Thursday, Aug. 7, 2008
While many young people spend their summers hanging out with friends, at the beach or completing internships, University Park's Ruthanne Curtis spends hers trying to make a difference.
Curtis returned last week from the Dominican Republic where she was helping at a Vacation Bible School for young children and orphans, sponsored by McLean Bible Church in Virginia.
The summer community service trip has become an annual ritual for Curtis, 25.
"I think I've always had a heart to help hurting people," she said. "There's a growing sense of urgency with every trip I take."
These trips, organized through churches, Christian groups and Washington Bible College have given her an opportunity to work at orphanages, drug rehab centers and churches all over the world since her senior year of high school. She has also been to Uganda, Trinidad and Siberia.
Curtis said her responsibilities have included working as a counselor, helping to build churches and sometimes just spends time with children and orphans, hoping to take their minds off their problems for a while.
Curtis, also a pianist and singer, also has gone on trips where she teaches young kids about God and Christianity through music and performance.
"We're Christians and we really believe our purpose here is to show love to Jesus," said Curtis' mother, Anne Curtis. "She grew up watching that. The more hurt [the children] are, the more drawn to them Ruthanne is."
Curtis said the trip that had the most affect on her was her second trip to Uganda where she worked at Amani Baby Cottage, an orphanage for children younger than 6.
"The physical need there is greater than any place I've been," she said. "There are so many orphans there because their parents die of things that are totally treatable. They need drugs there that you can basically buy over the counter here."
During her time at Amani, a 2-year-old orphan named Shadia became very attached to Curtis.
"She just latched on to me from the moment I came," Curtis said. "We were able to take the kids out and I'd always have her with me. Shadia's mother had abandoned her but her grandparents wanted to be reunited with her. That happened when I was there."
Curtis, who still has a picture of Shadia on the desktop of her computer, said she was happy that Shadia would be with a family that loved her, but wishes she had more time to teach her about Christianity.
Curtis also said the value Ugandans put on personal relationships made her appreciate her family and friends in North America even more.
Mark Heazlit, a classmate of Curtis' at Capital Bible Seminary, first met her on a trip to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in October 2005.
"She's really beneficial on a trip because she's very relational," he said. "She's got a very sweet nature and people immediately sense that she cares about them."
Heazlit said that Curtis' willingness to share her experiences helps persuade other students to participate in mission trips.
"She encourages people to try to go on a mission trip because it's important to go outside of America," he said. "It's different when you encounter poverty and people living with oppression."
Curtis recently earned her undergraduate degree in bible and counseling at Washington Bible College, where she won the school's 2008 Christian Service Award. She will pursue a Master's degree at CBS in the fall.
Curtis does her share of community service in the county as well. During her time at WBC, she spent nearly two years as a counselor at the Bowie-Crofton Crisis Pregnancy Clinic.
"I don't think they could find anybody that would be more dedicated and has a spirit of self sacrifice," Heazlit said. "She looks around and sees the needs of other people."
E-mail Jonah Schuman at jschuman@gazette.net.
