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| | | Jake Kennedy will spend the next year carrying his home on his back. Here, he arrays most of the camping equipment that will comprise home and hearth for the next year. The tent is on the porch. | |
November 02, 2009
MOUNTAIN PARK – In this economy, most recent Virginia Tech graduates would be planning a career in the business world — not spending the next year living in a tent helping the poor and needy on four continents.
But that is exactly what James "Jake" Kennedy is planning to do through a nondenominational, Christian, non-profit agency called Adventures in Missions.
The 22-year-old will participate in a program called World Race in which a "squad" of about 60 members operating in teams of six or seven visit 11 countries in 11 months. There they work in a variety of ways to help improve the lot of the people with whom they stay.
Kennedy comes with hands-on experience. He has already spent time in college working with East African refugees in the nearby town of Roanoke, Va. Kennedy believes he has a life's calling to do world mission work, and this trip spanning Australia, Asia, Africa and Europe will be his "internship," as his mother calls it, giving him valuable experience working with churches and humanitarian organizations.
"It was my junior year in college that I felt that God was leading me into world missions work. I went to Kenya for two weeks with a buddy of mine," Kennedy said.
Now he has a "five-year plan" to see if he has what it takes to do this work. He would like to go back to Kenya.
"Kenya is the most stable country in East Africa, even with all of the corruption and political problems – it is still an East African country. But it is where all the other refugees go for safety," Kennedy said.
The volunteers will be living in tents and cooking on small camp stoves to be near the people they'll be helping.
What will the teams be doing?
"Each country is different with different needs," Kennedy said. "We may help with English classes, conduct sports camps, dig wells or help people with AIDS."
In Cambodia, they will likely work with orphans. In Thailand, with children rescued from the sex trade — which is rampant there. In New Zealand, they will be in the country with highest rate of suicide in the world. In Australia they will be in the country with highest incidence of atheism.
"Australia is pretty civilized, of course. We expect to work with youths, sharing the love and the joy of having a personal relationship with God," he said.
"But it depends on the needs we find when we get to each place. Each squad has two adult leaders – one male and one female – who will guide us. They are like coaches who will check in with us and see how we are doing."
Kennedy just returned from a 10-day training camp in Gainesville, Fla., where the 120 volunteers gathered for training and assignment to their teams.
"We got a lot of exercise and did some team-building. We came from all over the country," he said.
Kennedy heard about Adventures in Missions at college and decided to go for it. After an interview he was accepted.
So how is Mom taking all of this?
Pam Kennedy says she is proud of her son.
"I think he will really enjoy this. His friends all think it is the coolest thing. But of course I'm worried about him," she said.
"After the Kenya trip, he was going to join the Peace Corps. But then he heard about this and got accepted in September. I knew it was what he wanted. This is what he wants to do with his life. My biggest concern was that if there is trouble, there are people that can get him out."
Jake will keep in contact with his family through blogs and Skyping – Internet voice contact.
He has only one concern now. He has to raise $14,300 for the trip.
How much has he raised?
"So far, $100," Jake said. "I'm sending out a lot of letters. And my generation is all about Facebook and the Internet. And I have some ideas about fundraisers."
Supporters will follow his journey on his video blog site "with lots of pictures," he said. But first he has to replace his broken laptop.
He is accepting donations made to www. jakekennedy.theworldrace.org.
 View images. Jake's mission itinerary*
New Zealand
Australia
Malaysia
Cambodia
Thailand
Kenya
Uganda
Rumania
Ukraine
*Two "pioneer" countries will be chosen during the trip, one in Africa and one in Eastern Europe.
Tags: Milton
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