, especially when it has a positive effect on a child. "The rewarding moments are when I see a change in a troubled or difficult kid," she said. "Their spirits change and you can see them become comfortable and relaxed. They run up to you and give you a hug, and they know they’re in a safe environment."

The US-2 Program offers opportunities to develop leadership skills while participating in diverse ministries throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Participants serve in their ministries for two years and attend three weeks of orientation and training at the beginning of their term, a five-day event at midterm and three days of debriefing at the end of the program.

For more information, contact GBGM’s Aaron Shipman, executive secretary of youth and young adults and mission personnel, at 212-870-3660 or ashipman@gbgm-umc.org,  or visit the Web site at http://gbgm-umc.org/yya/us2pro.html.