The Newberg Graphic
| Church renews its emphasis on international missions | ||||
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| Members of Newberg’s Church of the Nazarene on mission abroad for the first time in 14 years | ||||
It had been 14 years since Newberg's Church of the Nazarene had gone on a mission trip abroad, when a group led by Pastor Ed Nichols headed to Costa Rica for 10 days this month. Later this summer, a youth group will travel to China to teach English to younger students. "We did a refocus," Nichols said of his church's decision to resume international ministries. He said the congregation had a desire to be more missional, not only in the community (the church runs a gift closet in conjunction with Love INC), but also worldwide. For Laura Olson, 21, a member of the church for seven years, this trip was a voyage of discovery for her and her husband of three years. "It was our first really big trip out of the country," she said. Beyond that, she didn't know what she would be doing in the Central American country. The men in the group were put to work constructing a shower room. The women helped out at a feeding station and painted murals to brighten the place, Olson said. The church named Colima was located in a rough neighborhood. "There was sewage running down the sides of the street," she said. The majority of the local women survive by prostituting themselves - without any form of birth control. This has resulted in a staggering number of fatherless children, Olson said, children the mothers cannot afford to raise. The church provides a place for those kids. "They don't have anything," she said. "They would take pens and write on the walls of the church because they don't have anything to color on." The groups also attended services and brought dolls, candies and bouncy balls, as well as hygiene kits. Olson said the items came from the church's gift closet. They were gifts that Newberg locals didn't want, but the Costa Ricans "were so grateful to have (them)." Olson was also impressed by the intensity and sincerity of worship during her trip. "A lot of Christians here are so stiff with their worship," she said of Americans. With the Costa Ricans, however, "you could tell they really love God ... even though they have nothing, you can see such happiness in their eyes because they love God." Retrospectively, Olson said the group wished they had brought more items to donate. They also visited a drug rehabilitation center where "the people had nothing, absolutely nothing," Olson said. "There weren't even enough beds for the people there." Listening to the patients' stories was an emotional experience, she said. Olson said the trip challenged her to "not just get into daily routines, but really worship God with our whole heart." It also inspired her to bridge the gap between Hispanics and white Americans. "We're all equal; nobody's better than anyone else. "I don't want to think back on this trip and remember a good experience. I want to realize how blessed we are here in America." | ||||
