Youth in Mission visits Marion
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff reporter
If you happen to see a van around town with phrases painted on the windows such as "The joy of the Lord," "Get in tune with God," or "CTCYM loves you," it is one of at least eight such vehicles which can be found in Marion this week.
The vans provide transportation for members of Youth in Mission, a program sponsored by the Central Texas Conference of United Methodist churches and modeled after the Habit for Humanity program begun by former president Jimmy Carter.
About 65 people including 28 adults and 37 teen-agers are volunteering their time and effort to do work projects around town for people who are too feeble to do the work themselves or are disabled or poverty-stricken.
They are doing such things as repairing homes, building wheelchair ramps, trimming and removing trees, and painting buildings.
The four-member leadership team arrived in Marion Friday, and the remainder came Sunday evening. They represent six Texas churches.
Rick Branson of Eastmoor United Methodist Church invited the group to Marion and referred clients to them.
Eastmoor is their "living center," where they eat and sleep while in Marion. Four cooks accompany the group and are using the church's kitchen to prepare meals for them.
Christie Clark of Glen Rose, Texas, is a restaurant manager who took time out from her job to help with Youth in Mission. She said the townspeople are very nice. Carlsons' IGA has provided ice and several residents have contributed fresh produce.
Tracy Wiley, 30, also of Glen Rose, Texas, the center's director, calls the church "our home for the week."
She said about 1,700 volunteers for Youth in Mission are in the state this week, working in areas from Dodge City to near Kansas City and as far north as Salina. From 120 to 150 adults and teen-agers are residing at the "super living center" in Dodge City.
Teams usually are made up of two adults and five teens. Members were required to submit an application fee ranging from $150 to $180 to pay for food, construction, program materials, and administration and staff, as well as a host church fee of five dollars.
Most of the adult volunteers are pastors, youth ministers, or lay people donating vacation time. Teen-agers of all ages participate. Junior high teams do work projects within the state of Texas.
The teams are supported by their home churches, which rent vehicles, do fundraisers, and provide donations to supply needed tools.
The Marion group expects to finish its work by Friday. Each member will receive a yellow T-shirt imprinted with the organization's logo and the theme, "Follow the Road."
At 11:30 a.m. Friday, they will join the other teams in Kansas in a huge, closing rally and worship service at Wichita State University before returning to Texas.
The CTCYM program will celebrate its 10th anniversary next year. It began with 300 volunteers in 1994 and has grown to 2,500 this year.
Wiley said until this year the Central Texas Conference was the only conference in the United Methodist denomination to have such a program, but others are beginning to show interest in beginning one.
