Travellers find purpose in their journeys
When Walter and Carol Warkentin travelled to the Dominican Republic 10 years ago for holidays, they brought a suitcase of gently used clothes with them to donate to a local church. They had vacationed in hot destinations before and seen the poverty that affects some of the places where wealthy North Americans go to get away, and thought they could help.
Little did the Warkentins know that act of kindness would lead to them establishing an annual trip with their Winnipeg church, The Meeting Place, with work including the establishment of a school for more than 100 local children, medical clinics and kids camps. The Warkentins have also helped set up a non-profit registered charity, Dominican Vision, Inc., to continue working in the area.
"Seeing the changes in this community where our schools and the churches we helped build are is the best part," says Carol, 61. "This was a community that had 90 per cent illiteracy, and the health and living conditions were terrible. The churches there are very evangelistic, so seeing people come to the Lord, seeing attitudes change, seeing the community come together—it's really God changing people's hearts, that's what it is."
The Warkentins aren't the only Christians in Canada who travel with the purpose of Christian service, spiritual enrichment and the enjoyment of God's creation.
For Harry and Marion Fast of Winnipeg, doing volunteer service while they are on vacation is one way they can continue to contribute to society as senior citizens. Each year, the couple lives in Abbotsford, B.C. for three months to escape the Winnipeg winter and spend time with family.
While there, the couple volunteers with the Fraser Valley Gleaners, a non-profit, non-denominational Christian organization that receives produce that doesn't make the grade for commercial sale. Volunteers chop, slice and dice the vegetables, which are then dried and prepared for distribution to needy people around the world..
"We're very ordinary folk and have found an opportunity to serve," says Harry, 80. "We sing in a senior's choir [in Winnipeg] and our motto is, 'Serving God into old age.' We do not want to be put on a shelf to just rest in peace. We want to stay active and help share the load."
Meanwhile, the annual trip that the Warkentins and The Meeting Place organize—dubbed Vacation with Purpose—continues. At the end of this month, a group of 17 people will travel to the Domincan to continue the work there.
"When we first went, we really were not looking for a ministry," Carol says. "But it's so obvious that God is in it."
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