MLC students in grades 7-12 participate in annual mission trips
Mountain Lake Christian (MLC) students in grades 7-12 recently served those at home – and far away – during their annual mission/service trips.
The theme for this year – “Open Doors are Often Next Door,” and the services the teams completed – were an accurate reflection of the Bible verse from which they were taken – Acts 1:8 (“And you will be my witness in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”).
A group of six students and four adults went on a mission trip to Senegal, located along Africa’s west coast, while another group of students stayed – and served – at home.
Below, read more about the service of each group, as the students (and adults) reflect on their work and experiences.
Serving at Home
From Wednesday, January 20 to Monday, January 25, MLC students and chaperones worked in both Windom and the Twin Cities – and learned that there is a “world” of need in which to serve – right around “home.”
During the school day on Wednesday, January 20 and Thursday, January 21, students served in Windom at both the Evangelical Free Church and the BARC (Business, Arts and Recreation Center). Cleaning, painting and organizing was the name of the game for these two days of service to those “neighbors” living west of Mountain Lake.
Cleaning was the central push at the Evangelical Free Church, while painting the primary task at BARC.
Each organization expressed their appreciation for the students’ willingness to help them with their needs.
From Friday, January 22 to Monday, January 25, a group of 13 MLC students and three adults were in service at The Central Mission, located in a diverse area of St. Paul.
Students helped by doing a little demolition and some painting at the home church/ministry house, provided nursery/childcare for the mission church services and some cleaning, sorting and organizing in the Sunday School classrooms, kitchen and Chapel.
Those serving at the mission received a good lesson in patience, learning that those who live in the area – and who hail from different cultural backgrounds – can view time a little differently. They also realized that Pastor Ike Kingson of The Central Mission has a deep and passionate hart for urban ethnic cultures.
Additionally, in return, the mission provided multicultural experiences for group members through meals and visits to area churches.
The experience of these cultural differences was the major take-away from service at the mission. The team met people from Ethiopia, tried Ethiopian foods and attended an Ethiopian religious service. Another culture experienced came during a visit to the Hmong Village (a large market and restaurant area) with Sing, Maylee and their six children.
To find out more about The Central Mission, see http://www.tcmission.org/.
On Monday, before the group returned, a stop was made at Target Field to work for the Minnesota Brain Injury Association as they prepared for the following weekend’s Twinsfest.
STUDENTS SERVING IN Windom and St. Paul. Front, from left, Cheyanne Courts, Abraham Stoesz, Jack Lepp, Levi Stoesz and Bryce Adrian. Middle, from left, Sara Quiring, Zoey Smith, Emily Schroeder, Seth Klassen, Danica Dick, Lizzy van Bielen and Melissa Lohrenz. Back, from left, Elizabeth Linscheid, Paige Riihl, Regan James, James Hamm, Tim Sellers, Summer Janzen and Josh Raabe. (Photo courtesy of MLC)
Serving in Senegal
A crash course in a different culture and environment – strange foods to eat, thatch huts in which to sleep, and communicating in a form of “sign language” because English is not the people’s language. And yet, what was discovered – and served – was plenty of need. This service was coupled with the opportunity to create friendships and sturdy foundations of many forms across the miles – and the Atlantic Ocean.
The group of six students and four adults who served their mission in Senegal, located along Africa’s west coast, were at work in Dakar, as well as in villages hours of travel away from the country’s capital. This team’s mission trip ran from Tuesday, January 19 through Tuesday, January 26.
On their first day in the country, the group experienced school at Dakar Academy, a K-12 International Christian School for the children of missionaries from more than 20 countries serving in West Africa.
From the Academy, the group departed for an outreach to a remote Senegalese village, where they helped to build foundations for two churches. Additionally, the team built church benches, provided medical care and participated in nightly evangelism campaigns in support of a Senegalese pastor through drama and child evangelism teams.
It was a short night as the team headed into their second day in Senegal. A trip to one of the most remote villages in the country – Nguekoh – began at 3 a.m. The trek to reach the destination from Dakar took 3.5 hours. When they arrived, tents were pitched and the assigned groups began their work.
These assignments varied from doing medical work, holding services, building a church foundation, making cement blocks and benches for the church, painting a school, painting murals and doing drama and programs for children in a VBS/Kids’ Club. The team reached out to five different villages in the area. (And the wait was on for a translator – hopefully to arrive – Senegal has 36 different languages!)
Over the course of the three days, 30 benches were built, two church foundations were poured, prayer and medical care was provided to over 300 people and more than 300 children and 1,500 adults were presented the Gospel through drama and evangelism.
The team’s final stop before leaving Senegal was a trip to the Bandia Nature Reserve. The reservce is an ecological jewel because it preserves Senegal’s and Africa’s greatest treasures – its flora and fauna, and innumerable species, including white rhinoceros, zebras, giraffes, crocodiles, monkeys and much more.
