2019 Missions trips
Grades 11 & 12Camp Eaglecrest in Sutton, Alaska
Mr. Delgado, along with parent chaperons Mick and Sarah Pitts traveled to Sutton, Alaska with 16 students. This was an amazing week with a great combination of work and exploration. Work consisted of lots of wood splitting and stacking, as well lawn maintenance including mowing, weed whacking, raking and leaf blowing. Sweaty and tired students at the end of each work day became the norm; as a group, they really pushed themselves hard when it came to the carrying out of physical tasks for people! Many students did things they've never done before, including working with machinery. As for exploration, we were able to go on 3 different hikes; a handful of us got to experience bush plane rides with Kingdom Air corps as well. Those on the bush plane rides saw sheep on mountain sides, moose trudging through marshes and swamps, and a 25 mile long glacier valley. ACS senior David Royston, who has a private pilots license and is going to college to continue his pursuit of aviation in the fall, had the opportunity to pilot one of the planes! One of the places we hiked was an 800 foot climb up "The Butte". We also hiked and explored a snow covered gold mine. Hiking this area included falling through snow up to your waist multiple times. We were able to be a part of a couple of miscellaneous things on the campground as well. Tuesday evening, the local youth group came by and we spent a couple of hours with them. On Wednesday, we were taken through "Survivor School" and led through knife throwing, hatchet throwing, archery-based activities, and fire building. The biblical timbre of these activities, which was led beautifully by a man named Shane and his family, had to do with the many transitions and changes we face in life. Friday evening, there was a community picnic, where people and families from all over the community gathered at the campground for food and play! This was an awesome opportunity for us as a group to spread out and talk to the locals, hear their stories, play games with them, and simply build relationships. Students went through a 7-day devotional every morning prior to breakfast - the acronym S.E.R.V.I.N.G was used, with a letter being gone over each morning - Servant leadership, Encouragement, Respect, Veracity, Integrity, Now What?, and Go. Every evening was closed out with a campfire debrief led by the camp director Jim. Students were encouraged to step out in this discussion, as they highlighted God sightings from the work day and focused on that morning's devotional topic. The student's were challenged in areas of servant leadership development, community development, and spiritual development. It was a phenomenal trip that opened our eyes to God's power through creation, challenged us in servant leadership, and developed Godly community bonding among us as a group and with the local community! ~ Mr. Delgado Grades 9 - 11MOSES in Detroit, Michigan
21 ACS students in grades 9-11 headed to Rosedale Park Baptist Church in Detroit, MI Brightmoor area May 28 to 31 with Project MOSES (Making Ourselves Equipped Servants). They stayed at the church and were thankful for the hospitality and their hosts. It was encouraging to see the church purposely being an open door and safe haven for various individuals and groups. Many students commented on how impressed they were by this and how they wanted to see this same intensive building use in their own churches rather than only being open on Wednesdays and Sundays. Participants met youth Pastor Dennis Talbert, a man with a remarkable history and passion for the Detroit area. Pastor Dennis, shared a history lesson about the rise and fall of Detroit, particularly the auto industry’s role in this. By way of illustration, he pointed out that 30 years ago, a husband and wife without high school diplomas could work in the auto industry and bring home as much as 150k annually. He also described the workings of segregated neighborhoods and the devastating affect federal welfare legislation as expressed in the consequent breakdown of families in Detroit neighborhoods and in Appalachian communities. By the early 1980’s bars on windows and doors became a way of life in many neighborhoods. Today about 80% of the land is vacant lots or abandoned houses in the Brightmoor area. Pastor Dennis went on to talk about the importance of having a personal mission statement and challenged the group to search for who and what God was calling each person to be. His personal mission statement is paraphrased as “Be a light for Jesus Christ in your local community, and have FUN doing it!!” He went on to define good Christian fun for the group and illustrated how that worked for him as a single man living a celibate life. Pastor Dennis kept the group spellbound for 1 ½ hours - you could have heard a pin drop! He had these kids’ attention and he was referenced many times throughout the trip. His discussion opened each person’s eyes - students and leaders alike - and left each pondering and seeking the Lord’s will for their lives. Students learned about the culture of Brightmoor and were awestruck by listening to the Detroit Youth Choir practice as they will be seen on this season’s America’s Got Talent. As the days went by, each person learned about flexibility. Without school bells as a hard and fast guide, schedules became approximate because in the neighborhood relationships mattered more than the numbers on the clock. The church’s host, Rory, was so thankful for the students’ hard work and servant attitude. He assigned the group a variety of work projects. Inside the church these included painting a room, moving boxes and other items from the new church building to the old one, cleaning out rooms, rearranging storage areas, tearing down stages to reuse the materials, and more. Outside the church the group cleanup some neighboring city lots. This included testing some of students’ mechanical abilities as they used the tools available to get lawn mowers and other machines running. Some students worked incredibly hard with a hand thrasher and cut the grass in a few different city lots. They also cleaned up an old community garden area and discovered a beautiful bench and were thrilled to see some new plants planted this year. Be sure to see the before and after pictures to fully appreciate their hard work! Project MOSES provided delicious food, transportation, devotions, and 2 amazing adult leaders. Student led devotion groups focused on the how the Bible describes the proper function of God’s family. Groups talked about what that looks like and challenged each person to see what the biblical model should look like in everyday life. Throughout the trip the group saw God working. Expectations were adjusted and each thankful for the experience. Thank you for praying for and supporting each person on the Detroit trip. grades 9 - 10City Impact Backyard Missions in Cedar Springs, Michigan
This week City Impact hosted our first mission team! On Tuesday the Algoma Christian 9th and 10th grade students brightened our building with their smiles and energy. We started our day with worship and prayer as Jonathan and Kelley shared their dream for City Impact and Cedar Springs. The students didn’t miss a beat and after prayer eagerly got to work. In no time they filled 84 food bags for the neighbors we serve. They also worked together to beautify the outside of our building by spreading mulch, planting shrubs, flowers and bushes. They helped organize craft outreach bins and ended the day sharing with each other what kind of God moments they had that afternoon. On Wednesday the students were ready to take their faith on the road as we loaded the filled food bags into cars. The students were excited to meet the friends we serve. We all left the building with one goal… To love like Jesus. On our routes the students were welcomed into homes and hearts. The amazing people we serve give us so much joy. They are each so special. We were so excited to share them with your kids. We ended our day with building duties which included window washing, cleaning, baking for our celebrate recovery program and sharing more God moments. Thursday was here before we knew it. All the kids came into the building eager to see what the day would hold. Praise and worship was followed with Pastor Mitch sharing with the students his heart for service and City Impact. “Mercy is a highway for the holy spirit to travel” (a quote from Mitch’s talk) was the backdrop of the whole day. After worship we headed out to Lean on Me. The kids loaded a food truck which will be brought to Greenville this weekend for Super Saturday (a community event held by Lean on Me and City Impact that brings people together). They also helped sort and organize boxes of freshly donated clothes. After some heavy lifting your students were ready to hit the road and practice the power of prayer. We headed to a newer mobile park in town with flyers and flowers asking to pray for people and promoting an upcoming super Saturday that will be in their neighborhood in a couple weeks. The rain didn’t stop them as they knocked on doors asking for prayer requests and sharing information on upcoming events. We ended the day having the students pick a verse from the bible. They wrote their verse on our entry wall which, God willing, will someday be filled with verses and quotes from mission groups that have come and gone, each blessing us with their time and talents. Thank you for sharing your amazing kids with us. They were our first mission team to come thru City Impact. What a special gift it is to watch youth look outside themselves and pour into others. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. Hebrews 6:10 |
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