The book of Revelation casts a beautiful vision for humanity’s ultimate reunion at Jesus’ Second Coming — a great gathering of people from every nation, tribe and language. It’s clear that, to God, humanity itself is one enormously diverse extension of His own family. His kids.
National borders, languages and multi-generational scars have divided us and allowed some of us freedoms and resources that others were never given. This is one of the many reasons we have been called to mission work. This spring, a few of our academies traveled far and wide to set about that work and they shared a little bit about their experiences.
Rogue Valley Adventist Academy
Rogue Valley Adventist Academy partnered with Medford Adventist Church for a mission trip to India. “We went with Maranatha to help build a cafeteria for a school just outside Sambalpur, Odisha, India, in the small town of Binjipali,” said Bryan del Valle, pastor. “The Adventist school had no cafeteria and 160 dorm students. We completed the walls of the cafeteria and on Sabbath had the chance to serve the students food and eat with them in their new cafeteria building."
"We also saw over 160 people — students, faculty and members of the community — in our medical clinic," he continued. "We held a children’s program teaching health principles to the students in the school as well. They talked about exercise, diet and emotional health.”
Livingstone Adventist Academy
Livingstone Adventist Academy's senior class continued their tradition of merging their senior class trip with mission work in Golfito, Costa Rica. According to Kirk Betz, LAA chaplain,“This trip serves as senior class trip, an intercultural trip and a service trip. For the class trip portion, they get to enjoy activities like ziplining, snorkeling and waterfall rappelling, but most of their time is spent on several service projects.”
Betz continued, "The trip to Golfito every year is special because we have built a relationship with the churches there. In 2009 our seniors first went to Costa Rica and put the walls up on the church. During subsequent visits, seniors have poured sidewalks; built two classrooms; installed a septic tank, a new driveway and covered walkways; and much more. It has been incredible to be part of it.”
Portland Adventist Academy
Students from Portland Adventist Academy separated for two mission trips: one to Fiji and one to the Bahamas. In Fiji, a construction team worked to build walkways and a dormitory wall among other projects, and a medical team assisted with minor surgeries and medical checkups.
The group also led church services. Those visiting the Bahamas sailed for seven days, stopping to help clean up, paint and rebuild areas affected by hurricane disasters as well as putting together local Vacation Bible School programs.
Columbia Adventist Academy
Students from Columbia Adventist Academy also had two trips. One group traveled down the West Coast to work with Mount of Olives Orphanage. There, they helped build new housing and created a Big Brother/Big Sister program, as well as visited a migrant camp to deliver much needed supplies and prayer near Baja California, Mexico.
The second group visited Las Palmas Children’s Village, an orphanage in the Dominican Republic, and created a Big Brother/Big Sister program there in addition to maintenance projects on local homes.
We look forward to the day when all suffering will end, when all the walls built up between us will be torn down, and when, finally, we will come together with Jesus. Thank you to all of our academies, church members and neighbors who have already begun that beautiful work through their mission trips.
