Members of the Lake Orion Church of Christ traveled to Panama last August on a mission trip, but this summer they decided to stay a bit closer to home.
Mission Possible 2006, which ran Aug. 13-18, had members volunteering their time, many of them using vacation time from work, to go out into the community and help people with whatever home improvement projects they needed done.
‘We had 45 people working in the community, roofing, tiling and doing whatever needed to be done,? said John Swantek, outreach coordinator for the church.
The group started their day with breakfast and a devotional, and then they dispersed to work on their various projects during the day.
In the evening, they regrouped at the church on Hemingway Road for dinner, another devotional, and fellowship. Many members chose to camp out at the church during the week.
Swantek said six crews were put to work, and the group advertised the mission with flyers at the Orion Senior Center, as well as the help of Oxford/Orion FISH and word-of-mouth.
Among the projects the group completed was painting at the Keep Coming Back Club in downtown Lake Orion, and yard work for Lake Orion senior William Spry, 81, and his wife Grace, 79.
‘My wife was the instigator,? said William. ‘She heard about it at the senior center.
‘We can only do so much before we need to sit down,? he said of the yard work the group was working on. ‘I think this is great. It’s great they wanted to help out.?
Church member Randy McClure said a group was sitting at lunch one day talking about the Panama mission trip, when the idea of Mission Possible was born.
‘Someone said, ‘Why can’t we do something here??? McClure said. ‘We wanted to have the feel of a foreign mission.?
The group experienced personal self-sacrifice, as they gave up a week of their own time to help others, as well as financial sacrifice for those who took vacation time from work.
‘We wanted to be together as much as we could,? McClure said.
Swantek said visiting with people and spreading the word of God was as much a part of the mission as completing the projects.
The church already has two outreach groups that meet on Wednesday evenings, the GO! Groups and Hands of the Master. The GO! Groups spend much of their time visiting with senior citizens and helping them with housework and other tasks.
‘The idea was to go out and be a light in the community,? explained church member Kevin Kadrich of Clarkston.
Hands of the Master goes out into the community to help with home improvement projects, involving carpentry and other skills.
‘We’ve been working at the Crossroads for Youth for a few months now,? Kadrich said. ‘We wanted to go out into the community instead of just talking about it.?
Kevin Kadrich and his daughter Kourtney, 16, were part of the crew that worked in the Sprys? yard in Lake Orion, while Kevin’s wife Tammy worked with the crew painting at the Keep Coming Back Club.
‘It’s been fun, and it’s nice to help others and give back,? said Kourtney. ‘People are grateful, and shocked that we gave up our time.?
Julie Boyd works with the GO! Groups, and said they have formed a relationship with Heritage Place in Lake Orion.
‘We started out with a spring cleaning day there, and now we get calls every week,? she said. ‘We helped them get ready for their inspection, and we also do grocery shopping for the seniors there.?
Boyd said on one occasion, they even got a call from someone who was going in for surgery and needed someone to go with them.
‘We do a lot of visiting,? Boyd said. ‘The kids are making a dinner to deliver to them, and some of the people from Heritage come to the church now.
‘We have great stories,? she said. ‘We’ve formed friendships with people who’ve been there for years, that we would never have known otherwise.?
For more information about the GO! Groups and Hands of the Master at Lake Orion Church of Christ, or other services offered at the church, visit www.lochurchofchrist.org, or call 693-7242.
The church is located at 1080 Hemingway Road in Lake Orion.