Brett and Beth Kreider are members of the Northern Virginia Church of Christ. They have three children (Logan, Noah and Elena) who are also disciples. The Kreiders recently returned from participating in the HOPE Youth Corps and Volunteer Corps in Chennai, India during the Christmas holiday. Here is their story of service.
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” — 2 Corinthians 8:9
International travel is expensive. Leaving the luxuries of the developed world to venture into an unknown country transcends your comfort zone and abandons the apparent “safety” of familiar surroundings. So, why would you participate in one of these adventures or send your children into the “great unknown” as part of an HOPE Youth Corps (HYC)?
The more intriguing question may be “what opportunities would you miss by not participating?” Maybe it’s time to ask yourself, what price am I willing to pay to have me and my family:
- Expand their world view and limited experiences to come face to face with poverty, touch a person disfigured by leprosy, or hold an orphan in their arms
- Bond with other young (and older) spiritual men and women from other parts of the world to the extent that they shed tears when the time is over
- Learn leadership skills and use them with their peers in life changing situations
- Mature in their own faith by putting their faith into practice 24/7 for two weeks
That is what you can expect on HYC.
We first took our family on a Family Corps in 2008 to Cambodia. Even though our kids were young (13, 11, and 8 at the time), the seeds grew and produced relationships and memories that inspire them to continue to serve. Since then our kids participated HYC in Texas, Philadelphia, Hawaii, South Africa, and India.
We just finished two life-changing weeks at the 2014 HYC in Chennai, entitled, “Christmas in India.” We served, danced, and played with the children at a HOPE Foundation (the India affiliate of HOPE worldwide) school; sang, held hands with, and gave lunch to senior citizens with leprosy; sang, danced, and played with orphans with AIDS; and built amazing relationships with volunteers from India, America, Singapore, and Thailand. Each of us found disciples we bonded with including the amazing HOPE worldwide leaders, Ian and Joyce Correa and the HYC leaders, Martin Philix and Abigail Correa. We created memories as a family that drew us closer and helped our family dynamics. Although we returned tired and had to push through the physical challenges of being in a developing country, I am confident that any one of us would do it again in a second.
Every one of my family members grew from this experience:
- Beth and I are considering how we can re-prioritize our time and money to pour ourselves into people and projects that make an impact.
- Logan (20) wants to direct his career toward serving an international non-profit.
- Noah (18) applied to and received the HOPE worldwide Global Service Internship, making him a HYC site leader for 2015.
- Elena (14) is considering how she can either return to India, participate in HYC 2015, and find ways to continue to serve in HOPE worldwide programs.
“If anyone of you has material possessions and sees his brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in you? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” — 1 John 3:17-18
