Bruit article

I sent this to IMS for publication in Bruit. They indicated it may be too late for the current issue.

Iowa Mennonite School Class of ’60 Kicks off 50th Year Since Graduation
The IMS Class of 1960 kicked off their 50th year since graduation by organizing and participating in a “mission trip” to Shell, Ecuador, January 16—31, 2010.
The trip was led by Omer (Class of 1960 president) and Mary Jane (Burkholder) Troyer. Fourteen people participated in the trip – 11 were IMS graduates and 3 were from Troyer’s church in North Port, FL. In addition, several other 1960 classmates participated by making donations that went to La Casa de Fe, the orphanage where they worked in Shell, and to La Escuela Esperanza, a church-sponsored school. Shell is located at the edge of the Amazonian rain forest and is about five hours south and east of Quito.
The two weeks were spent working at three main projects—construction of 60 school desks, childcare and tutoring at Casa de Fe, and working on construction of a new building for the orphanage.
Five or six participants worked mainly at constructing school desks for La Escuela Esperanza, where the Troyers had spent the 2007-08 academic year. This work consisted of grinding off the “burrs” left on the previously welded frames, and cleaning and painting the frames. Then they cut and bolted on plywood seats, desk tops and a drawer for books. All wooden parts were sanded and given several coats of polyurethane. A day after completion, the team visited the classrooms where the desks were already in use. The students thanked them profusely, promised to take good care of the desks, and wished God’s blessing on the team.
The women on the team worked at the orphanage taking care of toddlers, tutoring older children, caring for infants in the “baby house,” sorting clothes and other supplies, and doing other work as requested. Several women worked on the desks as time permitted. While the men split their time between working at the construction site or on the desk project, they also took opportunities to take some of the children for walks to a nearby playground. Work at the construction site consisted of digging and moving rocks for water and sewer lines, and doing electrical work.
Casa de Fe is an orphanage run by Patti Sue Arnold, an American who retired from the military and wanted to do something meaningful for the rest of her life. About eight years ago, she went to Ecuador and soon answered the call to take in a foster child. The requests for her to care for children kept coming and she now has about 60 children, ranging from infants to 12 years old,. A number of children have physical disabilities and other special needs. Although Patti Sue lives in a house with five infants and two pre-teen girls, the rest of the children live in a concrete structure that functions as dormitory, school and playground.
The current building is most inadequate, so she has purchased 3 hectares (a bit more than 7 acres) just outside of the town and has begun work on a multi-use building. Patty Sue’s vision is to have 15 cottages with 6 children and 2 house parents in each, surrounding the multi-use building now under construction. The entire operation is a venture in faith.
The initial contacts in Shell came from another 1960 classmate. After graduation from IMS in 1960, Phyllis Detwiler married Eldon Yoder, class of ’58. They were led to a career as full time missionaries in Ecuador with Gospel Missionary Union. Fast forward to retirement years when the Troyers met up with the Yoders in Iowa. This meeting resulted in Omer and Mary Jane traveling to Ecuador several times, once for a full academic year at La Escuela Esperanza, a school begun by the Yoder’s church near Shell. In February, 2009, Jim and Lois (Kieffaber) Bare, Goshen, Indiana, met Omer and Mary Jane, and Marvin Stoltzfus, Sarasota, Florida, in Sarasota. Omer broached the idea of a class of ’60 mission trip, the others were receptive to the idea, and the trip was planned.
One of the concerns of Team members was that jobs not be taken away from local people who were unemployed. On the last night in Shell, Patty Sue led the team in a “debriefing”. She was asked whether the team should have stayed home and instead sent the money that was spent on travel costs. Her response was “That is not God’s plan. Keep sending work teams”. The team’s goal was to help where needed, not to do for the people what they could do for themselves, and it was felt that this goal was accomplished. One illustration of this was the expressed astonishment among the staff of La Esperanza that 14 people, from various vocational backgrounds, and some who had not seen each other for up to 50 years, could see what needed to be done and go about doing it without someone telling them what to do.

Notice of 50 Year Class Reunion

The following email or snail mail went out to all class members today, February 18, 2010

Class of 60.

Looks like we are about 6 months away from "the event". So here is all you ever wanted to know about the details. Well, most all you wanted to know.

First, for those of you with failing memories (probably most everyone) the date is August 27-28-29. Friday evening through Sunday noon. (Martha, don't forget to write it down this time). The place is Crooked Creek Camp near Wayland and on Sunday from 10:30 AM on, at IMS.

