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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 23, 2008)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, January 23,2008 - THREE Local teens spend Christmas vacation working in Rwanda by Autumn Morgan 7 tir ,5» Kristen Van Cleave with some of the people in the v illage Nathan Van Cleave with children w ho are all members of the same family It was a very differ ent Christm as for Nathan and K risten Van C leave o f Heppner as they spent their vacation working with their grandparents, who are short-term missionaries, in Rwanda. The Van Cleaves no ticed many drastic differ ences in the way people live in Rwanda as compared to the United States. People in Rwanda live in mud homes. They walk for long distances to draw water from commu nity wells. But despite their sparse conditions, in front of most o f these mud homes, passersby will see flowers and plants decorating the front o f the homes. R w a n d a , th o u g h a sm all country, is very crowded with activity, espe cially in the cities. Drivers swerve in and out o f traffic. The rules are very relaxed. Police have checkpoints and random ly pick who they want to pull over. Rwanda is a country that is still recovering from a civil war and genocide in which at least 800,000 people were killed. Between this, the AIDS epidem ic, and Malaria, Rwanda has hundreds o f thousands of orphans. It’s orphanages like the Home of Hope Rwanda that provide a safe haven for these children. Upon arrival, one o f the first things that Na than and K risten noticed was how happy the people were, despite their condi tions. “They have so much less (than we do) but they are happy. They don’t real ize what they don’t have,” said the Van Cleaves. A lot o f people farm in Rwanda but there is a desperation for work. Most people have to walk everywhere as mo torized transportation is a rarity. Some women, most with babies on their backs, earn extra money for their families by sweeping the streets. They are paid $1-2 U.S. dollars per day. Children at the or phanage were thrilled to have new people visit them. One child was very intrigued by one o f K riste n ’s hair ties. A nother'girl enjoyed playing with Kristen’s hair. Kristen said the girl was cu rious about what she would look like with blond hair so Kristen bent over draped her hair around the young girl’s head. N athan and K ris ten found that one o f the most popular event with the people in the small commu nities was making balloon animals. They said that the adults were almost as bad as the children when it came to pushing and shoving to get one o f the animals. Later, while visiting a family in one o f their mud hom es, they saw one o f the balloon animals proudly displayed. On Christmas day, Nathan and Kristen visited the chil dren’s ward at a local hos pital where they handed out stuffed animals. The church in the com m unity, w hich th e ir g ran d fath er is in charge o f building , is all ready boom ing. A pproxim ately 300 people meet in the un finished church. Currently there are four choirs that perform two to three songs each at the services. For each song there is also a dance to go with it. “ P eo p le are very friendly there. They look you in the eye, they wave and smile. Everyone is very happy to meet you,” said Nathan. He said the people were so happy to receive their gifts and were thrilled to see new faces. “When you drive down the road, they will chase after you.” Kristen said she most enjoyed visiting with the orphans. “They are always hanging onto you. They always want to touch you,” she said. “ I just enjoyed be ing with the people there.” Kristen also noted that there is an ever growing need for education for the children in Rwanda. During her trip she met a girl who was a week older than her but had only finished the fourth grade. Kristen is a 10th grader and Nathan is a senior. While in Africa, the Jones, Young married Nathan and Kristen Van Cleave spent Christmas away from home this year Van Cleaves were able to travel to the Congo border and met with people who worked with approximate ly 120 orphans in Congo. Workers are having a hard time getting food to the or phanage in Congo because of all o f the rebell. Both N athan and Kristen said they would like to go back to visit Rwanda someday. Currently there are many children at the Home o f Hope Rwanda that are in need o f sponsors. For more information or to sponsor a child, visit www.homeof- hope.ca. Nathan and Kris te n ’s grandm other is cur rently in charge of gathering the information and pictures o f the children living in the orphanage. Fundraiser held for reading program Brandon and Rebecca Young On Thursday, January 17, students began reading after school and continued reading all night. For the 19th year in a row. Time Out for Reading is underway in grades five and six at Heppner Elemen tary School. The students spend the month o f January reading as many minutes as they possibly can, and are rewarded with prizes and activities along the way. T h e p ro g ra m is self-su fficien t, receiving no money from HES or the District. In an effort to raise funds for this y ear's pro gram, a whole pan o f Mrs. Allen’s famous Babe Ruth Bars will be raffled off to a lucky winner. Tickets for the drawing are $1 each or six for $5, and are available at HES, Heppner High, and Heppner TV. The fortunate Keith and Deborah Jones o f Pilot Rock and Bruce and Debbie Young of Heppner announce the marriage of their children, Rebecca Kate Jones and Brandon Young. The couple was married July 7, 2007 at the Epis copal Church o f the Redeemer in Pendleton by the Rev. Frank Moss. A reception was held in the hospitality room at the Pendleton Round-Up grounds. A wedding trip was taken to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The bride is a 2000 graduate of Pilot Rock High School and holds a B.S. from the University o f Oregon and MAT from Willamette University. She is currently employed as a kindergarten teacher with the McKenzie School District in Blue River. The groom is a 2001 graduate o f Heppner High School and holds a CEM from Oregon State University. He is currently employed as a project engineer with Hamilton Construction Co. in Eugene. The maid/matron of honor was Jill Sorey (best friend) o f Hermiston. Bridesmaids were Rachael Jones (sister) o f Portland, Kelly Manning (friend) o f New burg, and Danielle Alexander (friend) of Washington, D.C. Rae- gan McElligott (cousin of the groom) from Salem was the flower girl. Best man was Scott VanWinkle (best friend) o f Kamiah, ID. Groomsmen were Corey Miller (friend) o f Heppner, Luke Young (brother) of Heppner, and Matt Young (brother) of Corvallis. Ring bearer was Tegan McEl ligott (cousin of the groom) of Salem. Ushers were Brian Ehler (cousin o f the bride) o f Susanville, CA and Shane Lazinka (cousin of the bride) o f Pilot Rock. The bride wore a strapless ivory gown with a chapel length train. The bodice and bottom were embroi dered with beads. The ivory veil was shoulder length with swarehosky crystals. The bouquet w as made o f bright and light pink roses. recipient will be announced on Thursday, January 24, at 5 p.m. “Mrs. Allen’s Babe Ruth bars are the b e st,” com m ented one hopeful ticket buyer. Mrs. Allen's reply to that compliment was, “I'm afraid my tombstone will read... HERE LIES MRS. More than 550 stu A L L E N ... SHE M ADE dents enrolled at Eastern A MEAN BABY RUTH Oregon University for fall BAR.” term 2007 have been named to the dean's list. To qualify for the dean's list, students must achieve and maintain a grade point average of 3.5 or Cards higher on a 4.0 scale while completing a minimum o f 12 hours o f graded course- work for the duration o f the EOU announces 2007 fall term dean's list term. The follow ing EOU students from the Heppner area qualified for the fall 2007 dean's list: H e p p n e r - Bl ai r Keithley Lexington - Eliza beth Orwick and Theresa Rushing TSUB We’re At Your Service Your GM Goodwrench dealer is here for you and your GM veheile. So when you’re looking for expert service, head to GM Goodwrench. It’s good to know it’s Goodwrench. SHERRILL CHEVROLET The Most Trusted Name In The Car Business 296 East Main. Ilermiston, OR 97838 541- 567-6487 • I -800-567-6488 Quality Service • GM Parts • We Only Repair What Is Necessary 0 1 Goodwrench » Heppner Gazette
