Opportunities, by Steven Kasay

           As a high school student, you are not given many opportunities or even chances to make a difference in the world or another country. This is not the case for me and 18 other high school students. You see, we are different. We have been given the opportunity to travel to Haiti and do our best to care for the Haitians and share the gospel with them. This is not an average experience for a group of high school students, but all of this is because of one opportunity our church youth group has given us; one opportunity that we are just now starting and an opportunity that we are planning on making the most of.

            That’s all it takes to make a difference in the world, a country, a community, a school or household. One opportunity that God gives you in hopes that you will take advantage of that opportunity and make the most of it. Most people just let opportunities pass them by without following the will of God. Think about it, if people had taken every opportunity that God had laid in front of them to make a difference, how different would the world be? Don’t let opportunities pass you by. Take advantage of them and let God work through you. Who knows maybe you will make a big difference in the world.

            As our team of high school students and leaders embark on our trip to Haiti I ask that all of you will pray that God will use us as his tools to make an impact on the Haitian people and hopefully make a difference in Haiti in God’s name.

One more post, by Sam Steyl

           This spring break, along with other kids from Forest Hill, I have the great opportunity “to Advance our faith and the Kingdom by loving, serving, and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the Haitians.” When I began to raise the money, I thought that I would never be able to have it all in time. Now that we are a few short days away, I have been blessed by the people in my life who have supported me financially and spiritually. Everyone who asks me about it says that they would never be able to do what we are about to. I know that sometimes I have feelings of doubt, stress, and anxiety, but I know that, just as He was with the finances, God will be with me every step of the way.

            I know that not everyone has the privilege of a good education, clothes on their back, food on their plates, and a big house to return to after the long day. I hope that while in Haiti I will be able to change the lives of some of the people that I meet, just as I know they will change mine. I have been called to Haiti to do something special, and I am eager to see what that will be. With Haiti being only a few days away, I am more excited than ever to begin this journey that will be life changing. I have no expectations except one: I expect to work as hard as I can through the Lord to serve the people of Haiti.

Stepping Outside, By Huston Pashoian

Isaiah 6:8 “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” 
The moment I hear about this trip I was all ears. I love to travel and take a glance at how people hundreds of miles away from us live. I feel like the Lord placed this opportunity right in front of me on purpose, so I immediately took advantage of it. I cannot wait to go, I am more excited than anything. I want to see the look on the Haitian’s faces when we help them. Though I have never been on a mission trip, I have traveled out of the country. This will be a very different experience for me, but I am looking forward to it because I am always up for a challenge. I hope that God will allow us to play an important role in changing the lives of the Haitians.                                                                                                                                          
I’m very excited for this trip. I know once I step on off that plane I will feel like I’m in a whole different world. I am proud to let my friends and anyone else know where I will be going for spring break. Every time someone asks me what I am doing for break is just another opportunity to tell them about this once in a life time trip I am about to take. I am eager to step outside my comfort zone and witness the life that these people live on the daily. I feel like this trip will be eye opening for me and for my faith.   

A New Perspective, by Addy Albershardt

My name is Addy, and I am a professional cyclist.  I get to travel accross America and the world racing my bike and meeting new people.  I know that may seem very fun and exciting, but to be honest, it does not truely lift me up at the end of the day.  Don't get me wrong, I love to ride my bike, I love the sense of freedom I get when I ride.  It is a time when I feel closest to God, like he is telling me I want you to do this, and I want you to grow a ministry and bring me more followers.  I would not describe the cycling scene as an open place to talk about Jesus Christ.  On Sundays, bike racers spend their mornings racing thier bikes rather than racing to the doors of worship.  Which is why I feel God has placed me here.  People (in the cycling world) have told me that I am selfish, that I live in a fantasy world, and that I have know idea what reality is.  I am called crazy, stupid, and a believer in something that doesn't exist.  I never turn shy from these people, becuase I hear God whispering to me in my ear, "that one, bring her to me!" 

