Barb and Steve Hopta have been married 41 years and are the parents of Bethany, Emily (Jack Hoblitzell), and Kate (Brett Swanson), and grandparents of Ellie (5) and Charlotte (2).
Steve: I am an elder at First, Charleston and a Trustee of PWV. I am retired General Counsel of Pocahontas Land Corp. I have known Leslie Clay and Carl Agsten for ten years and look forward to seeing them and experiencing the work they have done as missionaries in Nicaragua. I anticipate investigating possibilities for expanding the presbytery's presence in Nicaragua.
Barb: I became acquainted with Leslie and Carl since coming to First, Charleston as Director of Child/Family Ministry. My interest in Nicaragua is closely tied to their three years of ministry there. During that time several groups from First Presby have taken mission trips to Nicaragua. I'm excited that my opportunity has arrived and appreciate the support and prayers expressed by many for our group.
Team Member Profile - David Pettry
David Pettry - I am a Commissioned Lay Pastor at Colcord, Clear Fork and Marsh Fork Presbyterian churches. I also do some accounting to pay the bills. I have been married to Drema for nearly 43 years (she has the patience of a saint). I enjoy spending time with my Basset Hound Winston and my grandchildren; not necessarily in that order.
I have always loved to travel and I’m excited about going to Nicaragua since that’s a part of the world I’ve never visited. It always amazes me that we can have different languages, cultures, etc., and still be brothers and sisters in our common faith. We ask for your prayers for a safe and inspirational trip.
Team Member Profile - John Nelson
John Nelson - My wife Beverly and I are members of Highlawn Presbyterian Church in Saint Albans. There I serve as Session member, co-treasurer, leader of the Education Team, and sing in the choir (fortunately there wasn't an audition ;-). After completing the Lay Academy last year, I am also an ALP. I serve on the Stewardship Team of the Presbytery and in my spare time I actually work on computers for a living. I come from a big family (4 brothers and 3 sisters) and have a wonderful son and daughter-in-law.I will be serving as blogger/photographer (one of them) for this trip and would like your prayers that in doing so I would do justice to the team and to the mission. Thank you all for the opportunity to go. I am looking forward to this trip because I love hands-on mission work and I love being able to be part of God's people working together, whether in a church, a community, the state, or across the globe. I am always amazed by what God's community of people can do when they come together. Keep the Nicaragua team in your prayers that we open ourselves up to the Spirit's leading.
Blog you later.
Team Member Profile - Todd Wright
Todd Wright – pastor at Village Chapel in Charleston and current chair of the Missions Committee; married to Maureen who works at the PWV office. We have two children – Emily, a senior at George Washington HS, and Nate, a freshman at GWHS; and a black Labrador retriever named Grace.
I have fond memories of past mission trips to Central America and I’m looking forward to this new adventure!
Please pray for my family since my being away for a week will mean everyone else will have to fill my rolls (taxi driver, dog attendant, occasional cook, etc.).
Commissioned to Go - March 9th
We were commissioned for our upcoming trip at the March 9th Presbytery meeting at Bream Memorial Presbyterian Church in Charleston.
Standing left to right: Greg Kupar, Claire Butler, Todd Wright, Steve Hopta, John Nelson, Dave Pettry, and Barb Hopta.
We've all been making preparations to go; making sure we have our passports ready to go, making sure we have all of our immunizations, making lists of what we need to be sure to take with us, and even learning a bit of Spanish along the way.
On a personal note, after going over some Spanish phrases and words and feeling a bit more confident about my Spanish speaking skills, I decided I would try it out by going to a Spanish speaking television channel. I listened as the actors talked back and forth with each other. My eyes widened, my heart raced a bit, and within 5 minutes I knew I was ready... yes! Ready to go back to the books. OK, Como esta usted? How are you? Hola. Hello... Getting the shots and a new passport were definitely a lot easier. All I had to do for those were to not wince in pain when they took my picture and smile when they gave me the shots. ;-)
Keep us in your prayers.
Hasta luego - see you later.
Standing left to right: Greg Kupar, Claire Butler, Todd Wright, Steve Hopta, John Nelson, Dave Pettry, and Barb Hopta.
