CHURCHES BACK FROM MISSIONS

Although the church groups traveled to different parts of the world, they all had one thing in common -- a mission to serve.

Youths and adult church members from Mount Auburn Christian Church, St. Vincent's and St. Mary's Catholic churches and Lynwood Baptist Church recently returned from mission trips to Mexico, Arizona and Tennessee, respectively.

In Mexico

"You don't have to leave the country to do missions," said Cheryl Hill, an adult sponsor for a youth team from Mount Auburn Christian Church. But Hill and 11 other people did leave the country for a week to work with an orphanage mission in Texicoco, Mexico, near Mexico City. The mission, Ninos de Mexico, provides housing and shelter for homeless children in the city.

When the mission first began 30 years ago, staff members literally picked up children off the streets, Hill said, adding that now each child is referred by a state agency.

The children at the orphanage are divided by age groups into houses where they live. House parents supervise daily activities and eat meals with the children who live at either the Agape, Bethel or Genesis House.

Most of the group from the Mount Auburn Christian Church wasn't skilled in construction labor either, but that wasn't even their biggest worry. The group had to buy most of their construction supplies once they arrived in Mexico City.

"We had to go to the open-air market to buy tools, and when we did they were used," Hill said. The markets are like a combination of a state fair and garage sale, she added.

The group did a lot of hard labor and construction at the orphanage complex. Most of the work was done at the Bethel House where groups ripped out flooring and carpet and removed plaster to expose brick work.

"We always do hard labor when we come," Hill said, adding that none of the youths complained about long hours or hard work during the trip. All the construction was done manually since no electric tools were available.

The church supports mission efforts around the world, but has been visiting Ninos de Mexico every second year. One of the children at the mission, Joel Cruz, is sponsored by the youth group at the Mount Auburn Christian Church.

Despite the money sent to support the mission, many of the children and families in the area still live in poverty. The group visited the city almost every day during the trip and saw people living in homes with dirt floors, no electricity or running water. When the electricity and plumbing went out for two days during the week, residents didn't complain. "It wasn't a big deal to them," said one of the participants.

In Arizona

Eating a meal with a Navajo Indian family on the reservation in Tuba City, Ariz., was an honor for a group from St. Vincent's and St. Mary's Catholic churches.

About 40 people from the churches went on the trip.

Since the Navajo people are very reserved and quiet, there was little interaction among the two groups while they worked. But while a small group worked in the yard outside a home, they were able to share some laughter and games with the family.

Although the people who lived at the home had no electricity or running water, they were gracious enough to share what little they had, said Mark Koehler, an adult sponsor.

Maria Johnson, a Navajo woman, and her son asked if the group would like to eat some fried bread. "I thought it might be rude to refuse," Koehler said, adding that the woman then began making an outdoor fire from wood she had stacked near her home.

Eventually, the group was invited inside the hogan, a traditional Navajo home, to eat the bread, which looks and tastes like a flour tortilla.

After sharing the bread with the family, the children played games and sang songs outside. "It was a neat experience, especially later when the priest told us that one of the things that is most important to them is laughter and beauty."

In Appalachia

None of the homes in Jefferson City, Tenn., truly qualified as beautiful, although they were surrounded by the beauty of the Appalachian Mountains. Many of the homes lacked proper plumbing or wiring and had leaky roofs and floors. A group of families from Lynwood Baptist Church spent the week repairing the houses as part of the Appalachian Outreach Mission.

"We tried to interact with the families as much as we could," said Wendall Wyatt, who coordinated the group of 20 adults, youths and children. He also visited the area on a similar trip five years ago.

During their stay, the adult teams worked on five different projects that ranged from installing a new bathroom to repairing a roof and painting the exterior of a house.

Although most of the work was construction and repair, not everyone on the team had the job experience. "It helped that we had a retired plumber and some who were skilled as electricians or carpenters, but there were others who were not skilled in those areas," Wyatt said.

Spending a week helping repair a stranger's home seems unlike a typical family vacation, but it is how the Ford family spent their summer break.

Elmer and Sherry Ford and their children, Laura and Michael, spent the week in the Appalachians repairing roofs and painting a house. It is the third time someone from the family has traveled to the area on a mission trip.

"We knew that we would only have one week's vacation where we could all travel, and we wanted to accomplish something, not necessarily just have fun," Sherry Ford said.

Since the family had been to the area before, they were aware of sparse living conditions and the poverty of Appalachian residents.

"We were not as apprehensive in the situations where it was less than desirable living," Ford said.