SHORT-TERM MISSIONS &
DISASTER RESPONSE

Who are you sending Christmas cards to this year? Family? Friends? Acquaintances? Business contacts? Missionaries? The names on those envelopes often represent relationships that have been built—and faithfully maintained—over many years.

Many people discover over the course of life, relationships rarely begin easily, and nurturing them over time requires diligence, patience, and care. The same is true in missions. OPC Short-Term Missions has been abundantly blessed with enduring relationships—both within our foreign mission fields and with indigenous churches with whom we share fraternal ties. Each began with developing a relationship with a mission field, discovering a Christ-like love for others, and a willingness to step beyond the familiar.

One such partnership, now eighteen years strong, is faithfully led by Olivia Durham, the wife of Pastor Carl Durham, of Covenant OPC in Barre, Vermont.

It began when Covenant OPC, Barre, VT member Laurel Swift responded to then OPC missionary Ben Westerveld’s request for a church group to run an English-language children’s camp called, “English for Kids” (E4K) at the Église Réformée du Québec (ERQ) congregation back in 2005. Intrigued, Laurel organized a small team of four to serve at Westerveld’s church in Québec City. The next year, Laurel recruited Olivia, who brought her ESL degree and experience in organizing children’s camps. Laurel handled logistics—transportation, lodging, finances, and packing—while Olivia wrote the curriculum.

For three summers, they traveled to Québec City with teens from their church. When Laurel retired, Olivia continued directing the English camp. In 2009, Pastor Westerveld asked them to relocate the camp to serve another ERQ congregation, in Saint-Georges de Beauce, which had just acquired its own building.

Olivia recalls that the early years involved many unknowns. The first year proved to be the hardest, as their relationship had not yet been built. The American team and the Canadian church needed time to get to know one another and develop trust. Logistics also had to be sorted out. When the camp moved to Saint-Georges, Olivia found it invaluable to visit six months in advance—meeting people, seeing the facility, forming a clear picture of the setting, and giving the host church confidence in the team leaders.

As the teens in her small congregation aged out of summer availability, Olivia began recruiting participants from other OPC churches, thus expanding their pool of volunteers.

When asked about developing relationships with the host church, Olivia shared what it was like to witness someone’s transformation. “One of the greatest developments has been the growth and leadership of [church member] Marilou Dallaire.” Marilou has been part of the camps since she was about four years old, and now at twenty-three she is one of the leaders of the E4K camp. Each year she uses her vacation time to serve, co-leads nearly every aspect of the program, and directs the weekly skit. She also sends an end-of-week email to all the staff, both American and Canadian, highlighting memorable, funny, and encouraging moments from the week for all the staff.

When asked what advice she would give a church or presbytery considering a short-term missions trip, Olivia summed it up in one word: pray. “I have learned to pray about everything. There is no use doing this without the work of the Spirit.”

OPC Short-Term Missions prayerfully hopes that, in the years ahead, more churches and presbyteries within the OPC will step forward to lead and cultivate meaningful relationships with mission fields around the world—helping to spread the gospel, one field at a time.

If you or someone in your church has an interest in leading or participating in a short-term mission trip, we invite you to visit the OPC Short-Term Missions website for a current list of Ways to Serve or email us at opcshorttermmission@opc.org. We would love to hear from you and help guide you along the way.