A three-fold program.
PAUL VARO
MARTINSON
(Nov. 9, 1934 - Aug. 19, 2022)
““ Though our funds are limited, our connections for implementing these things are rich and ever growing. The potential is great.””
Born in Xinyang, China to parents Harold and Charlotte who served among the rural Chinese people as teachers and missionaries, Paul built his own life of service. He wanted a future that would give intergenerational meaning and significance to many lives focusing on children and youth.
Paul’s address to the 2010 Jigongshan International Culture and Tourism seminar (Jan. 15, 2010) was a pivotal moment when the CSV mission gained a public audience within China. Paul was invited to speak in the Great Hall of the People, in Tiananmen Square. The large hall was slowly filling to capacity the shuffling sounds of feet finding their places. Overhead, the soft whir of the air conditioning blended with the quiet over a podium, as Paul articulated the early aims what would become China Service Ventures.
“We are developing a high quality children and youth education program with expert training in language. We expect to see youth from the US and Hong Kong as well as other countries come to Jigongshan for a variety of programs and to engage in cultural exchange with Chinese youth. Retreats and gatherings of many kinds involving people throughout Xinyang, China and internationally, are planned for the future.”
All this now sounds as familiar history to me and I see a thread of continuity that leads from Jigong (“Rooster”) Mountain to where we are now more than a decade later.
Chinese Culture. English Language. International Exchange.
There are elements of Paul’s sketch in the work we pursue today, but credit goes to breadth of imagination that has been a groundswell from our volunteers, board members, and Chinese affiliates. We are indebted to Paul and his wife Ida for their years chiseling the rough contours of our earliest programmatic work.
To learn more about Paul Martinson and his life, click here for additional resources.
