A van carrying 13 students and three chaperones will pull out of Littlefork Sunday bound for New Orleans and to make a difference.
Members of the Littlefork Lutheran Church are embarking on the 3,000-mile round trip as part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in American youth gathering that will band together Bible study, service, worship, experiential learning, special events, dances and tours.
“The kids are getting very excited,” said Heidi Vork, youth coordinator and Sunday school teacher at the Littlefork Lutheran Church.
Vork said while some of the excitement is made up of nerves about being so far away from home, the young participants are determined to gain a life-changing experience from the journey.
“Our world is so much bigger than just the Littlefork, International Falls area and kids don’t always get a chance to witness that,” Vork told The Journal.
Vork, who is spearheading the excursion, got the idea to rally a group of youth leaders after her son, Tyler, experienced the convention three years ago. As a teenager, Tyler also attended the convention in Colorado. She noted it stands out as one of the most influential events in her life.
“(Tyler) wanted to go again and I wanted my youngest son, Quinton, to be able to have the experience, so I gathered the information, handed it out to the youth in our church, set a deadline, and got 13 kids who really wanted to go,” she said. “I never imagined I would get such a wonderful and willing group of teens.”
While in New Orleans, the group, which includes the church’s new pastor, Andy Berry, will focus on three core principles: discipleship, peacemaking, and justice, according to Vork.
To elaborate, she said while concentrating on discipleship, participants will target the seven faith practices of praying, studying, worshiping, inviting, encouraging, serving, and giving.
“We will go into the city for an afternoon discipleship lab, putting into practice what we have learned on the streets of New Orleans,” she said.
Vork continued that the peacemaking portion of the trip will focus on activities and exercises to help the youth better understand what peacemaking is and how it differs from mercy or merely being nice.
“They will be introduced to many global organizations that are involved in peacemaking including organizations that are in partnership with the ELCA,” she said.
Finally, Vork explained while practicing justice, groups will partner with a local organization that will work to improve the community by cleaning, painting, mulching, organizing, and building neighborhoods.
“Our project will include physical work and we are told to bring work gloves and wear shoes,” Vork said.
While the three principles will be on the group’s forefront, Vork said it will be important for the students to experience other cultures, race, and ethnicities
“I am hoping the experiences the youth have will help them group into leaders of our community,” Vork said. “The youth going are very active now, but we all can learn ways to better our environment and help those around us.”
Vork concluded that while a positive response has been given from both the Littlefork and International Falls communities, the group is still about $3,000 short of their fundraising goal. Donations can be made to the Littlefork Lutheran Church in care of the NOLA youth trip.
The group will leave Sunday and will return to Littlefork July 23.
