East Valley Adventist School, Baldwin Park, California 2014
The Lord laid a burden on my heart to seek out a mission project that our church could do together with our youth group. Not sure where we would go, we began to pray for a project that would be near enough for us to do a 1 week mission. An announcement was made at church that we are going on a mission trip. Our youth was excited about this service opportunity. It was now the end of summer and we still didn’t have a mission project secured.
We began to pray more for God to show us where to go next. In late August the Lord impressed me to send out a mass email to every listed email address at the conference and the union division. I thought, “Surely I was going to get some type of a response.” Two days later, I received an email from the director of education at the Union office and he told me that I would get a call from the principal at East Valley Adventist School. (EVAS) The following day, I received a call from the school principal and she was excited to have us come and remodel her school and chapel. We began planning and fundraising to cover the cost of renovation and materials we would need for the school and the chapel. God answered our prayers and provided the funds that we needed. On Sunday, November 23nd 18 volunteers departed on a mission trip from Sacramento, CA to Baldwin Park, CA to help renovate the EVAS school and chapel.
When we arrived, our team was challenges and we came together to tackle the work ahead of us. The water and plumbing were not working properly. We prayed for the Lord to help resolve these issues and He did. Our team began demolition and before we knew it, the waste container was starting to get full. We remove old carpet, loose floor tiles, outdated books, and old broken desks. The ladies began cleaning the walls for new paint. Next our team began installing new insulation and sheetrock. On Wednesday, we had more volunteers join us to help with painting and school clean up. We now had 24 volunteers to get more work done. The parents began coming out from the community to see what was going on. A transformation began to take place at the school. Everyone in the community was talking about the work that is being done at EVAS and wanted to come see for themselves.
As I look back on the EVAS mission trip project, I see how the Lord blessed our efforts and gave us the strength to do the work that was before us. Unmeasurable grace does our Father in heaven have for His children that will move forward in faith to do the work that He has called us to do. “And the King shall answer and say unto them, verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me. Matthew 25:40
It’s my desire that by God’s grace, we can continue to serve others in our communities and beyond! That as we Build and Restore the lives of men, women, and children, the love of God may be revealed in us and through our actions! Maranatha!