By Wes Helbling

Bastrop, La. - Dennis Irby of Bastrop has joined an annual mission team to the South American country of Peru for eight years and counting. This year’s journey, from which he and two other members of the First Church of God in Bastrop recently returned, held a special surprise.

Irby joined the Rev. Dalyn Helbling, who pastors the Bastrop church, and Miranda Williams as part of a small Partners in Missions work team whose destination was the Andean village of Chepen. Partners in Missions, Inc. was founded in 1997 by Louisiana natives Karvin and Sandy Adams, who organize regular missions to Bolivia, Guatemala, Brazil, Ecuador and Panama in addition to Peru.

Since 2001, members of the Bastrop Church of God have joined Partners in Missions in helping construct the Daniel S. Warner School, a project of La Iglesias de Dios (Church of God) in Chepen. The school is named for the 19-century founder of the Church of God, the Rev. Daniel Warner, and enrolled 110 students when its doors opened in March 2007.

“Different workers have taken part in these annual trips, but Dennis Irby has gone every year,” said Helbling. “There’s no telling how much manual labor he has put into that building. He remembers when there was only a vacant lot where the school stands today, four floors high.”

The annual Partners in Missions team stays in the home of Church of God pastor Nicolas Perez, who first envisioned the school.

“Since the school is now completed, we worked on a new project this time: Constructing a home for Pastor Perez to retire in one day,” said Helbling. “However, (Perez) wanted to have a special dedication ceremony of the school building on July 18.

“Pastor Perez started on the first floor, where he had Karvin and Sandy (Adams) unveil a large plaque that had their names on it in honor of all they have done to help bring the Warner School into existence. Below that, I saw the names of two other important benefactors: Jane Neer (team member from Fort Wayne, Ind.) and our own Dennis Irby.

“Then he took us up to the computer lab. This is an impressive room with a beautiful view, since one wall is mostly glass. When the plaque was unveiled, we learned the lab had been named the ‘Dennis Irby Computer Room.’ Because of all the time, energy and resources Dennis has invested into the school, they wanted to honor him in this way.

“As Pastor Perez gave his presentation speech, Dennis reacted with characteristic modesty. From the look on his face, I could tell he would just as soon not receive all this attention. That’s the kind of person he is -- he doesn’t look for praise. He just looks for good things to do.

“As I watched the ceremony going on that day, I kept thinking how grateful I was for this moment when something was happening that should be happening. In our culture, we heap all kinds of praise on undeserving celebrities and politicians, while decent and giving people go unrecognized. But not this day.

“Dennis will never seek an honor like this, but we all know he deserves it. And I feel like it is special to have know that a portion of the school, so far away, is named after a Bastrop resident.”

Article courtesy of the Bastrop Daily Enterprise.