The general outline of activities is:

Friday afternoon and evening: A lighter evening meal. Bring snacks for later. This is a time of informal visiting. There is no formal program.

Saturday morning: Brunch will be served at 10:00 AM. The coffee pot will be on early. More informal visiting

Saturday afternoon: Jim and Lois Bare will lead a session where personal stories are told. Of special interest is the fact that many people feel their stories are uninteresting. The word is that there is no such thing as an uninteresting story. We want to hear from everyone!

Saturday evening: We are hopeful that some pictures from the past may be located. Also, the six class members who went to Ecuador last month will share a bit. For those of you who turn blue and shiver at the thought of class prophesy and class wills, save your color turning and shivering. THERE WILL BE NONE OF THIS!

Sunday morning: A continental breakfast will be served. By 10:30 AM, we want to arrive at IMS. Our worship time will be a matter of sharing spiritual journeys and we want to remember those who have passed on since graduation. There will be no formal speaker. Please come prepared to share your journey; rough roads and smooth ones.

Sunday noon: A dinner will be catered in. Some time between our Sunday service and this meal, we hope to have the school open for tours. Many of us have not seen the interior of the school for many years. People will leave IMS on their own schedule during the afternoon.

And now for the dollars involved in this venture.

Approximately 32 people can stay in the Retreat Lodge at Crooked Creek. This means that each couple will have a private room. One floor has bath in the room and one floor has two "community baths" for men and women. the rates are:

Room with bath= $27.50 per person per night. ($55 per couple per night)

Room with community bath = $25.50 per person per night. ($51.00 per couple per night)

Camping with your own RV is $16 per person per night ($32 per night per couple)

The meal costs are as follows:

Friday evening lighter meal (soup sandwiches, etc) $7.50

Saturday morning brunch $9.00

Saturday night dinner $9.00

Sunday morning continental breakfast $4.00

Sunday noon catered dinner at IMS $10.00

It looks to me like a couple who stays in a room with a bath and is present for all meals will pay about $189.00. Singles $94.50.

PRINT OFF THIS EMAIL so you have the information and clip off the reservation form. Once you have a total of what you want to purchase, please write a check to Omer Troyer. Identify on the enclosed form what you are buying. MAIL THE RESERVATION AND CHECK TO ME, NOT CROOKED CREEK. They will only take payment once and will NOT keep a tally of people who register. I will write them one large check.

DEADLINE: The check and what you are purchasing must be mailed to me by JULY 30. A late mailed check will result in a problem as we will probably be driving to Iowa the first week in August to see family. So your check is here in Florida with no way to retrieve it.

My mailing address is PO Box 7400

North Port, FL 34290

We hope to see a great turn out for this event. Hopefully, schedules have been arranged for some time as the dates were announced a year in advance. As some of us discovered in Ecuador, it is great to get to know people you thought you knew.

My phone number is 941-429-7573

Omer Troyer

Class of 60 Reservation Form

NAME__________________

Item	Cost Per Person	Number of People	Number of Nights	Total Cost
Room with bath	$27.50
Room without bath	$25.50
Camper/RV	$16
Meals
Friday evening	$7.50
Saturday brunch	$9.00
Saturday evening dinner	$9.00
Sunday continental breakfast	$4.00
Sunday catered meal	$10.00
Total Amount Of Check to Omer Troyer

Service in Ecuador Over View

To the Class of 60 members in Shell, Ecuador, service might mean attending the Friday morning assembly of praise and awards in the much too crowded Casa de Fe (House of Faith)
It might mean preparing the desk frames for painting. Some 60 desks were built for the students at Esperanza Eterna (eternal hope)elementary school.
Yet in other cases it meant renewing friendships from previous service trips to the area.
Skills not used for a while came to life as wooden seats and tops were cut for the new desks.
And, skills developed while playing with your grand children became very useful in caring for children at Casa de Fe.

Hopefully, the blog site will feature some "in our own words" statement of what service meant to each of us.

6 Members of the Class in Quito, Ecuador

At this writing, the mission work trip to Shell, Ecuador is history. The picture shows the six class members on the steps of the mission guest house before making the five hour bus trip to the rain forest. Trips like this have a tendency to change people in many ways. This experience was no difference. The fact that six members came together to volunteer their efforts 50 years after graduation was not lost on the young staff of teachers at Esperanza Eterna elementary school. I was fortunate to have the privilege of managing the group of 14 people who were the very definition of cooperation and service.

More to come later