wfn.org | Mennonite VS rewards keep teacher

[Beth Hawn]

Microsoft Mail v3.0 (MAPI 1.0 Transport) IPM.Microsoft Mail.Note
To:  'Worldwide Faith News'
Date: 1998-06-11 13:10
Priority: 3
Message ID: D59CD9672801D211AAB0006008075ABF
Conversation ID: Mennonite VS rewards keep teacher

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June 10, 1998
Mennonite Board of Missions
Beth Hawn
219-294-7523
NEWS@MBM.org

KYKOTSMOVI, Ariz. (GCMC/MBM) - Herman Lapp stayed at Hopi Mission School
because of the pay.

That "pay" is defined in other than monetary value, however.  After a   
year of
Mennonite Voluntary Service teaching second and third grade at the   
school,
Lapp came back for another year, but not with MVS.  MVS is a joint   
program of the
Commission on Home Ministries of the General Conference Mennonite Church
and Mennonite Board of Missions of the Mennonite Church.

"One reason I went into MVS was to experience 'hardship,' to be forced to   
change
my  lifestyle," Lapp said. "But it wasn't hard enough - friends and   
family kept
sending me money. Added to full support from MVS, it meant I didn't have   
to
change."

So at the end of his MVS year, Lapp decided to stay, but without the   
safety net of
 MVS. "I said to God, 'If you want me here, I have to get the support   
[from other
sources].' And I have," he said.

Lapp now runs the physical education program and the computer lab at Hopi   

Mission School, while also doing some fund-raising. He gets free housing
and limited vehicle use from the school.

"The kids are great," he said of the 33-member student body. "You really   
get to
know them, and their strengths and weaknesses, and you get to know the   
parents.

"It's a nice atmosphere to work in. It's low stress. The second I get   
home [in
Lancaster County, Pa.], there are places I need to go, people I need to   
see.
It's crazy. I guess I wouldn't have to let it be that way, but it's what   
happens."

Lapp now is in the process of applying for teaching jobs in the region.
"I'm ready to make some money," he said. But he has little desire as
yet to head back east.  "Back home in Lancaster County, there is usually   
a
minimum of 800 applicants for each teaching position. I don't want to get   

into that competition, and it also says to me that I'm not needed there.   
   

They need teachers here - it's hard to attract them."

He also has found personal satisfaction on the Hopi Reservation. "Out   
here,
I think the real me comes out," he said.  "I'm not putting on a show for
anyone. No one is telling me what to do or when to do it -
which isn't always good.

"Here, you can have a rotten day, but you can go out at night
and the stars are like a planetarium. I feel at peace here. The land,
the people - it's a completely different world."
   

                        * * *
Melanie Zuercher       PHOTO AVAILABLE