On Sunday evening, September 28, 16 of us gathered in the youth room to hear the mission experiences of Katy Black and Nina Kryza.  Nina shared her story of going to Rwanda, Africa for 8 weeks to assist families in creating small farming businesses to provide sustainable income for families.  She stayed with a middle class host family who lived in a mud house with a metal roof, experienced a few weeks of illness while adjusting to the different living conditions, went to 4 worship services in a different language that lasted 3 hours each, learned about the poor quality of water, how to use water efficiently, and how heavy those water jugs really are, AND helped to educate folks on maintaining a small business.  The reward was buying a pig to start a farm!

Joining the Youth With A Mission team, Katy went to Ireland for 3 months before heading to India for 2 months. Time spent in Ireland focused on 18 students from 9 countries bonding in community, discovering their God given gifts, accepting their personal strengths and weaknesses, learning about church history and conflict, finding acceptance among the diverse cultures represented in the group and the world, and serving the local community. From there, 7 trainees went to India to be the hands and feet of Jesus, serving those in deepest poverty by assisting with basic education, money management, nutrition, and health from small children to adults.

Both of these remarkable women walked away with the understanding that no matter your circumstances or culture, people are the same everywhere, and can be, actually are, happy in their lives!  Overcoming language and culture barriers opens the door to a deeper understanding of humanity where God shows mercy and grace to us everyday in all that we do.  Thank you, Katy & Nina, for sharing your stories. You are doing great works for all of God’s people! Continued blessings on your journey 🙂