Wednesday, April 23, 2025
www.thepapersonline.com
Serving Kosciusko County and parts of Elkhart, Marshall & Noble Counties Know Your Neighbor . . . . . 2➤ Entertainment . . . . . . . . 6 Spring Farming . . . . . 8-14
Vol. 54, No. 44
Milford (574) 658-4111 • Warsaw (574) 269-2932 • Syracuse (574) 457-3666
114 W. Market, Warsaw, Indiana 46580
Father and son deepen their faith
in mission mission trip
MISSION TEAM — The mission team from Wakarusa Missionary Church spent one week in northern Belize. In the front row from left are Paul Schrock, Braden Hurst and Doug Blosser. In the back row are Karen Stichter, Joe Stichter, Jamie Cannaday, Sherry Martin, Landon Hurst, Greg Birr, Chuck Lawrence, Justin Wisler and Dylan Harman. Photo provided by Braden Hurst. By NATHAN PACE Staff Writer It was a week that Braden Hurst and his son, Landon, will not forget anytime soon . The father-son duo traveled to Belize as part of a church mission trip from March 1-8 . “As an American going on missions trip to another country, I’ve been on two now; if you’ve never traveled abroad or to undeveloped countries, we don’t know how blessed we are; how easy we have it,” Braden Hurst said . “Sometimes our wealth is the thing that hinders our faith the most . When Jesus said it’s easier to get the camel through an eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, scriptures like that come to life a little bit more when you get the chance to meet people from the Christian faith who are from a different economic background .” The Hurst family lives on their farm in Elkhart County off CR 50 and went to Belize with a team from their church, Wakarusa Missionary Church; however, getting there was not a smooth ride . Last-Minute Hurdle The Hursts were at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport getting set to board their flight to Belize when they hit a snag . Landon Hurst, a seventh grader at NorthWood Middle School, was in jeopardy of not being allowed to board the plane . “Belize has become a bit of a hot spot for human trafficking and our travel agent was not aware of these changes . Minors not traveling with both of their
CONSTRUCTION FAMILY — Landon and Braden Hurst go over the process for installing a galvanized roof during their mission trip to Belize. Photo provided by Braden Hurst. parents need to have a notarized letter from the other parent . We didn’t have that,” Braden said . Braden’s wife, Joy, had to fax a notarize document from Elkhart County giving Landon the all clear to travel to Belize . Thankfully, their tax accountant was also a notary and happened to be in the office on a Saturday . “She was able to hand write a letter in front of a notary, get it notarized and email it to me . I ran across to the hotel airport and was able to print it out . Bring
it back . Got the boarding pass about a half hour before they started boarding the plane,” Braden Hurst said . The mission team had left for Chicago a half hour earlier than scheduled and the extra time allowed Landon Hurst to join his father on the trip . “When I first realized what was going on, it was really nerve-racking . There was a lot of confusion . They wouldn’t let me know why they wouldn’t let me go,” Landon said . “We all got together and
WATER BREAK — NorthWood Middle School student, Landon Hurst, was the youngest member of the mission team. Photo by Braden Hurst. they started praying and it was really cool to see that happen .” Building Churches And Relationships The mission team landed in Belize City and traveled to San Jose, a community roughly half
the size of Milford, where they intended to finish construction of a new church building . The church, called Full Gospel Church of God, has had a relationship with Wakarusa Missionary Church for Continued on page 3