Next Stop: Kenya

By Tina Olsen

At first glance, there’s nothing terribly remarkable about this scene: eight people are gathered for lunch around a table in a church hall in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. They pour water for each other from a pitcher, pass salad dressing, and chat and share stories and some laughs while they eat. The scene begins to take on more meaning as the onlooker realizes that, while six of the people dining are mostly older residents of the surrounding neighborhood, the two others are teens from Norfolk.

Once a year, scenes like the one described above unfold during mission trips offered through Norfolk’s Church of Christ. According to Pastor Erick Olsen, these trips provide an annual opportunity for young people as well as adult leaders to live their faith by serving others and building relationships. The groups, also referred to as work camps, started more than 10 years ago with a handful of participants, and have blossomed to the point where recent years have had as many as 37. Destinations – with the number of participants in parentheses – have included Washington DC (37), New York City (20), Appalachia (30), twice to Boston (27, then 20), mid-state New York (35), North Carolina (about 20), and twice to Philadelphia (26, then 28).

Pastor Olsen said that he regularly hears that these experiences have changed the lives of youth as well as adults. He explained that much of the value of the trips comes from providing young people who come from a relatively isolated, homogenous community the opportunity to encounter people and places that they would otherwise not likely see. Removing young people from the expectations and routines of life here in Norfolk also allows them to discover more fully who they are both as individuals and in community. “What excites me most and keeps me energized for these mission trips,” he said, “is the fact that I am privileged to watch these young people live what they believe by sharing the love of God with others, all while having a blast.” He added, “Of course they grow closer as a group, but they also meet people about whom it is terribly easy to make assumptions, and they learn quickly that these people are human beings with stories, fears, hopes and needs just like themselves. Often, the key to opening up such a connection is as simple as a PB&J sandwich offered with love. It’s beautiful!”

“When we were in Philadelphia, we spent most of our time working in North Philly, which is a tough area,” he said. “We walked past a huge crowd of folks clearly waiting for food or clothing to be handed out. I shepherded the kids past this mob so that we could get safely and quickly to where we needed to be. Shortly after we arrived at our destination and settled into our next project, one of the youth noticed that we had a big bag of PB&J sandwiches that had gone uneaten through lunch. He proposed that we take these sandwiches back outside, walk back down the block, and offer to give them to the folks waiting in line. Think about that – a teenager inspired to approach a huge group of total strangers in the midst of an unknown city to share the simplest gift – that’s faith alive!”

In addition to youth trips, Church of Christ has offered a number of mission trips for adults. These trips have been smaller but no less powerful, and service sites have included Biloxi in 2006, New Orleans in 2008, and Boston in 2012 and 2013. Pastor Olsen shared his sense that these trips feature a different dynamic for participants, one that allows more space and time for immersion and personal reflection in addition to the group-building aspects inherent in all Mission Trips.

Now, the Church is planning its most ambitious work camp yet, to Kenya. “I am delighted to share that we have decided as a congregation with the leadership of our Missions Committee and especially through the inspired vision of Lynn and Tim Deasy, to offer a mission trip to Africa,” said Pastor Olsen. SOTENI is a non-profit international organization formed in 2002 to provide resources and support to Kenyan children who are especially vulnerable to AIDS. SOTENI draws on the creativity, collaboration, and enthusiasm of Kenyans spanning tribal and cultural lines to empower communities to break the cycle of AIDS.

Lynn Deasy, one of the founding board members of this organization, has connected SOTENI to the Norfolk Church of Christ in a variety of ways over the past 10 years. To begin with, annually the congregation gives generously to support various programs and projects sponsored by SOTENI in each of the four Kenyan Villages of Hope. Lynn’s nephews, Chris and Mo Davidson, had an opportunity (at separate times) to spend six weeks living with a Kenyan family and volunteering their time working in the villages. When they returned from Kenya, they shared their stories and photos during special presentations at the church. “As we know, pictures can often say much more than words, and with each Kenyan child’s face, the congregation became more connected to SOTENI’s work,” said Pastor Olsen. “As the mission work of the church has strengthened and grown, we have maintained a vision of reaching beyond our national borders and offering an international experience.”

And now the time has come! In July 2014, the church is sending a group of eight Norfolkians to Kenya for 2 weeks. Adults and young adults, the youngest of the travelers will be 17. Their mission trip will include working with AIDS orphans in one of the four Villages of Hope, teaching AIDS prevention to primary school children, working at the dispensary (health clinic), assisting the community to enhance any income generating activity that they may be working on, and a variety of other activities. The Kenyan lives that will be forever touched by this mission trip will be many. The lives of those who are going on this work camp from Norfolk will be equally touched in ways that cannot be described.

Of course, this first international work camp will be expensive (about $3,500 per person), and the church and participants are working hard to raise the needed funds. Recently, the Norfolk Connecticut Children’s Foundation pledged much-needed support to pay part of the costs for the Norfolk youth participants, and the group is hoping to find matching grants to defray the costs for the adults as well.

All are invited to attend a dinner and slideshow beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Friday October 11 in celebration of this past summer’s mission trip to Boston. The dinner is free for those who purchased shares in support of the trip, but all others are welcomed and encouraged to bring a donation toward future trips. All planning to attend are asked to RSVP to the church office, 542-5721, by October 7.