A story about Casey Fetterhoff, nephew of Grace Brethren pastor, Bob Fetterhoff (Grace Church, Wooster, Ohio), and grandson of retired pastor Dean and Billie Fetterhoff (and son of Rich and Amy), is featured in his hometown newspaper, the Homer, Alaska, Tribune. He is volunteering at a school on Isreal’s West Bank. A portion of the story appears below. Click here for the complete article.
Local youth volunteering in Israel’s West Bank
Casey Fetterhoff travels to see and understand other places and people
Homer youth, Casey Fetterhoff, witnesses both peace and violence in Israel’s West Bank on a daily basis, and in person.
“I’ve seen inspiring things – like the patience and perseverance of people who live every day under the barrel of somebody’s gun,” he said. “And I’ve seen disturbing things – like the aftermath of a failed terrorist attack.”
Since September, Fetterhoff has been volunteering at a school in the city of Beit Jala.
Fetterhoff graduated from Homer’s IDEA Homeschool in 2015, at the age of 16. When he heard about an organization that does trips around the world, he signed up to join them in the West Bank. He spent last summer at the same school he is currently working with.
“Homer is a small town and I always look forward to going to different places because it means I get to know new people,” he said. “It’s like starting a new life every time I go somewhere different.”
Last year, daily life for Fetterhoff consisted of traveling as a group with other youth from the United States. This year, he is traveling on his own.
“Every weekend, I travel to a different city in Israel or the West Bank,” he said. “Making this trip solo has given me the freedom to do that and to break out of my comfort zone and become friends with people I might not have met if I were with a group.”
Click here for the complete article.