 

I don't care what people call me, or think of me.  This is what I believe in.  I have a greater purpose than just riding my bike, I have a calling to go to Haiti to advance my faith and the Kingdom by loving, serving, and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the Haitians.  To be honest, I couldn't be more happier to go to Haiti.  I know you will not hear most teens, or even adults, say something like that, but it is true.  I am prepared to understand and respect a different culture.  I am prepared to be emotionally, physically, and mentally chanllenged.  I am prepared to step outside my comfort bubble and go to a foriegn area and work hard to change a child's life, even if I only feed them one meal.  I am prepared for my life to be changed for the better and maybe someone in the cycling community will notice what I am doing.   I am prepared to stop the middle of my racing season, to serve Haitians.  I am prepared to serve God and be like a sponge and absorb while I am there.

A blogpost, by Kevin Gassaway

           Ever since I was little I have always wanted to go on a mission trip and serve those in need. This Spring Break, I finally get the opportunity to do so. I am so excited to get the chance to be the hands and feet of God and help the people of Haiti and I am blessed to be able to go with such an awesome group of people.

            To many of my friends, going on a mission trip seems like a waste of a Spring Break. While they are all hanging out and relaxing on the beach I will be serving others and growing in my relationship with Christ. In my opinion, the best way I could spend my break is by serving others and acting out my faith. 

Transformation, by Zach Zukowski

I am so pumped for this Mission trip to go to Haiti!  But to understand why, you need to know a little about me. Up until when I was 14 years old I called myself a Christian just because I went to church and because my parents were also Christians. I really had no idea what being a Christian really meant. Hudson Hower invited me to church one Sunday. I wanted to hang out with the guy so I accepted. We went to Forest Hill Church’s student ministry called Emerge. It was like an awesome Christian party so I decided to go again.

 But the next Emerge was different. This time, the moment I walked in the doors I realized something big in my life was about to change. I listened to the messages of Pastor Ryan Carson and started to understand what it meant to be a Christian. I joined a life group and became close with each person. Going to church started to become meaningful and fun.

After months of hearing the Gospel, I was invited to a weekend trip with Emerge to a campsite, and that night I decided to give my life to Jesus Christ. The hole in my chest that I tried so hard to fill with popularity and getting people to like me was replaced by the love of Jesus Christ and the passion to plant seeds of life in people’s lives with the hope that they would one day accept Jesus Christ.

Ever since then I have felt more complete about myself, praising the Lord every day. I’ve made it my mission to reach out to as many people who need to hear about the love of Christ as I can. I would love To Advance my faith and the Kingdom by spending time with, loving, serving, and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the Local Haitians.

I am very passionate in planting seeds of life into other people and helping them realize the importance of accepting Jesus into their life, and I am ready to be a “real” person instead of “Another white person that might have free stuff”.  I am fully prepared to take this mindset as well as my great strength into Haiti and serve the Lord and the local Haitians the best I can.

Cherry Grove?, by Tucker Zukowski

           With spring break nearing and all my friends finalizing their plans, everyone wants to know where everyone else is going. Nearly every day, one of my friends will either tweet about or talk to me about their plans to go to Cherry Grove over break. Every now and then, they’ll ask me what I am doing for the break. Once I let them know that I am going to Haiti for a mission trip, it’s like they try to avoid talking about it by changing the subject as quick as possible. Not once has a highschooler asked me what I am going to be doing there or why I am going. This is a substantial signal that something is very flawed with our culture.

            The reason why kids don’t want to go into detail or show any sign that they care about the trip is because of how self-centered our culture is. This is just another effect of sin. Sin is also what eternally separates us from God, leaving us helpless with no way to work our way back into a relationship with Him. The story does not end there though. God loved each of us enough to send His Son down to earth in the form of a human to live a perfect life and die a gruesome death on the cross. By Jesus willingly giving His life for us, he satisfied God’s eternal wrath and anger by taking it upon himself. Today, Jesus acts as a bridge between mankind and God, destroying sin so that we may have a relationship with him not only on earth, but also in heaven.

            I am so pumped to go on this trip to Haiti  “to Advance our faith and the Kingdom by loving, serving, and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the Haitians” (our mission statement). I have never been on an international mission trip before and am praying every day as the trip draws nearer for all glory to go to God.