MARCH 2014 SPECIAL MISSIONS WEEK EDITION
C O L L E G E
CHCS News H E I G H T S
C H R I S T I A N
S C H O O L
by Sonya Wilkins
Another incredible Missions Week has come and gone, but the spirit of service remains. At College Heights our mission statement reads in part, “…that produces servant-leaders…” What better way to put this into action than Missions Week. We strive to make serving others an everyday occurance. However, it is a lot of fun to focus one entire week to this endeavor. A total of 11 high school groups served in Jamaica, Mexico, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. Locally students served at Crosslines, Rapha House headquarters, Life House, and Spring River Christian Village. Another group of students put their craft skills to work creating projects that when sold, will benefit the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home. And finally, another group of students served by helping a CHCS teacher’s family build their home after losing theirs in the Joplin tornado. High School students weren’t the only ones out serving. Our Middle School students jumped right in and had their own variety of projects (see related stories). One exciting thing that was different this year was partnering each of our middle school and high school groups with an elementary class. Our sweet younger students prayed for the “big kids” and did their own acts of kindness and service by encouraging them and supplying donated items. Mrs. Woolridge’s third grade class even made a video that was sent to their partner group in Kentucky. (To view their video, go to http://youtu.be/r-xaVHTMRxw). After the week was over, several of the high school groups reported back to their elementary partners about all that they did during Missions Week. It was a great unifying process for our whole school! This year every student and staff member received a t-shirt. Everyone wore them on March 7th as we had a big allschool send-off chapel. It was a beautiful sight to see our elementary students gather around the secondary students and pray for them. We even took a historic all-school photo (check it out—it’s hanging in the gym foyer). When all is said and done from Missions Week, our goal is to continue to live out this year’s theme: STAND FIRM, which comes from I Corinthians 15:58. It reads, “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that our labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
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Ozark, Arkansas by Mary Colin To give you a taste of what we experienced in Ozark, AR is impossible… but, I will try. We learned to see Jesus through discomfort, through the eyes of persecuted Christians, through the eyes of missionaries, through the eyes of a lady addicted to meth, through the eyes of rejection, through physical labor, ministering to children, through tough emotions of missing home, through recognizing our freedom in Christ, and recognizing what we were made for, and through daily prayer and God’s Word. We all experienced Jesus during missions week. We were challenged to not leave Jesus at YWAM… not to leave Jesus in Ozark AR or Jamaica or Mexico or Spring River…. but, to live out our love for Jesus daily. In John chapter 21, after the disciples had experienced Jesus… they went back to fishing for fish…. by Jesus telling them to cast their nets to the right side of the boat, and feeding them breakfast, then the disciples went back to being fishers of men. DONT LEAVE JESUS ON YOUR MISSION TRIP! Cast your net to the right side of the boat and continue to be fishers of men!
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Jamaica by Katie Strawn We had a great trip this year. Thirteen girls and two boys went to Kingston, Jamaica. Sponsors were Todd Johnson and Katie Strawn. We partnered with Caribbean Anchor of Hope/Hillside Christian Church to minister to Kingston. This trip had work projects, personal evangelism, children’s Bible club, school ministry, and church ministry. We painted a large room that will become additional space for the children’s program at the church. We visited three different schools where we presented puppet programs, interactive stories, crafts, skits, and testimonies. We had a Wednesday night Bible club where 112 children came to hear stories of Jonah, Daniel, and God as our shepherd. We also fed 112 children supper that same evening. The students went with the church’s youth to participate in door to door evangelism and also prayed with this same group over the city of Kingston, literally. We were also able to participate in some cultural/tourist things as well. We went to Dunn’s River Falls, we to a “shopping mall” and ate with the local fishermen at Jolly’s. It was a great trip and a great experience for the students to grow both spiritually and culturally.
“I had a great time in Jamaica this weeks, glad I was able to make new friends and gain better relationships with people I didn’t really have a relationship with. It was amazing to watch God move in lives including moving in mine. It was awesome to be able to be taken out of my comfort zone and not freak out. I’m so glad I got the privilage to go on this mission trip to Jamaica this year. It feels amazing to know how much I was changed through this mission trip.” – Alexis Adams “I had a great time in Jamaica this week, glad I was able to make new friends and gain better relationships with people I didn’t really have a relationship with. It was amazing to watch God move in lives including moving in mine. It was awesome to be able to be taken out of my comfort zone and not freak out. I’m so glad I got the privilege to go on this mission trip to Jamaica this year. It feels amazing to know how much I was changed through this mission trip.” – Anna Adcock
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Life House by John Blankenship We went to the Life House Monday through Thursday. The team cleaned and organized as needed before conducting our VBS program once the children arrived. We were able to have praise and worship time with the children as well as having Bible lesson time, crafts, organized activities and we fed them to finish out each day. Our group also went to the Boys and Girls Club and helped them clean and organize their facility. One day, I had part of our group stay at the school to do some general cleaning while Eric Johnson took the rest of the group to help clear some fallen branches from the yard of an elderly couple. On Friday we went to Walmart. Throughout the year we raised money to purchase food for people who look like they are in need. Our students benefit from this immensely as they see what it looks and feels like to meet genuine needs of other people. We had a great week and look forward to doing it again next year.
