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Carol and John Hiebert, members of Cornerstone Community Church, Virgil, Ont., are on a two-year volunteer assignment with Mennonite Central Committee in Hindman (Ky.) Settlement School. When the United Methodist Church they attend asked them to work with their youth in January, they decided to start a youth exchange program between the youth from Hindman and the youth from Ontario.
In spring, a SOAR (Sold Out and Radical) Team of Youth Mission International, consisting of 13 senior students and four chaperones from Eden High School in St. Catharines, Ont. came to Hindman during their spring break Mar. 14-21.
The group served by sharing programs at two churches and three school assemblies, cleaned up a local church camp and the United Methodist Church as well as caring for elderly people at the local nursing home. An area-wide youth rally at Hindman First Baptist Church, which saw about 200 gathered for worship, drama and testimonies, rounded off the week.
New commitments to the Lord were made and the lives of team and youth group members were changed. John McIntyre, youth pastor at Hindman First Baptist Church, noted the importance of SOAR's work. "We had just experienced the death of one of our youth . . . so when the group came . . . it was a great help and blessing."
In April, the Hieberts, with 10 youth from the church, visited their home church. Youth from Cornerstone Community Church will visit the youth in Hindman later, and this summer a bus-load of youth from Hindman will visit Ontario for a week.
"Our work is exciting,"notes Carol Hiebert. "We see this `bridge-building' as something with eternal benefits. Our prayer is that God will use it for His glory."
Meanwhile, communication through letters and the telephone continues. Carol Hiebert for MCC.
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