Fort Myers Christian School Eighth Grade Mission Trip

Fort Myers Christian School Eighth Grade Missions Trip

Student Summaries 2018 Missions Trip March 21-27, 2018 1

Hello, my name is Michael Carter. During my spring break I went to El Salvador on a mission’s trip. I sacrificed time to be there, and it was definitely worth it. I want to thank all my sponsors for their donations to help me reach my childhood dream.

Ever since I was in kindergarten I’ve been waiting for this mission’s trip.

Nine years of anticipation for the greatest week of my life. When we landed in El Salvador the King’s Castle staff came to pick us up in their bus. They drove us to their campus located in Lago Coatepeque. Lago Coatepeque is a volcano crater that has become a lake. The lake is surrounded by high mountains on all sides. When we arrived on campus we began to get ready for ministry. Our first day we began practicing our dances and our dramas. We learned our dances and our dramas so fast that we were able to have four hours of free time. The whole group went to the rope swing at the lake for some fun, and then we went to the pool. After dinner they took us to the Prayer Castle. We got to spend around an hour in prayer and it really set the stage for what God was about to do in all of us.

The next morning after breakfast we got ready to go minister up in the mountains. The first program we did was for students at a school. We started by playing with the kids, and then we brought everyone into the center for the service.

We started by doing two or three dances, and then we did our comedy skit, in which I was a driver picking up four different hitchhikers.

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The first hitchhiker was an alcoholic and a smoker. The alcoholic would offer the driver a drink and a cigarette, to which the driver denies. The second hitchhiker was a pretty girl. The girl would try to get the driver’s attention by flirting with him, and eventually try to take control of the car. The driver would then kick the girl out and continue driving. The third hitchhiker was a tough guy.

The tough guy would shove his muscles into the drivers face, and eventually try to rob him. The driver would kick him out of the car and continue driving. The last hitchhiker was a Christian girl who would be reading the Bible while the driver would repeat everything the previous hitchhikers did to impress her. The girl would eventually pray with the driver who realized he did not need to be someone else to impress her and realized what was most important as the drama ends.

At the end of services we did a serious drama called “My Worst Error.� This drama consisted of a girl getting abused, a guy getting robbed, a man cheating on his wife, and a poor man being ignored by a woman. We did these dramas and the songs every program. During the week we did six programs and had one free day at a resort. The resort was located at the beach by the Pacific Ocean, had a pool, and four wave pools located by the beach.

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Going into this trip I was excited for the experience, but I was lacking in my faith. I have lived a good life. I believed in God, but I didn’t really want to know Him. This trip not only changed the lives of kids in El Salvador, but changed my life as well. We did devotions every morning and every night, and this certainly helped me get the right mindset for ministry. When the trip was all said and done I had revitalized my faith and grown closer to God through his Word. I encourage everyone to go on a mission trip at some time in their life.

Again, thank you to all my sponsors for donating to my cause.

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Before going on this mission’s trip I was so excited to go. I had watched missions teams come and go since first grade. But as the time to leave drew closer, I started to get nervous and had a lot of anxieties. When we arrived at King’s Castle in El Salvador, I was nervous because I didn’t know anybody or anything there. But the people at King’s Castle were so welcoming and friendly that I started to feel more comfortable there. One of the reasons I felt comfortable was because of the nationals, that’s what they call the Master’s Commissions students of King’s Castle Ministries who translate for us and performed the services. I also met the director I was going to be working with for the trip.

When I first learned the songs and skits I would be doing for ministry, I still felt a little uncomfortable, however the more I practiced them the more I stepped out of my comfort zone. To get the best out of the three ministry days I needed to focus only on God, and get rid of distractions. God gave me good relationships with the people of El Salvador even though I didn’t speak the same language as them. Even though I didn’t know what the speaker was saying during the services, I was always in a spirit of prayer. I prayed also prayed that through the 5

speaker God would reveal Himself to them and then they would pursue a relationship with Him. I took advantage of every opportunity that God gave me.

During this trip, God revealed to me to be grateful for what I have, and not to complain about what I don’t have. The people in El Salvador are grateful for what they have, and they don’t have a lot. God also revealed to me that what He asks us to do is not always in our comfort zone. An example of this is when God asked me to pray for an older man after service was over, and I didn't feel comfortable because I didn’t know him - but I did it anyway. One day during one of our ministry days Mr. Mitchell asked me to pray for the children. I was surprised and felt honored, so I took this opportunity to allow God to use me through prayer as I ministered to the children. After going on this trip I feel blessed to have been able to go and now I know that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13.

Ezekiel Johnson

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Let me tell you about my missions trip way down deep down in the Central America location of El Salvador. This trip was about six days long and was one of the greatest opportunities that has been bestowed upon me. In six days I have learned that you can do a lot for God in a short amount of time. I should have known better - God created the Heavens and the Earth in six days, so I should not be surprised.

Personally I helped lead two brothers during our services on the path to Christ. It is also amazing what twelve imperfect people can do while singing, dancing, and acting for the Lord. I know that God did some great things on this trip. I can also tell you that if I get another chance to go, I would gladly go again.

Not because this trip might get me out of school, but that I might learn a thing or two. This trip helped guide me to understand the true meaning of kindness and how well Mr. Mitchell is at public speaking.

Tyler D. Ramsey

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I really learned a lot from the mission trip. I got closer to God, helped people, and I got out of my comfort zone.

