ON A MISSION

By LINDA M. LINONIS

religion@vindy.com

boardman

A mission trip to Croatia took team members “out of their comfort zone” and “on a walk of faith.”

The Rev. David Joachim, pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church, led the 11-member team who represented various faith communities. He and Lisa Velker, director of Christian education at Canfield Presbyterian Church, recently discussed the trip.

The trip, which started out with a destination of Ukraine, had to be revamped because of the unrest there. Through technology, the word went out in cyberspace that a team was looking for a mission. Bob Hitching of Roma Bible Union, based in London, England, responded.

The trip was from May 20-June 3 with the team flying in and out of Budapest, Hungary.

The Rev. Mr. Joachim said Hitching works with the Roma people, who live throughout Europe and are known as gypsies. “They are despised and marginalized,” he said. They live in separate villages.

The team visited four villages in Croatia. “We saw a love of family and how parents and grandparents were involved,” Velker said. “It wasn’t the stereotype,” she said, referring to dysfunctional families plagued by domestic violence.

The minister said the Americans “got the sense that they don’t own the land they live on.” He noted houses on the outskirts of villages were larger, but in the villages the homes reflected a poorer status. “They seemed nomadic ... moving at different times,” Velker said.

Team members hosted English camps. “It wasn’t in a formal way but just teaching words,” Mr. Joachim said. “We practiced through songs.”

The songs included “I Like Peanut Butter and Jelly,” (which most Roma people don’t), “My Name Is,” “Jesus is the Rock” and “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.”

Velker said English is taught in schools and the Roma school as well. Because there are so many dialects of the languages, English is often used. The English camps were for children to adults and also included games, crafts and music.

“The people took us into their hearts,” Mr. Joachim said.

The team took such items as knitted hats, kites, backpacks, art and school supplies.

Team members found that witchcraft is practiced and there are pockets of Christianity. “When we left, they knew who Jesus was,” Mr. Joachim said.

The team also taught them the phrase, “God is for us and not against us.”

Mr. Joachim said he has taken some 30 mission trips, half youth and half adult. “After a trip, you look at yourself differently,” he said.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect,” Velker said. “This is my first trip to Europe. I was on a mission trip to Haiti two years ago.”

Though the team was engaged in the mission work much of the time, Veker and Mr. Joachim took a side trip for a few hours to Slovakia, where her grandparents are from. Team members also did some sightseeing in Budapest, Hungary. The team also spent some time i Serbia, Bosnia and Slovakia.

As for the trip, Mr. Joachim said, “God leads us out of our comfort zone.”

He continued that on such trips, team members must be “flexible and adaptable” and have a “sincere” feeling about the work.

The minster and Velker said the team stayed at a seminary in Croatia, a bed and breakfast and small hotel in Hungary. “The bed and breakfast wasn’t the American idea of that but it was OK,” Velker said. The hotel, she added, was clean but not fancy.

Americans accustomed to many amenities in their homes were surprised at the lack of indoor plumbing in the small villages, Velker said.

After you’ve been in another culture and situation, Mr. Joachim said, you look at yourself differently.

Velker said after being with the Roma people, she saw how they ‘take time with one another.” “I would call it relational — they sit and socialize,” she said, noting it contrasted with the harried and hurried lifestyles of many Americans. “They value relationships.”

Though the people had little in material things, Velker said, “You feel you get tenfold what you give out.”

Velker said the Roma people’s genuineness helped to “bring out who you are.”

Andrew Schrum of Niles said this trip was his second mission-oriented one. He previously had been to the Domincan Republic.

“It’s a way to serve God where I can,” Schrum said of his participation. “I learned I had resources I didn’t know I had.”

Schrum said he hoped the team took the message that “God cares” to the Roma people and that people also care.

A Youngstown State University student, Stephanie Gordon, said she had taken a school trip to South America but wanted to have a faith aspect in a mission trip.

“It was an opportunity to share faith without using language,” she said. “Being there as a presence.”

Gordan said showing the Roma people “that someone cares” was important to her.