Published: June 23, 2009 12:30 pm      

On a mission

Annie Childerson of Altamont expected to go out of state for her last mission trip with Effingham New Hope Church’s high school youth group.

However, the incoming senior found herself volunteering close to home when the church decided to send the 54 adult chaperones and youth participants to work in their own community.

“Every year, we take the kids away and they build relationships with people wherever we go, and they are so sad when they have to leave those people. We have people in our own community who have needs,” said Carol Donsbach, who organized the mission trip.

To her surprise, Childerson found working at home more rewarding than working out of state.

“At first, I was a little disappointed because I wanted to go to a different state. It’s been better than going out of state. Afterwards, you will still see the results of your work,” she said.

The group first traveled to a Missouri camp to undergo leadership training and team building exercises Sunday through Tuesday.

They spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday working at six locations in around Effingham: Effingham County Senior Center, Effingham Child Development Center, ARC Community Support Systems, the summer food program at West Side School, FISH and El Calvario Church.

“It’s been an amazing experience for these kids to come here and interact with these people. It’s opened their eyes to a lot of different things. A lot of times we live our lives and we don’t even bother to see that need.” said Donsbach, referring to the community here.

At the senior center, the group spent the week cleaning out storage rooms, washing vans, playing bingo and serving lunch,

“It’s really a blessing to do it. It was so much fun,” Dylan Workman of Newton said of his first mission trip.

“They were great. You would not believe what they did for us. It was a wonderful experience for our organization and, I think, for the young adults also,” said Kathy Pals, senior advocate for Effingham County Committee on Aging.

Even though the group stayed in town, Donsbach said they treated the experience like an out-of-town mission trip.

“We actually have the kids staying in the OneEighty building. We’ve all been saying it doesn’t even feel like we’re in our own town because the bus is driving us around and the kids don’t have their cell phones and can’t go home,” she said.

Donsbach hopes having the youth serve in their own community will inspire them to continue volunteering at these organizations.

“We felt we need to make an impact in our own community. They can continue this on their own because they live here. I am hoping they will continue to want to serve their community,” she said.

Angie Faller can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 131 or angie.faller@effinghamdailynews.com.