Students Work and Preach in Santo Domingo
Students from Mile High, Campion, Vista Ridge academies and public and home schools work together erecting the steel frame for a church building. Photo courtesy Clint Watson.
A March 4-17 mission trip for 43 students from the Rocky Mountain Conference to the Dominican Republic resulted in an entire church painted inside and out, rebar tied for a church foundation, concrete mixed and poured, and a steel frame erected.
The students, age 14-17, also preached more than 120 sermons. The Domincan mission effort was coordinated by Jamey Houghton, director of the Kaleo Project, who has led several mission trips over the past few years.
“The amount of energy expended for Jesus was enormous,” commented Carol Bolden, one of several sponsors accompanying the group. “They truly were student missionaries as they spent 13 days being a light to the Dominican Republic, preaching and working on building two churches,” Bolden added.
Joseph Smittick, right, translates as Julio Chavez-Casanova preaches one of the 120 sermons presented by students. Photo courtesy Clint Watson.
A group of students worshiped the final Sabbath in the Chirino Adventist Church in the capitol of Santo Domingo. This was a special Sabbath for them as they had painted the sanctuary themselves. Others rejoiced as baptisms took place in the 15 churches around Santo Domingo where they had preached.
When all was said and done, 85 Dominicans gave their lives to Jesus and are looking forward to His coming. And the students are forever changed after being a part of the great commission. The participating students and their sponsors represented Mile High, Vista Ridge and Campion academies, along with public and home schools. As they landed in Denver, many were busy planning another mission trip next year.
Editors note: Since the group’s return 50 more individuals have been baptized as a result of the students’ efforts.
Written by Rajmund Dabrowski, communication director for the Rocky Mountain Conference; and Carol Bolden, communication assistant.
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Students Bless Belize
Photo by Bill Hay.
They mixed mortar, cut and laid blocks, wrestled with rebar and poured concrete. They painted two buildings and held a Vacation Bible School for the children of San Pedro and dozens of children who rode the bus to the VBS site.
This group of 58, made up of students from different schools in the Rocky Mountain Conference, including 34 students from Campion Academy, along with a mixture of people of all ages and walks of life, blessed the country of Belize for the 11th year and made a big impact on Belize Adventist Junior College.
Under the leadership of Jim Lynch, they attacked three major projects: continued work on the library where they lifted hundreds of cement blocks to the second story; erected a storage/garage building which was completed to the roof installation stage between Sunday and Friday; and painted two buildings—the big Spanish campus church and San Pedro’s Community Center, the focal point of San Pedro. This was where VBS was held nightly, located next door to land donated by townspeople for the new San Pedro Adventist Church.
One group handed out 3,000 Steps to Christ books and the whole group held the 9th annual Great Shoe Giveaway for the local people of San Pedro. More than 60 new girls’ dresses and a dozen boys’ shirts made by Judy Olson, former Campion dean of girls, were given out to San Pedro’s poor.
“Mission trips change our kids,” said Bill Hay “and they come back with a great sense of gratitude for their country, their church, their school, their families and the privileges they enjoy.”
One participant summed up his experience saying the trip to Belize was “not a highlight, but rather the highlight” of his life.
Written by Bill Hay, a member of the Campion Church.
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These articles are also published in the May 2015 print edition of OUTLOOK.