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Mexico by Jean Miller Seventeen juniors and seniors flew to Mexico City and took a bus NE for about 2 hours to Pachuca, Mexico in order to work with Youth With A Mission. The YWAM team at the base in Pachuca have a vision to minister in small public schools just south of town. They have a number of contacts in these schools, and were just waiting for a group like ours to provide an opportunity to walk through the open doors and begin sharing the Lord with elementary schools. Our kids had the blessed opportunity to present the good news of Jesus Christ through puppets, dramas, and personal testimonies to 13 different schools, 12 of which were state schools. We estimate that we saw between 1500 and 1800 elementary kids! The Lord also used our students as His arms and feet, as we got to love on, talk to, and play with each group for a time after sharing. In some schools, our kids were actually treated like rock stars... they were asked for autographs and pictures. I saw quite a number of scriptures and ‘Jesus Loves You’ written on the notebooks these precious ones had our guys sign. It was difficult to say goodbye. In addition to the schools, we had the chance to present Christ in three different parks in the late afternoons. In these venues, there were good numbers of adults, and we know of one young man who shared his story of a life of abuse and neglect who found the One who is Joy as he gave his life to Jesus Christ. His tears of conviction were so obviously heartfelt, and as he left, he left rejoicing in new life. We saw quite a change. One blessing of working with YWAM is that they will be following up with each of the schools and people we visited. What a joy and a privilege it is to be used by the Lord for His eternal work!
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“To describe the transformation between my friends and I that occurred at Ozark is almost impossible. But I can say it was amazing seeing everyone leave YWAM changed. The fire that dwells in our hearts now, is spectacular. Thank you, all of the YWAM staff and sponsors, for leading us by example. I feel so privileged to share this experience with 18 new friends in Christ! I love you all, and thank you for the wonderful experience! Keep the fire alive!” – Kenlee Jonas “My time in Ozark, Arkansas has canged my life. It is amazing to see how every single one of my classmates has changed for the better. I love how we are closer than ever and ready to make a difference. It was truly the best week of my life. Thank you YWAM staff!” – Jasmine Hawkins “Just want to say how much I love everyone that went with me to YWAM. It really was a life changing experience for me. Thank you to everyone who opened up, love all you guys!!” – Levi Hukill ”Missions week was simply amazing at YWAM. I could see that 18 of us went to Ozark and 18 different people came back. The staff there were the nicest, hardest working, most Godly people I’ve ever met. I was so glad that we all got to meet them. I think that we’ll forever be close with them. The rest of us developed a friendship and closeness that I hope can never be broken. I look forward to the things we already have planned after this week. Thanks for the best week of my life guys.” – Myles Jackson “I’m so glad to be home from Mexico!:) it was a really awesome trip! Getting to share the love of Christ to 1,500 little kids who had maybe never heard of Him was truly amazing. I learned that planting is just as important as harvesting. We added a number to many people’s count of hearing about Christ before they get saved. We saw the most beautiful waterfall ever. We got to see a professional soccer game. We prayed for people at the hospital who were hurting. We shared our testimonies. We grew closer than I could have imagined. I’m so glad we grew so close together, girls!:) and lastly, I was really sick on the way home. However, I am so thankful for the encouragement, prayer, and help from everyone! Thank you guys!!!” – Lydia Buford “This week was life changing. Glad I have great friendships!!” – Drew Kilgore “Had an awesome week! Great team, reached out to a lot of people! Asombrosa semana, gran equipo, alcanzamos a muchas personas!” – Fer Carpinteyro
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Community Needs Outreach by Nelson Horton Our team goals for the week were to serve humbly and learn from some of the faithful followers of Christ who live right here in our community. We were challenged and stretched through hands-on service and interaction with these mature Christian leaders who helped us broaden our perspectives on Christian service. Service opportunities for the week included preparing and serving lunch at Watered Gardens Rescue Mission; visiting and serving the residents at the Missouri Veterans’ Home in Mt. Vernon; assisting the Limkeman family who are building a new home after losing their house in the 2011 tornado; and volunteering at American Rehabilitation Ministries in Joplin. In addition to hands on service we were able to broaden our perspectives on ministry through discussion times with leaders of some of these ministries, as well as other veteran servants of Christ. Each member of our team shared a scriptural challenge with his teammates during the week during devotion times. We learned that there are many opportunities to get involved globally and righthere in our own community. Whether helping the homeless, getting involved in overseas missions, volunteering in prisons and detention centers, visiting the elderly, or simply helping our neighbors, there is always a place to serve.
