Covenant News

Corporation and Church Partner to Aid Angolan Orphanage

DUBLIN, CA (August 27, 2001) - What do a big U.S. corporation and a small congregation in the Evangelical Covenant Church have in common? An orphanage in Angola that has been refurbished, thanks to the combined efforts of these unlikely partners.

White Stone Church, a one-year-old Covenant church located in Dublin, sent 12 members to Angola in mid-July to initiate a major restoration effort for the Associasao de Apolo a Crianca Abandonada Orphanage and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Angola's capital city of Luanda. Chevron Corporation in nearby San Ramon generated more than $20,000 in financial and services assistance after Evan Simmons asked for support. Simmons, a petroleum engineering advisor, had worked for Chevron in Angola. The church raised more than $30,000 in additional financial support to supplement Chevron's generosity.

The White Stone mission team painted the inside of the orphanage, helped lay a tile floor and built 20 benches for the Lutheran church, among other things, according to pastor Rob Bryceson. They brought gift bags for each of the 54 orphan girls containing new clothes, shoes, personal hygiene products and a doll or stuffed animal. (Accompanying photos show pews being built and some of the children.)

The mission of mercy had an incredible effect on the Angolans, said Kathryn Simmons, pastor of strength for White Stone and Evan's wife. More than 40 children accepted Jesus Christ as savior and the director of the orphanage also came to a saving faith during the week.

"When we were looking for a mission trip, Angola kept coming up in our minds," Kathryn said. "But I couldn't have imagined or prepared myself for what I was going to see or experience in Luanda. What makes Luanda so different is that the streets are swarming with children who are either orphaned due to the war or children who are trying to make money for their families. I think that for every member on the team, it was a trip where lives were transformed. We definitely took back more than we gave."

Besides the construction work, mission team members traveled in and around Luanda with interpreters and ran a Vacation Bible School. They also visited a Christian church in downtown Luanda and received specially made Angolan outfits that the mission team wore to White Stone when they returned from Angola. Evan Simmons made a return trip to Angola and said that the orphanage continues to be encouraged by the efforts. The team came to respect the Angolans' love for family and their humbleness. Some Angolan Christians were overjoyed to know that missionaries from the United States had come to help their country.

Civil war in Angola has devastated the country and as a result a large number of children in Luanda are homeless. With social services strained, the only form of shelter for many children comes from poorly funded orphanages. There is a 30 percent mortality rate among infants in Angola and the lack of medicine keeps many other children from being healthy, Kathryn said.

The Angola orphanage seemed a viable mission for White Stone to consider, said Evan Simmons, the trip's project coordinator. He had seen some of the poverty in the country while working for Chevron overseas. Finding no Covenant churches or missionaries in Angola, he had made previous contacts with a Lutheran pastor there and the Lutheran church provided connections with the orphanage. "Having worked in Angola for three and a half years, I've seen first-hand the need for this kind of project," said Simmons. "While we can't help all the children of Luanda, we certainly wanted to at least try to make a difference for a few kids."

Simmons believed Chevron might help support the team, knowing that the company had operated plants in Angola since 1954. He was right - Chevron helped with housing and provided security and transportation in Angola for the group as they ministered to the orphanage. Chevron executives began by donating $5,000 in shipping materials to Angola. The corporation's art department also made three color posters for publicity purposes, said Bryceson, who added that news about the trip to Angola spread throughout the company. Kathryn said that Chevron is considering funding an annual trip for a mission team like White Stone.

"Official Chevron e-mails have gone out across the world to high-level executives explaining what God is doing, and several great evangelism conversations have taken place in business meetings as a result of all of this," said Bryceson. "Our leader (Simmons) had a business meeting with the governmental cabinet leader of the Department of Energy for Angola and he, too, was excited about what our church wants to do for the Angolan people."

Local residents and other businesses were supportive of White Stone's efforts to minister in Angola, said Bryceson. In one instance, an entire neighborhood gave a family loads of clothes, shoes and other items for the Angolan orphans. A teacher in a Dublin school used this opportunity to teach her class about Africa and created a geography curriculum to fit the occasion. Her students prepared beaded necklaces and letters that were delivered by members of White Stone to the Angolan girls in the orphanage. Finally, local businesses donated items for an auction fund-raiser and supplies to help rebuild and repair the orphanage itself.

How has White Stone been affected? Bryceson said that the work in Angola brought many to Christ and to the church even before the mission trip occurred. "Expatriate Angolans working for Chevron here in California have gone way out of their way to support us in labor as well as finances. Several of the families now attend our church as a result of our organizing this trip," said Bryceson. "Angolans from the United States were so touched that we would go out of our way to do something for their country," Kathryn added.

White Stone has also felt the good will of the community. Much of the support also came through a fund-raiser banquet attended by many Angolans in the area. The event raised more than enough for White Stone to defray the remaining costs of the $40,000 venture. More support was garnered when local newspapers in two cities learned of the trip and published articles about the church's collaborative efforts with Chevron. "It has simply been amazing to watch God take off and move by His spirit to bring people and resources far beyond our abilities to make this happen."

For more information on White Stone Church or the Angolan ministry, call Bryceson at 925-362-1565. The church web site is www.whitestonechurch.org.

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