Students serve in Atlanta

This past Spring Break, 21 students and a professor spent the respite from school serving in Atlanta, Georgia. Juniors Emily Henry and Jenn Moya co-led the trip in its third year running.

“I think this trip is an awesome opportunity for Bethel students to serve over Spring Break,” expressed Henry. “It exposes us to inner-city life and ministry in ways that a lot of us haven’t experienced.” Henry also shared students always display great interest in this trip and that some people were actually turned away this year. The trip began when two Bethel vans rolled out from Mishawaka around 5:30 in the morning on Saturday, Feb. 26 and rolled into Georgia’s capital city 12 hours later. While in Atlanta, students joined with Salvation Army and Experience Mission to minister in the inner-city community. They also worked with two Bethel graduates that now live and work in Atlanta. Every morning the group participated in discussion seminars created by the Salvation Army covering topics like human trafficking, living in the inner-city, salvation army ministry and college students, and the development of music in the salvation army. The schedule for each day involved morning and afternoon work projects. Some mornings included painting in an apartment complex, working in a church’s food pantry, and cleaning up under some bridges while building relationships with the homeless that live under them. In the afternoons, “Bethelites” offered kid's clubs in two different Hispanic apartment complexes. “God impacts me on every trip differently,” shared trip leader Jenn Moya. This was Moya’s third year involved with Bethel’s trip to Atlanta and her first as a leader. Moya recalled a specific day that was particularly impactful for the community and the group: “We had just got done with our Bible story lesson, and one of my girls (from the trip) looked up and saw a rainbow in the sky. Everyone was amazed and shocked to see a rainbow in the sky because it hadn't rained nor were there any signs of rain for that day. The rainbow was over the apartment complex we were at and it wrapped around the community we were working in. All the little kids were excited to see the rainbow, and we explained to them that the rainbow represented a promise from God. At once after sharing this with the kids I, and a few others, felt the Holy Spirit flow through us. It was great sign from God letting us know that there are great things and promises for the people/children and the whole community we were working with. God's wonders are great, and that day will always be remembered.” The cost for the Atlanta trip this year was $180 per student. Salvation Army along with Bethel’s Service Learning, STUCO, and Alumni Services absorbed some of the expenses.