We've all been making preparations to go; making sure we have our passports ready to go, making sure we have all of our immunizations, making lists of what we need to be sure to take with us, and even learning a bit of Spanish along the way.
On a personal note, after going over some Spanish phrases and words and feeling a bit more confident about my Spanish speaking skills, I decided I would try it out by going to a Spanish speaking television channel. I listened as the actors talked back and forth with each other. My eyes widened, my heart raced a bit, and within 5 minutes I knew I was ready... yes! Ready to go back to the books. OK, Como esta usted? How are you? Hola. Hello... Getting the shots and a new passport were definitely a lot easier. All I had to do for those were to not wince in pain when they took my picture and smile when they gave me the shots. ;-)
Keep us in your prayers.
Hasta luego - see you later.
Our first meeting - January 26th
Bienvenido! Welcome! Seems like an appropriate way to start this off. After all, we're heading to a country where Spanish is the primary language. And of course I had to follow up those first few lines with a few minutes of the imaginary sound of a lone cricket and an all too real awkward silence as I wondered what in the world should I type next. Hmmm. Team members, passport, shots... SHOTS!!! Ah yes, it's all starting to come to me now.
We had our first meeting on January 26th at the Presbytery office in South Charleston as a chance to meet the team members and get some info on what to expect. We spent the first few hours introducing ourselves, finding out what were the driving forces behind each team members' desire to go on this trip, what benefits each thought they might be able to bring to the mission trip, and what each hoped to gain from this experience. For some added inspiration we ate lunch at a Mexican restaurant and listened as Todd gave a devotional reading. After that we started learning some things about Nicaragua and CEPAD, and then talked about what to expect and what to pack. The trip that started in hearts and minds over a year earlier was beginning to become a reality.
Team members are Dave Pettry, Greg Kupar, Todd Wright, Claire Butler, Steve Hopta, Barb Hopta, and John Nelson. We will be leaving on April 18th and returning on April 25th. Our destination: Nehemiah Guest House and Conference Center, Managua, Nicaragua. We will be meeting and working with members of CEPAD.
Keep us in your hearts and prayers. Pray for travel safety. Pray for the Spirit's guidance. Pray for God's blessings, not only upon what the Presbytery of West Virginia has to offer CEPAD and the people of Nicaragua but what CEPAD and the people of Nicaragua have to offer the Presbytery of West Virginia. Mission is so often a two way street. You go to bless and end up being blessed. You go to help and end up being helped in some unexpected way.
Lord, open our hearts, our eyes, and our ears that we may realize the wonderful ways that your Spirit lives and moves among us.
Vaya con Dios, Go with God
We had our first meeting on January 26th at the Presbytery office in South Charleston as a chance to meet the team members and get some info on what to expect. We spent the first few hours introducing ourselves, finding out what were the driving forces behind each team members' desire to go on this trip, what benefits each thought they might be able to bring to the mission trip, and what each hoped to gain from this experience. For some added inspiration we ate lunch at a Mexican restaurant and listened as Todd gave a devotional reading. After that we started learning some things about Nicaragua and CEPAD, and then talked about what to expect and what to pack. The trip that started in hearts and minds over a year earlier was beginning to become a reality.
Team members are Dave Pettry, Greg Kupar, Todd Wright, Claire Butler, Steve Hopta, Barb Hopta, and John Nelson. We will be leaving on April 18th and returning on April 25th. Our destination: Nehemiah Guest House and Conference Center, Managua, Nicaragua. We will be meeting and working with members of CEPAD.
Keep us in your hearts and prayers. Pray for travel safety. Pray for the Spirit's guidance. Pray for God's blessings, not only upon what the Presbytery of West Virginia has to offer CEPAD and the people of Nicaragua but what CEPAD and the people of Nicaragua have to offer the Presbytery of West Virginia. Mission is so often a two way street. You go to bless and end up being blessed. You go to help and end up being helped in some unexpected way.
Lord, open our hearts, our eyes, and our ears that we may realize the wonderful ways that your Spirit lives and moves among us.
Vaya con Dios, Go with God
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