“I had an amazing mission week growing closer to God and to my class mates!! It has been a great week I am thankful for my friends that I was able to serve with this week and also a special shout out to our leaders who had to deal with all of our craziness!!” – Luke Cummins “It has been an amazing week. It was truly a life changing experience. I will never forget this week.” – Jonathan Johnson “I’ve never been so happy to get thrown out of Walmart for praying for people and carrying out their groceries. I’ve had an amazing missions week, and it has taught me so much about serving the Lord.” – Jonah Wilcox ”Wow. I am completely changed after missions week, I know that God really was working with my life and my friends lives. I thank God for what he’s done and is gonna do with our lives and I love everybody that went on our trip and helped change me. Thank you everyone, most powerful week of my life.” – Dylan Zarrabi “This week has been amazing! I have had a great time bonding with people, working, and just praising the Lord! There is no trip parallel to this one! I completely enjoyed the alone time, the amount of work we did, and getting to see new sides of people! I hope everyone who went on this trip got what I got out of it and even more! God is SO good!!!” – Anna Knudsen “This missions week is just what I needed. The memories I made here I will cherish forever and love forever. The people I bonded with have been amazing. Thank you everyone for some of the best times of my life. I love each and everyone of you.” – Hunter Burnett
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7th and 8th Grade Missions by Nancy Ohmart The 7th and 8th graders did several things during the week: They read to the elementary which was very rewarding to them as the little ones eagerly listened. It was humbling for the older students to see how the elementary look up to them, figuratively. They served our CHCC and CHCS community in numerous ways including deep cleaning the middle school hallway classroom, cleaning lockers and glass throughout the building, and doing trash pick-up outside the facility including around the perimeter of the soccer field. They aided Mrs. Cummins in her Mexican Market prep for the elementary Spanish Classes. Finally, they spent a full day at Maranatha Bible Camp, serving our 4-State Communities by doing a plethora of activities. They removed debris, raked leaves, shoveled and moved a massive mound of dirt, rebuilt flower beds, and deep-cleaned every chair and table in the multi-purpose building.
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Spring River Christian Village by Tracy Nichols The Spring River Christian Village Mission Group had a diverse job description this year. The eleven students willingly did everything from picking up rocks on the walking trail, to serving meals to the residents in the great dining room, and even helping the residents shop at Walmart. We read books; we were goofy with puppets, and we played countless games with the residents; Bingo and Skipbo were the favorites. But the highlights were the times just spent talking, listening and sharing with residents...watching the love and relationships grow from both generations. The week ended with students giving away 169 flowers that they had made, to residents and staff. Then celebrating life with “dance parties” and countless hugs! It was a blessed week!
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Rapha House by Janene Russell While CHCS has supported Rapha House for several years, this was our first year to take a local missions group to work at their headquarters in downtown Joplin. We spent most the week sorting and tagging merchandise as well as making tags for merchandise that was headed to them in the next shipment. These items are handcrafted by RH girls as well as community sewers (ladies who have moved on from RH or are part of their affiliated ministries). By selling the items here, RH is able to spread the message of their ministry as well as raise funds to continue their vocational training programs. The sewers are directly impacted because RH purchases the items from them at a fair price. Altogether, we sorted and tagged 52 boxes of merchandise as well as prepped approximately 3000 new tags. We also cleaned their current office space. We got to see their future office space in the 700 block of Main. It will be under construction as soon the city of Joplin approves their plans. We spent one morning being interviewed by KSN; it was one way we could help raise awareness. We spent part of one afternoon watching a documentary about the work of RH and had a great discussion afterward. We helped distribute items that RH no longer needed or could be useful to other ministries like Watered Gardens and Boys & Girls Club. On Friday, we provided lunch for the office staff as a way to express our appreciation for the work they do and the sacrifices they make to do it. There may also have been a Sonic run or two during the course of the week. For me, the biggest perk was seeing a group of kids doing rather mundane tasks and yet connecting to work they were doing. They recognized the greater cause and they had a blast doing it. By taking on the mundane, we were able to free the office staff to do the other, bigger things that need to be done. One intern told us that we had accomplished probably 2-3 weeks of her work in 2 days and she teared up a little bit saying it. For me and several of the team, it was the best missions week yet.
