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Volunteers often benefit as much from mission trips as the villages and people they visit
Wednesday, October 10, 2001 By Kathleen Ganster
Dozens of north suburban residents have visited foreign lands during the last few months, but they weren't taking exotic vacations.
Instead of relaxing, they were working as members of mission trips sponsored by local churches. And although they traveled to faraway places to help, many found that they benefited from the experience as much as the people they were sent to serve.
"It was a lot different than life around here in Pittsburgh," said Stan Fink, 15, who was among 27 high school students and adult chaperones from Christ Church at Grove Farm in Ohio Township who visited an area near Cancun, Mexico. "It was a really good experience -- truly unique. I don't think I could have gotten it somewhere else."
Fink, a sophomore at Avonworth High School, lives in Ben Avon and had never before traveled outside the United States.
His mother, Susan, said the impact the trip had on her son was visible.
"To see your child change so much is amazing," she said. "It was good for him to see another part of the world. When I asked him what he wanted for the new school year, he said he didn't really need anything."
The group primarily conducted street evangelism, but mission members also helped a young minister build an addition onto his one-room home and visited an orphanage.
"We would do skits and play music in the streets to attract attention, then we would also have personal testimony," said Erica Chevalier of Sewickley, who served as a chaperone along with her husband, Keith.
Fink took his keyboard with him and played during the skits and musical pieces.
"We would draw attention to our group -- it drew a lot of curiosity," he said. He also helped with the manual labor. "We cleared a piece of property and helped build a concrete, two-room building. Any extra money we had went for blocks for the kitchen," he said.
Erica Chevalier said every mission member filled one of the two suitcases each was allowed to bring with toiletry items to give to residents of the area.
"We had collected items like toothbrushes and toothpaste. We also had some toys and clothing from World Vision," a Christian humanitarian organization, she said.
The group stayed at a mission hotel and planned the trip for months. "I think we decided in March and contacted the organization that runs the mission program. It cost each person $820, so we had car washes, bake sales and a 'Wanted for Service' activity where the students would be rented out to help with various tasks at someone's house," she said.
Damon "D.J." Claus, 18, of Hampton, made his first mission trip out of the county as part of a group that traveled to Nicaragua in June. He was moved by the spirit of the Nicaraguan people.
"It was an eye-opening experience," Claus said. "There were often five people living in a room that is as big as our bathrooms. The children would come and see us everyday, and I can say I never saw an unhappy child."
Claus made the 10-day trip with Tom Spring, his pastor at North Hills Community Baptist Church in McCandless, and 10 other residents from the area.
Even though he has been on mission trips before, Spring, too, was moved by the Nicaraguan people.
"Like everybody says on a mission trip -- it is definitely an eye-opener," said Spring, of Hampton. "But what struck us was the depth of their faith. Even though it seems they have so little, they are very demonstrative of their faith. They said to us, 'We will keep you in our prayers until you die.' "
The group helped build a new clinic. .
The health clinics are very much needed, said Spring, adding that the clinics have been instrumental in reducing the infant mortality rate there. "We also helped them with their crops and [with teaching] a vacation Bible school."
Claus, a senior at Hampton High School, said, "This was my first mission trip out of the country. Pastor Tim and I worked in the fields almost everyday and it was very manual labor. There are no John Deere tractors there. The tools are all handmade."
The Pittsburgh Baptist Association sponsored the trip, but each participant paid the $1,100 cost.
Kathy Csellar's trip to Africa was more of an educational mission than the others. Csellar, of Richland, is president of the Episcopal Church Women of the Pittsburgh Diocese. She traveled to the village of Ruhengeri , Rwanda.
"Last spring, the Pittsburgh Diocese paid for five Africans to come here and see our churches," she said. "Three of us went in August to see their people and visit the Diocese of Shyira."
Csellar's trip included a visit to the site of a mass killing in Rwanda, which has been torn by conflict between ethnic groups.
"They had 800,000 killed in 100 days there," Csellar said. "It is a place of great transformation. The bishop said that his people 'Know what it is like to have forgotten God.' He is overseeing the transformation center, where they are trying to help transform the people physically and spiritually. They are learning about agriculture along with Jesus."
Part of her mission trip included delivering jewelry from local women to women in Rwanda.
"We had a prayer partner program where women here would pray for one of their women," she said. "I took over small jewelry items and pictures from 25 here. One woman sent a pin that her grandmother gave her because she wanted to send something special."
Kathleen Ganster is a free-lance writer.
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