By Sarah Kennedy
This past July saw several students from Coram Deo Bible Church in Davenport partake in two different short-term missions opportunities: Guatemala and QC Plunge. It was incredible to see God move in the lives of our students as they learned many lessons and had multiple opportunities to serve.
Our Guatemala Short-Term Missions Team of 14 high school students and four leaders traveled to Tactic, Guatemala where they had the opportunity to learn from and work alongside our partners at Impact Ministries. Impact Ministries has established seven schools in Tactic that not only provides education but also meals, medical care, and teaching from a biblical worldview for nearly 1500 local children. The team was able to put on a VBS program, learn specifically about Guatemala through cultural study and field trips, and observe how the Church of Jesus Christ is being established throughout the area. The Gospel is at work and many people are coming to faith in Jesus through the work done by Impact Ministries. Our students returned with a much better understanding of missions, and a few of them have even professed a desire to go into missions in the future.
Our QC Plunge trip was an urban ministry experience focused in the Quad Cities (Davenport and Bettendorf, IA and Rock Island and Moline, IL). Over the course of four days, seven junior high students and four leaders visited various ministries and non-profits in the area to learn what it looks like to practically love your neighbor. The students’ eyes were opened to the need in the area and how they can help. We often go around focused on ourselves without ever taking a second glance at the need around us, even in our own communities. God designed His church to love the outcasts. Many of the students were motivated upon returning to find at least one way to start getting involved in serving their communities and loving their neighbors.
