Bethel Baptist members find inspiration in Panamanian people
The Rev. Bryan Kelley, Patrick Upole and Robert Jurosco play ball with some of the children.
Patrick Upole paints a basketball hoop for the youths.
A look at the Maranatha Baptist Church in Veracruz after members of Bethel Baptist Church in North Union Township painted it.
Diana Ryan and Amanda Jurosco of Bethel Baptist Church in North Union Township perform blood pressure checks.
Laurie Gallo of Bethel Baptist Church in North Union Township plays a duet with one of the Panamanian men.
Ten members of Bethel Baptist Church in North Union Township recently participated in a mission trip to Panama. Participants included, from left: Laurie Gallo, Rob Jurosco, Amanda Jurosco, Nick Diakunik, Dana Diakunik, the Rev. Bryan Kelley, Tamara Kelley, Diana Ryan, Patrick Upole and Janelle Dahlgren.
Before we painted
Members of Bethel Baptist Church in North Union Township who traveled to Central America this summer to help missionaries working with the poor found themselves inspired by the Panamanian people they came to assist.
“It was the love they had for the Lord and joy despite their living conditions,” said the Rev. Bryan L. Kelley, pastor.
Ten members of the church visited Panama in June, invited by missionaries Dan and Olivia Young, who have been stationed there for the past 24 years. The missionaries are from Central Baptist Church in Portsmouth, Va., and work through Baptist Bible Fellowship International in Springfield, Mo., a clearing house for their support funds.
The team included Bryan Kelley, Tamara Kelley, Laurie Gallo, Rob Jurosco, Amanda Jurosco, Nick Diakunik, Dana Diakunik, Diana Ryan, Patrick Upole and Janelle Dahlgren.
The group stayed in a hostel in Panama City and worked at two churches, located in towns not far away. The members painted the exterior and some of the interior of Maranatha Baptist Church in Veracruz. They performed dramas at Maranatha as well as Bethel Baptist Church in Suntracs: “Total Eclipse” in which God saves a lost person and “The Problems,” where a man had a suitcase of problems too heavy for anyone to lift, but Jesus Christ comes and gives him the strength to bear the burden.
“We were glad we made an impact on their lives,” said Bryan Kelley.
And yet, the team members received lessons from the people they served.
“These people have nothing, but will give you the shirt off their back. One lady, I said how pretty the pin was on her shirt and she gave it to me,” said Tamara Kelley, noting the woman also gave her bananas from her back yard.
“If you didn’t accept,” said Ryan, “it would be an insult.”
Ryan said the trip taught her a lot about how other people in the world live. She expected conditions to be more primitive. For example, Ryan thought the roads would be dirt, but they were paved. Yet, they were still below the quality of roads the United States.
“They lived in poverty, but it was the love they gave,” said Ryan, who found the Panamanians grateful and content.
“I was very glad I went,” said Dana Diakunik. “I think everyone should experience a mission trip. It made me appreciate getting back home to the United States. I think we’re spoiled. The people there touched my heart, especially the children. They’ll never have the opportunities our children will have.”
“I just felt called to be here,” said Dahlgren, the only member of the group who spoke Spanish. “It was amazing. They taught me a lot about the differences between the United States and different parts of the world and to be thankful for what God has given you. They’re completely content and happy. Even though they have that lifestyle, they have God.”
As an example, Dahlgren noted a child drew a picture for the mission team but only had one colored pencil — not a variety of colors.
“He told his mom he had only one color — red — so he drew hearts on all of us,” said Dahlgren.
The mission team also worked with Kuna Indians, about 130 who came to attend one of the dramas in Veracruz. Ryan and Jurosco performed blood pressure checks on about 80 of the Kunas during their visit.
The mission team began planning their trip in October with the members raising money or paying their own way. The church gave each member a couple hundred dollars each from group offerings taken to support the trip.
While many team members were on their first mission trip, this is actually the second mission trip undertaken by the church, which was founded seven years ago and has 115 members at Sunday services. Bethel Baptist, which will be starting a new church called Bridge Baptist in Masontown next month, undertook its first mission trip in 2008 to Puerto Rico, and the church is looking at doing another trip, perhaps to Romania.
“We want to give everybody the opportunity to fulfill the Great Commission personally,” said Bryan Kelley of the tenet in Christian theology to spread the teachings of Christ to all nations. “A missionary does that with his life, but this gives us an opportunity for a week.”
“You get the feel of what a missionary goes through,” said Tamara Kelley.
“And we appreciate the sacrifices that a missionary makes when you walk in their shoes,” said Bryan Kelley.
Once home, the team members gave testimonies in their church the next day and a week later offered a presentation that’s available on Facebook.com/bethelbaptistchurchuniontownpa. More information also is available by calling the church at 724-437-3090.