Glen Ellyn students hold rummage sale to help Rwanda
When Ryan Twaddle, a junior at Lisle High School, learned his church was planning a mission trip to the central African nation of Rwanda this June, he knew the trip would expose him to a very different existence than his comfortable life in the Western suburbs.
“I knew the trip was for me and it was going to be an unforgettable experience,” he said. “Especially to visit a refugee camp, where they don't really have a home.”
The refugee camp in Kibuye in western Rwanda will be the focus of the trip for the group traveling from Faith Lutheran Church in Glen Ellyn from June 10-24. The camp houses 19,000 refugees from the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The group of eight teens and four adults also will visit Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, where they will work with street children and AIDS widows and orphans.
Preparing for the trip has been an experience in itself. The group needed to raise more than $22,000 of the estimated $35,000 cost of the journey organized by International Teams, an interdenominational Christian organization. Jan Bradbury, the church's youth leader, said they wanted to ensure any qualifying person could go regardless of their economic background.
The youth have held bake sales, baby-sat younger children during a parents' night out over the holidays, sold stocks that will entitle the shareholders to a dinner when the group returns, written support letters to family and friends, and put together a cookbook.
They hope to wind up their fundraising with a rummage sale from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 30, at the church, 41 N. Park Blvd., Glen Ellyn.
“We've reached about $20,000 so far. We're in the home stretch and hoping the rummage sale will get us there,” Bradbury said.
Rummage sale items collected from church members include clothing, electronic equipment, furniture, sports equipment, antiques, books, toys and knickknacks.
“We really have a wide variety of stuff,” Bradbury said.
From 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday buyers will be able to purchase as much clothing as they can stuff in a bag for $2. Any leftover items will be donated to charity.
The youth have been meeting monthly since December to prepare for the trip. The preparations have included reading three books about Rwandan culture and the refugee experience, as well as dealing with practical necessities such as obtaining passports and getting required shots.
Rwanda was chosen as a destination because Faith Lutheran has been very involved with the refugee community in Glen Ellyn, Bradbury said.
Waddle said a youth gathering he attended two years ago in New Orleans left him with the desire to go on a mission trip.
“I hope to gain an understanding of what it's like around the world,” he said.
If you go
What: Rummage sale to support youth mission trip to Rwanda
When: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 30
Where: Faith Lutheran Church, 41 N. Park Blvd., Glen Ellyn
Info: (630) 469-2361