16
vernonia’s
voice
september
community
2007
Mission to Mexico – A Spiritual Journey!
By Scott Laird
It was a mission to provide service. It was a mis-
sion for spiritual growth. And it was a mission for fun
and fellowship.
Nine members of the Vernonia Community Church,
led by Pastor Grant Williams and his wife Eldonna, re-
cently traveled to the Baja peninsula of Mexico, spend-
ing a week working, teaching, and helping residents in
the small town of Maneadero. The group was joined
by fourteen members of the Faith Baptist Church from
Dallas, Oregon, on their trip.
“It was fabulous,” said Pastor Williams about the
experience. “It was a lot of work, but we all want to go
back.”
The group drove from Vernonia and spent their
time working on a variety of construction projects.
“We put a roof on a structure, an addition and a roof
on another structure, and helped pour a 22 x 16 foot
concrete slab. We painted and put up rafters. We also
unloaded a huge truck of building supplies that arrived
late on our last evening,” said Pastor Williams.
According to Pastor Williams, the trip was undertaken
with specific goals, “We went there to help meet their
physical needs by helping with construction and repairs
of village structures. We went to meet their spiritual
needs through our vacation bible school program. We
went for our own personal growth. And we went to
enjoy the recreation and fellowship that comes from a
shared adventure.”
Maggie Peyton, one of the Vernonia participants,
also considered the trip successful. “It was hard work,
but it was fun. We were all stretched to the point of
growing; stretched physically, emotionally, and spiritu-
ally.”
The Vernonia group was made up of the Naeve
family- Shawn, Linda, Sarah and Josiah; Tarah John-
son, Kathy Meier, in addition to the Williams’ and Ms.
Peyton.
About fifty of the village children participated in
the vacation bible school which was taught through
an interpreter using crafts, stories, and games. “You
didn’t need to know the language to understand each
other,” said Peyton. “We were speaking a universal
language. People understand the heart, the eyes, and
laughter.”
The
group
also helped the
community
by
bringing a large
assortment of do-
nated
clothing
for the residents,
and brought fifty
backpacks
that
they filled with
school supplies
for the children.
The mission group traveled to help the Juahacans,
a displaced indigenous people who live in a sub-village
of the town of Maneadero. The village had electricity
but no running water, no plumbing, no telephone, and
no mail service. “There is such a difference in Mexico;
you see it as soon as you cross the border,” said Peyton.
“You see garbage everywhere, especially plastic. You
see and smell raw sewage. There are people shooting
up drugs out in the open. There is sewage in the ocean
so you can’t swim. You see the class difference between
rich and poor distinctly; there is no middle class.”
The group was there to assist Missionaries Tim and
Kathy Johnson from California who represent Calvary
Chapel Church. The Johnsons have been working as
missionaries in Mexico for sixteen years and have been
in Maneadero for only the past year. The group from
Vernonia raised money for their trip by holding a series
of car washes, selling firewood, operating a
shuttle service during the KUPL fishing derby
and the Cycle Oregon visit, and by hosting a
very successful enchilada feed.
When asked about highlights of her trip, Pey-
ton mentioned one of the village ladies. “She
was so sweet. She gave us the most heartfelt
hugs. We didn’t need to know the language -
we understood what she was telling us.”
“We are so thankful for the opportunity to
help these people,” said Pastor Williams in
closing, “and they were so appreciative.”
The Vernonia Community Church invites everyone
to a celebration of their trip to Mexico. Come enjoy
a slide show, snacks and fellowship on September 23
at 4PM.
Participation Doubled for Fifth Annual Vernonia Bear Creek Run/Walk
The day started off foggy and cold, but by 7AM volunteers were already setting up for the day. Within thirty minutes the Anderson Park Pavilion was alive
with runners signing up for the 5K and 10K runs. Fifty-one runners participated, doubling the number from 2006. Runners came from Vernonia, Hillsboro,
Forest Grove, Camas, Warrenton, Astoria, Portland and West Linn. Fifteen of these runners were from Vernonia.
The 10K started promptly at 8:15, sending twenty-four eager people south along the Linear Trail. Twelve minutes later twenty-seven 5K participants were
on their way north toward Vernonia Lake. By 9:30 all runners and walkers safely returned to the Pavilion to enjoy rest and refreshments. Awards were
given out (first place medals for Male/Female 5K and 10K and first and second place ribbons for the 5K walkers), and a raffle was held. Vernonia Cares
Director Sandy Welch thanked everyone for the impact they were making on the local community. Approximately $1,500 was raised by this event through
sponsorship and the run itself.
10K Run - Men
1st Yrineo Gonzalez
Longview
2nd Kevin Filkowski
Longview
3rd
Tsegay Gebrewald Astoria
10K Run - Women
1st
Kimberly Robison
2nd Anna Grass
3rd
Laura Ansari (tie)
3rd
Kara Loriontwo (tie)
39:18
39:47
41:17
Beaverton
Beaverton
Hillsboro
Hillsboro
49:12
51:17
51:29
51:29
5K Run - Men
1st
Ted Allison
2nd
Szabolcs Vas
3rd
Alan Beck
West Linn
Astoria
Warrenton
17:14
19:00
19:24
5K Run - Women
1st
Alisa Wise
Camas
2nd
Karen Beck
Warrenton
3rd
Riley Graham (tie) Scio
3rd
Haley Guest (tie) Scio
23:20
26:32
31:01
31:01
5K walk
1st and 2nd Mother and Daughter Liz and Vera Hutchison
Forest Grove
51:32
Many thanks to the volunteers who made the event day a success: Madeleine Gendron, Celia Gendron, Yolande Gendron, Tom Hoerauf, Toby Finzel,
Sandy Welch, Penny Costley and Kelli Schulte, as well as local paper photographers Scott Laird & Noni Anderson.
Sponsorship for the event came from local community businesses in the form of cash donations for the event. Event day snacks and prizes were provided
by Sentry, The Black Bear coffee shop and Jazzercise.
Columbia County Rider- Gets You Where You Need to Go
Staff Article
The cars, vans and buses from the Columbia Coun-
ty Rider transportation service are all over Columbia
County. Based out of St. Helens, but with drivers oper-
ating in Vernonia, Clatskanie, Scappoose, and Rainier,
they offer regular scheduled service through the High-
way 30 corridor to Portland. But more importantly,
they offer on-demand service, including rides in and
around Vernonia, for those who need help getting to an
appointment, a ride to the grocery store, or a trip to visit
family and friends.
For as little as one dollar, you can call and schedule
a one-way ride locally. Trips from Vernonia to Hills-
boro or Columbia County cost eight dollars, and trips
to Portland are ten dollars. Best of all, this service is
not just for senior citizens - anyone can use it.
The Columbia County Rider is run by Colum-
bia County, managed by Metro West Ambulance, and
overseen by Janet
Wright, the Eco-
nomic Develop-
ment Manager for
the County.
Columbia
County Rider cur-
rently offers six
round trips daily,
Monday through
Friday, from St.
Helens to Portland; starting at 6:30 a.m., it runs every
two hours with the last return trip leaving Portland at
5:30 p.m. Due to demand, there is an added express
that leaves St. Helens at 7 a.m. and a return express at
6 p.m. Also offered is round trip service from St. Hel-
ens/Scappoose to Portland Community College’s Rock
Creek campus.
So if you are in need of a ride, give the Columbia
County Rider a call.
For information about the Columbia County Rider
go to co.columbia.or.us/links or call 888-462-6526.