Community & Parents Rejoice in Sending Their Young Adults on Orthodox Mission Teams
Community & Parents Rejoice in Sending Their Young Adults on Orthodox Mission Teams
September 29, 2006
Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC), St. Augustine , FL – The
Mission Center commends the dedication of the Church of the Annunciation
community in Buffalo , New York , as it rejoices in its efforts to
support Orthodox missions throughout the years. As Fr. James Doukas
writes:
“Our Church, the Hellenic Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, has been
truly blessed to watch the fruits of our efforts. For the past three
consecutive years we have had three young adults participate on mission
trips with Mission Center .
The Mellas girls, Elizabeth, Rachel and Theresa have learned so much
from their experiences. Along with parental guidance, their mission
trips have helped them grow and mature into the fine Orthodox Christians
they are today. I pray that others are blessed to participate in an
OCMC “trip” and find the enrichment that these girls have received.
Their enthusiasm is evident and we have tried to capture and project it to the parish!
Although the efforts to raise funds for those wishing to participate on
trips can be difficult at best, it is another means of exposing others
to missions and raising awareness among the Orthodox as well as
non-Orthodox.
A booth was set up at our yearly Hellenic Heritage Festival with posters
from OCMC to create awareness. Also, here in the western NY area, our
Council of Orthodox Churches on the Niagara Frontier holds a Walk for
Missions every year, with the proceeds earmarked to assist and encourage
participants from our area to participate in a mission trip. As a
result, this common cause not only brought in the needed funds, but
exposed Buffalo to the work of Orthodoxy and continued to build a bond
among the Orthodox Churches of our area.
Our Parish has always had a Foreign Mission Drive and has enjoyed visits
and presentations from numerous missionaries. For many years, the
OCMC’s Agape canisters have been throughout the Buffalo area businesses
and monies are sent to OCMC on a regular basis.
The “seeds” have been planted and watered with the hope that roots would take hold and grow.”
About sending their children on OCMC Mission Teams, the parents of the Mellas girls, Constantine and Beth share:
“As parents, we always ask God to guide our children. Throughout their
lives we expose them to the faith in our church community, our family,
our neighbors, and in their education. Sometimes, however, they’ll see
someone’s strong faith from unexpected experiences.
Our three daughters’ interest in missions began a few years ago while at
church camp. A guest speaker, who had recently returned from a mission
trip to Africa , told the campers about her experiences. They realized
mission work is not a vacation, yet they hoped one day to have a similar
opportunity.
The opportunity came this past summer. Our 18-year-old twin daughters,
Rachel and Theresa, participated on two separate missions. Rachel spent 2
½ weeks in Albania where she worked with children, while Theresa spent 4
weeks in Kenya where she helped to construct a new church. Their older
sister, Elizabeth, has also participated in Mission Teams to Alaska and
Guatemala .
The parishioners gave tremendous encouragement and support to my
daughters and for missions in general. We are also fortunate to have a
very active Pan-Orthodox community which sponsors the Walk for Missions
and other fund-raisers throughout the year.
With their missions completed, my daughters are now preparing
presentations for our community about their experiences. Through this
effort I hope more people will realize the need for the continued
support of missions. Mission Teams not only reach out to the people in
those foreign countries, but also at home and within our own
communities: their experiences become our awareness.”
Please continue to prayerfully support our Missionaries, Orthodox
Mission Team members and mission priests. Funds to help support OCMC
programs can be sent to OCMC, P.O. Box 4319 , St. Augustine , FL
32085-4319 . To find out more about the Mission Center , visit
www.ocmc.org , or contact us at missions@ocmc.org .
##
News Worthy:
OCMC’s Mission Team Chicago, will be holding a memorial service for
Lynette Hoppe on the 1st of October at Holy Apsotles in Westchester ,
Illinois located at 2501 South Wolf Road , (708) 562-2744 . Lynette, a
missionary in Albania , died of breast cancer in August. This memorial
event coincides with the beginning of breast cancer awareness week.
Everyone who would like to attend is welcome.
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The Orthodox Christian Mission Center: Helping Orthodox Christians
respond to Christ's call to preach, teach, baptize, minister to the poor
and make disciples of all nations as the official international mission
agency of the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in
the Americas (SCOBA).
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