In 2007 as Father Methodius and his wife Everlyn were eating lunch at their home they observed three children who were eating scraps of food nearby. Feeling bad for them they invited them over to eat lunch with them. In that lunch, a tradition was born in which these kids started to come to their house every day for lunch.

 

Father Methodius decided to hire a young woman to come and stay with these kids and rented a few rooms where they could spend the day and play outside. Soon afterwards, Father Methodius and his wife learned of other needy children and orphans that were living in the area. They then began to take in more and more children as they gained support from the Church and other well-wishers.

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Many of the people in their town had never heard about the Orthodox Faith so they began to offer catechetical classes to the children. Since 2007 over 400 children have received services from the Saint Barnabas mission. Today Saint Barnabas’s mission has 13 volunteers that are providing care for 175 children. To date, 34 of these children have embraced the Orthodox Faith and been baptized at the mission.

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