Off To Africa

The 16-hour flight to Africa is not easy one, nor is the journey over bumpy roads to an area near Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. But for Andrea and Rex Minor of Grayslake, it is a dream come true.

They and a small team of volunteers are spending this week in Africa with Oasis for Orphans, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit agency. The organization was originally founded by families from in Grayslake and Libertyville.

The volunteers will meet orphaned children that they are sponsoring, sing songs, read books and pray with them. The Minors are on the trip with the Derse family of Sheyboygan, Wis., the Haecker family of Hoffman Estates, Matt Fuhr of Round Lake, and Livia Krzeminski of New York City, who previously lived in Chicago.

The Minor's daughter Mallory is on staff with for Oasis for Orphans. She spends several months out of the year on-site in Africa and other months back home in the states raising funds and awareness for Oasis for Orphans.

"This is our first trip to Kenya," said Andrea Minor. "We will get to see our daughter in action and to see her follow her calling with the children."

Minor said she knows her group is going to help the children of Africa, but also knows they will get much in return.

"We always kind of go thinking that we will help them and give something noble," she said. "We are planning to do some training and teaching. Everyone of us wants to have a bigger perspective of the world around us. But although we are going with the idea of serving them, we all know that we are going to be changed by this experience."

The volunteers are involved with , a non-denominational church with locations in Barrington, Grayslake, Lake Zurich, Libertyville, McHenry, Mundelein and Palatine.

"God told us to love the poor and care for orphans and widows," Minor said. "We are just trying to follow that."

The team is bringing clothing, school supplies and Bibles to the African kids, along with sunglasses and fleece jackets for the cool nights.

"The Dersey family is really musical so they are bringing all of these instruments with them," Minor said. "We all get to bring the children gifts and things to make their lives easier, but the most important thing is just building relationships with them. We are going with servant's hearts. We'll do whatever we need to do."

Oasis for Orphans seeks partners to help with:

• Educational Enhancement
• Improved Medical Care
• Agricultural Development
• Women's Development Programs
• Building Construction
• Future Expansion Opportunities

For Minor, being there in person makes the giving so much more real. They are all sponsoring children at the orphanage. The Minors are eager to meet their sponsored "daughter" Valentine for the first time.

"It is always lovely to give to these organizations," Minor said. "But if you are given the opportunity to go firsthand and to experience someone else's world and then respond, then it becomes very personal. Then it is not just someone's else's problem - it becomes mine too."

For more information, visit:

www.oasisfororphans.org