Discipleship Southwestern Students Spend Spring Break on Mission Trip in Atlanta

“I think it’s so important for people to have experiences that are different from our normal lives in Winfield,” Alley says.  “A mission trip to a place very different from what we experience on a day-to-day basis allows us to think differently about people in our own community.  It helps us think about how we can be God’s hands and feet right here on our campus and in Winfield.”

The team spent two days working with Stand Up For Kids, a program that works with homeless children in Atlanta.  They also spent two days working with Friendship Center, run by The Holy Comforter Episcopal Church, which focuses on helping people with mental disabilities.

“At Stand up For kids we did whatever was asked,” says Polina Dyadyk, a Southwestern College Discipleship student.  “Some students worked with sorting clothes, organizing and cleaning, while others were working on marketing, social networking and planning a fundraising event for the program.  At Holy Comforter we spent the first half of the day interacting with participants by playing bingo, doing yoga, and eating breakfast and lunch with them. After they were taken home we raked leaves, carried gravel, and painted a room.”

Alley said working with Stand up For Kids and Holy Comforter was meaningful to everybody.

“Our experience with an organization that serves mostly runaway kids from terrible family situations was a very different reality than what we know,” Alley says.  “Our ability to support their ministry, even for two days, was eye-opening.  We also had a great experience learning about being in a city.  We took the train or busses for transportation, stayed at a campus ministry center at Georgia Tech, and experienced an urban life for a week.  I’m proud of our students who chose to spend their spring break learning and serving God in Atlanta.”