First, I got closer to God by praying to Him and just asking Him to help me on missions trip. I asked Him to be with me at all times and never leave me, even if He was already there for me. I would make up excuses not to go (to myself). “Was I really going to go on this trip?” I would start getting nervous and panicking about the mission’s trip. I would ask myself “am I going to get something out of this mission’s trip?” But the Lord helped me and calmed me down when we went to the Prayer Castle the second night. God just put the fear and nervousness out and helped me through everything at El Salvador. I started making friends and I got closer to the people on my team. God showed me that the people on my team and are there for me. Listening to my team’s devotions on what the Lord showed them that day helped me to become less and less scared of what the Lord had for me on that week. The more I got closer to the Lord, the more I was able to do things that the Lord wanted me to do.

Second, I got to help people and love on them. By doing that I would pray for them and ask God to help them. I didn’t know what was happening in that person’s life. I learned that prayer is powerful when you are praying to the Lord.

The Prayer Castle helped me to learn that prayer is powerful. God really opened 8

my eyes in El Salvador and allowed me to see and hear on what was happening. I was asked to pray before the mission’s trip so that the Lord can help me and show me on what was needed. You should never stop praying - even if it’s not a special time to pray.

I also fortunate to give people candy and cookies. They don’t have much where they live. The people were happy for what they got. I was able to love on the kids by playing and dancing with them. I was able to give toys that they don’t have. I feel like God has really revealed love into my heart and mind so I could share that to the people in the mountains. I really had a hard time grasping what love is my whole life. The people on my team and the people in the mountains helped me to really know what it is. Jesus just helped to spread that love in the mountains. I feel like the Lord wants me to go back to El Salvador again and love on them more.

Third, I got out of my comfort zone in El Salvador because the Lord helped me. If I was in my comfort zone the whole week in El Salvador I wouldn’t be able to do what the Lord has for me. I had fear and nervousness in me and I would pray to God that he would take it away so that I could go out on the ministry days and just be filled with what the Lord. Some of the kids were scared and nervous of us.

As Mr. Mitchell said, “you could play soccer and they would all come to you”. So at one of the programs there was a ball and I came up to some kids, I handed the 9

ball to them, and they started playing soccer, then a whole bunch of kids came and played. I love kids and playing with them. With kids I don’t worry about my comfort zone because they don’t judge as adults do. The kids were funny and cute.

Teaching kids and learning from kids is fun. Loving on kids is what they need when they are feeling lonely and just need someone. Telling them that someone else loves them and cares about them – that Jesus is that person they can rely and He is going to be with them no matter what. Knowing that some kids invited Jesus into their heart gave me the courage to keep on helping them and telling them about Jesus.

Finally, I had the most amazing time! After I finish high school, I feel like the Lord would want me to go back to El Salvador. I just want to thank God for what He has done in my life, for the amazing family I have, for my friends and for everything he has done for me. I will keep on praying for God’s direction and help every day.

Anastasia Ravish

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From beginning to end, I was continuously surprised by God’s work through our class to successfully reach out to the people of El Salvador. Our worships songs, dances and skits were all fun and contained strong meaning. However, I felt that the culmination of it all was when we prayed and ministered to these families for God to make his move in their lives and ours.

I realized, and finally understood, God’s power through the miracles He performed through His omnipotence in our outreach to kids, and through giving me the courage to give my personal testimony to a church in El Salvador in a minute’s notice. There is no way it could’ve been better, and God was there all the time. Without God, it would’ve been difficult to have the same motivation every day to wake up at 6:00 a.m. for breakfast, move out into the mission field, and climb hills and mountains all day. It was all worth it in the end.

One of the most impacting events was on our second night in El Salvador when Mr. Mitchell reminded us that our mission’s team was one of the smallest with only 12 going to El Salvador. But God had also revealed to Mr. Mitchell that there were only 12 disciples under Jesus. And it only took 12 disciples to evangelize to all of the people in Jerusalem, Judea and Galilee and then the world!

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Even after Jesus was resurrected and ascended to heaven, His disciples branched off to foreign countries to minister to people that hated Christ, that outlawed Christ, and countries that even stoned and executed anyone for believing or following Christ. Through this, God healed my blindness and opened my eyes to his sovereignty!

My final highlights were when we entered the Prayer Tower for continuous and intense prayer over the people of El Salvador, Kings Castle, and for God’s providence during our ministry days. Another highlight would have to be when we held a children’s Sunday School at one of King’s Castle’s churches. We did worship and dances with the kids, played with them, shared arts and crafts stations and had a soccer game with them.

To wrap this up, this trip to El Salvador was a climactic event in my life because I took a step forward in my relationship with God.

Sten Simonsen

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The trip to El Salvador was the best investment I have ever made. I can't wait to go again next year. Some of the highlights of the trip were: all of the skits and dances that we performed for all of the children; going up the mountain with all of the beautiful views; and bonding with the people that worked at King’s Castle (our leaders). I also enjoyed my stay at Kings Castle.

I hope to go again next year and work on being more fluent in my Spanish.

This trip has really impacted my life. Going to a third world country really made me thankful and grateful for all of the things that I have. I also was able to improve my relationship with God and get closer to him. I think this trip is essential if you want to serve others, teach kids about Christ, and have a closer bonding with the people around you. That's how the El Salvador a mission’s trip for eighth graders impacted my life.

Samuel Tobey

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ACTS 4:20, “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”

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