Mission work changes the people who give their time and talent as much as it does the people who receive them.

That's certainly the case with Michelle Ufner. The 62-year-old Butler woman returned recently from a medical mission to earthquake-ravaged Nepal. A 7.9-magnitude quake on April 25 killed 9,000 people. Since then, a steady series of mudslides, snow avalanches and aftershocks have complicated the international rescue and recovery efforts.

Ufner left for Nepal on May 6 and returned May 24. She went as an EMT, but found herself performing a variety of tasks — teaching, building, clearing debris, working with traumatized children and distributing materials like tarps and corrugated metal sheets. There was a big demand for mental health services. Children were terrified. Adults were drinking more alcohol. The pressures of daily living were extreme.

Through all the hardship and suffering, Ufner said she'll remember getting involved in the lives of the villagers. “What made the bond was getting to know them,” Ufner said. “It's the people.”

It's likely the villagers Nepal are saying the same thing about their global good Samaritans.

Spokane, Wash., finds itself in the eye of a media storm after the president of the NAACP chapter was outed as a white person.Rachel Dolezal's parents claimed she had been deceiving people. Ruthanne and Larry Dolezal said Thursday that they want people to know the truth, that their daughter is Caucasian. The said their daughter is of German and Czech descent.But only a small portion of this jeer is for Dolezal, and only because of the deception she's been perpetrating not only with her claims of African ancestry, but with a frizzy perm and deep tan. Photos produced by her parents depict a fair-skinned child with straight blonde hair.The greater portion of this jeer is for the media circus. What's the big deal? White liberals founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1909. The NAACP welcomes white membership in its pursuit of civil rights.Furthermore, did we not hear an interview last week celebrating the right of Olympic decathlon champion Bruce Jenner to transform into Kaitlyn? The presumption, it seems, is that we all have the right to be whoever we want to be.If Kaitlyn Jenner can receive accolades for changing gender, then why can't Rachel Dolezal expect the same treatment for changing race?

Solemn cheers of eternal gratitude to Sydney Gilbert of Center Township and Joseph Chapman of Freeport. The two World War II veterans were awarded the French Legion of Honor during a ceremony at the Soldiers and Sailors Hall and Museum in Pittsburgh.The medals were awarded June 6, the 71st anniversary of the Normandy invasion.The French Legion of Honor medal is the highest military honor bestowed by France. The Normandy landing was the greatest military action ever performed on French soil.In bestowing the honors, Jean-Dominique Le Garrec, honorary consul of France in Pittsburgh explained, “The aim of the allies was to force the Third Reich into surrender. Eleven months later, the war in Europe was over.”Gilbert was a waist gunner during a mission near Hamburg, Germany, on Aug. 4, 1944, when his plane was severely damaged by anti-aircraft fire and was forced to leave formation. Gilbert rendered medical assistance to the wounded co-pilot and engineer, then entered the engineer's turret and shot at the German planes, destroying one and damaging another.“The exceptional aerial skill and loyalty displayed by Sgt. Gilbert enabled his aircraft to continue its bomb run and successfully complete the mission,” said Le Garrec.Chapman was a Browning Automatic rifleman for the 3rd Army under Gen. George Patton. He was wounded and captured by German soldiers and was forced into labor for 7 months and 22 days before being freed.