On the evening of Wednesday 9th July, we received the sad news that Penny Elvin had passed away after being diagnosed with cancer not so long ago. Penny was a much-loved member of the Mission Direct family having served as a volunteer since 2009. She soon graduated from being a volunteer on teams to being part of our overseas staff team, often serving as country manager in different countries.
Together with her sister-in-law Maureen and her niece Rachel, they have been indispensable overseas staff who have been responsible for transforming the lives of countless of people, both among the beneficiaries of our work overseas but also many of the volunteers as well.
Penny was an amazing and deeply spiritual woman. She was a dedicated servant and worked hard to achieve the goals of our projects and campaigns and to ensure that our volunteers were provided with the best possible experience. We will never forget finding out that she had broken a bone in her foot before a team was due to arrive in Cambodia, but she did not seek any medical attention until after the team had left because she was determined not to disrupt their experience. Although we all told her off for this, we did appreciate her motivation and resilience.
Wil Horwood, CEO, recalls when he was new to Mission Direct and doing a recce with her in the Dominican Republic that he quickly felt very reassured that she was in charge of the campaign there that year, and that it wouldn’t matter what challenges might arise because of her faithful and positive attitude, and her sense of humour that was capable of encouraging the most anxious of volunteers. Perhaps the best way to remember Penny is to read her own words.
“I joined my first MD trip as part of my ‘gap’ year when I finished my working life, aged 62, in 2009. When we tell people “It will change your life”, we’re not kidding, and it certainly refers to many more people than just me. But that’s their stories.
My MD story went from 2 volunteer trips-Zambia and Sierra Leone- to staff team in almost every other country barring Moldova.
I have a very bad memory and haven’t kept a record of all my trips, but as best as I can remember (or guess) I have taken part, as staff team or Country Manager, in 18 campaigns of 2-16 weeks and 62+ teams within that. I’m presently writing this in Narok, Kenya, so make that 19 campaigns! That’s probably a conservative estimate as well.
The countries in which I have spent most of my time are Zambia and Cambodia, although possibly Kenya as well.
I have enjoyed working with Geoff Spiller in Zambia over the years and it was a particularly enhanced time when Abraham, a Zambian man who had helped Tim Martindale and others set up the country as a partner nation, was persuaded to join the staff team for 2 years. It was fun, deeply spiritual and it enhanced my views and understanding of the country a great deal.
I will always remember… in Zambia, where we built a rescue centre for girls looked after by the wonderful Chitalu. The girls would sing to every team that visited-sweet, sweet gospel and worship songs, during which I would think “there’s no other place on earth I would rather be at this moment”. I shall never forget those moments.
I could also share memories of the team accommodation in Brazil being flooded the day before the team arrived, or the hotel in Cambodia being sold and boarded up 3 days before the team was due. Of river cruises, safari’s, watching elephants cross the main road down to Livingstone or swimming across the Zambezi River later on. Hippo’s eating outside your door or zebra’s and wildebeest filling almost every space in the Maasai Mara in migration season.
But I finish with a memory from 14 years ago of meeting a few of the street boys in Narok, Kenya, sharing some West Ham shirts, and keeping in touch with one of them over the years. This year he travelled down from Nairobi where he now lives to tell the team how God had brought him thus far and with some help over the years from Mission Direct volunteers for schooling and other essentials, he now has a job in a large bank, is able to support his sisters’ education and was even sent to UK for a week by that bank! A living example of the star fish principal that Mission Direct is based on!“
We laughed when we read about the hotel in Cambodia that closed three days before our team arrived, because that team would not have been aware, if not told about it, because Penny sorted out an alternative without any fuss. She was a towering example of quiet strength and immense courage; a gentle soul with heaps of compassion; an example of what faithful commitment and consistent service can achieve.
We will miss Penny very much and we are grateful to have shared our journeys with her and to have been co-workers in mission. If you knew Penny and would like to contribute towards a book of memories about her, please send your recollections and photos by email to info@missiondirect.org using the subject “Penny Elvin.”