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Cookson Hills On Monday we drove out to Cookson. We were shown around and then sent straight to work. We first demolished an old outdoor stage that they had standing out there unused. We broke it apart and burned the pieces. We also worked quite a bit on moving and organizing the miscellaneous objects in there old school building. We first organized the smaller of the two buildings into rooms for an auction. We then moved over to the bigger building and started moving those things over. We moved everything from drama costumes, to teacher’s desks, and even a closet full of board games. We worked on this and cleared out the building by Thursday. We also put on a small performance for the younglings with songs and puppets. We taught them how to make a little rubber band bracelet with colors to remind them of the gospel story. We hung out with the Cookson kids in our spare time and just interacted with them. On Thursday we got to let off some steam and go ice skating and spent some time at an arcade style place with bowling and go karts. We had a quick debrief on Friday and then were headed home.
Red Bird Students worked with Red Bird Mission on several projects which included building a handicapped ramp, a roofing project, and refinishing a floor. Some students were part of a “Mary” group which engaged in extended prayer times for not only the people they were immediately serving, but other students and teachers involved in Missions Week.
“I had a blast at Red Bird this past week. There are no words to describe all that God has done in my life, and in the lives of those around me. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to watch God change my life, and the lives of my friends. It was a enormous blessing to see so many people let there lives go (Let it Go!) into the hands of a Creator that truly loves them. I know that God as a specific and unique plan for all of you!” – Riley Woolridge “I can’t believe that missions week is over! It went by so fast. I learned many things! I saw the Holy Sprit move in that place. I saw lives change. I am so grateful to have been able to go to Kentucky! I will remember and cherish these memories forever!!!” – Caitlin Isenhower “So I’ve been trying to come up with some way of summing up everything that happened this week. But I can’t. There is no possible way. This week I ate alot of McDonalds and drank tons of hot chocolate, I climbed around on mountains, crossed slippery rocks, mimicked Mary, bonded with over 20 people, learned to listen for God, watched a spiritual battle, and fell on my knees weakened by the presence of God. To say it was all amazing is an understatement. I am overwhelmed. I have been filled up, now send me out Lord.” – Katelyn Jackson “Redbird changed my life last year. I’ve been awaiting this year’s journey back with not-so-patient anticipation, and this mission trip far exceeded any expectation I could have possibly have had. We found devotions in a lego movie, had deep conversation over laundry, and climbed a mountain before falling back down. We shared in our feelings, our hearts, and our love of Christ. We worked together, played together, cried together, and laughed together, seeing the beauty in watching the Holy Spirit move.” – Kolleen Gladden “Kentucky is beautiful and the children are super adorable. I have drawn closer to people this week and have regained my faith in the males of our generation. There were highs and lows but all together it has been an amazing missions week. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.” – Casey Garman
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Crosslines by Charmagne Stanley These students did many tasks that would otherwise go undone at Crosslines whose volunteers are mostly retired. The tasks include raking, gardening, and weeding; cleaning and organizing storage areas (which includes moving thousands of canned goods – some in cases and some not); cleaning industrial refrigerators; office working; bagging bread, flour, sugar, and rice; and a number of other activities.
6th Grade Mission The 6th grade class went to Cunningham Park and cleaned the park. Many of the students had a contest to see how many cigarette butts they could pick up. During our visit, many of our sixth graders ministered to adults and children at the Park.
Creative Expressions by Kim Hamilton This year Creative Expressions made crafts ranging from sun catchers to arm knitting. The students worked hard all week. I was really proud of their willing and consistent positive attitude. These crafts will be sold at a craft festival that will benefit the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home.
Watoto Children’s Choir by Christina Hardy The icing on the Mission’s week cake was having the Watoto Children’s Choir join with our elementary and middle school students for a special program. The program emphasized the vastness of our mission work around the world and how even our youngest students can help make a difference by supporting worldwide ministries. Even the groups of high school students that had already returned from their mission work joined them.
ECFA ACCREDITED – On November 12, 2012, the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability announced the accreditation of College
Heights Christian School. Accreditation is based on the ECFA’s Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship, including financial accountability, transparency, sound board governance, and ethical fundraising. When an organization is accredited by ECFA, it demonstrates its willingness to follow the model of biblical accountability.
MISSION STATEMENT
CHCS glorifies God through excellence as a Christ-centered learning environment that produces servant-leaders with a Biblical worldview.
COLLEGE HEIGHTS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL n 4311 E. NEWMAN ROAD n JOPLIN, MISSOURI 64801 n 471-782-4114 n WWW.COLLEGHEIGHTS.ORG