DC Mission Trip Summary

We had the opportunity to partner with Center for Student Missions (CSM) to minister in Washington DC on July 17-23. The ministries include serving the homeless, elderly, urban poor, etc. There were 19 missionaries who participated. It was a great opportunity for many of our seniors to come together and serve before heading out for college.

Day 1

began with a 4 AM alarm, last minute packing, and many many good bye hugs. Despite the lack of sleep, I was greeted at the airport by 16 smiling faces each excited for what the Lord had planned for us in the coming week. We were blessed with a smooth flight and before I knew it, I could see the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial emerging as our plane began its decent into the beautiful city of Washington DC. After we had settled down a bit, we headed off to volunteer at Together, an amazing event held at the National Mall for the first time. The mission of this special function? Simple. To fill the National Mall with one million people all there for the sole purpose of standing for Jesus. Upon arrival I could hear the roar of the crowd and voices fill the air as Hillsong performed a song that we all knew by heart: Oceans. "Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders Let me walk upon the waters Wherever You would call me Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander And my faith will be made stronger In the presence of my Savior" I stood there, one in a million, raising my hands up to God, closing my eyes, singing my heart out, forgetting about any heat or exhaustion that had overwhelmed me before. I could feel God smiling down on us. One million brothers and sister in Christ gathered together to praise his name. We definitely filled the Mall, but as I stood there among the million I remembered that this mall was just a minuscule dot in this immense world. And with all the hate and hurt in the world right now, I realized that we as Christians must make it our mission not to fill just the Mall, but to fill the entire world with love. God's love. 1 John 4:19 came to my mind. We love because he first loved us. I plan to keep this verse in my heart as I serve during the upcoming week! After dinner we gathered around to study a passage together and talk about our day. Someone posed a question that really made me think. How do we transform the lives of people we meet in just one short week? Well, WE do not have the power to change a person's heart. GOD does. We must trust in his plan. We can't go into this week expecting everyone to immediately blossom into a believer after hearing the gospel. Only God knows the amount of times a person will be exposed to the Gospel before he or she chooses to believe. In sharing the Gospel and serving, we can hope to plant seeds that others will come along and water. Ultimately, the success of our mission is not defined by the number of new believers we end up bringing to Christ, but by the fact that we are bringing glory to God through obedience in proclaiming his word. I pray that as we will serve, share, and bond throughout this week with this mindset. Please continue to support us with prayer!

Michelle Li

Day 2

Today was a pretty eventful day. We started the morning off by missing breakfast.... Well my girls and I did, but PRAISE JESUS for the Dunkin Donuts across the street! After breakfast, the group packed up and headed to church! But not just any church...DUNDUNDUN We went to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. It was such a magnificent cathedral that took my breath away! There were mosaics and stained glass windows and famous sculptures everywhere! Anywho, we attended Mass. It's definitely not the same as our church on Sunday. They sing everything except for the message and the bible verses. There's a lot of liturgy and Communion happens every week. One thing I noticed is that the Catholics hold God to a very very high place. He is holy and they have a reverent attitude towards him, which is something I think that we forget a lot of the time, so I appreciated that. However, it was obvious that a personal relationship with God was not stressed much less brought up. God is holy and he is high, but he is not close (from what I observed). There was standing and sitting and standing again and sitting again. There's also this smokey ball on a chain that they shake everywhere and it's full of incense... I don't ever want to smell that scent again. It gave all our unsuspecting kids headaches. The priest said something that really stuck with me. He said to pay attention so we can listen. Listen to what? Listen to people. Listen to God. Be attentive to those who are in need. Be attentive to the call of God and what he wants to send you out to do. Afterwards, we took a tour of the church and saw so many different chapels and different cultures that worship there. We then debriefed outside and talked about the similarities and differences of our view of God and theirs. This opened my eyes to see that the world worships in various ways with their cultures and the American way isn't the only way. For lunch, we headed to Union Market and I had this shrimp and grits from Puddin' and it was the BOMB DIGGITY (that means REALLY REALLY GOOD). PRAISE GOD FOR TASTE BUDS!! We then made our way to the church. We arrived at the CSM church and unpacked. We're sharing the rooms with 2 other groups and are squished to every corner. But missions trips aren't for comfort so we will make due with what we have. By the way, we're showering every other day, so talk about discomfort! But God has showed me how to be patient and how to be flexible. I'm sure he'll teach me a lot more as the week goes on. But let's get back to food. We ate at a family owned restaurant called Thai Orchid and the owner, Vernon, treated us like family! Every dish was fresh and straight from the stove/ fryer. Again, PRAISE THE LORD FOR TASTE BUDS! After a filling and satisfying meal, we headed back to the church to prep for bed. Each girl had 2/3 minutes to shower because we had 40 minutes of shower time and 11 girls. Towards the end of it, one of our hosts shut off the water while one of our counselors was in the middle of showering. So what did we do? 4 of our girls began filling cups with warm water and handing it from the sink back to the cold and soapy counselor so she could rinse off. It was such a funny and wonderful bonding moment for us as a group. God has really opened up the flood gates of emotion, discomfort, and exhaustion, but we know that in our weakness, he is always strong, and in our discomfort, he is our sole comforter and provider. He is sovereign and always will be and I can't wait to see how he works this week! Keep praying and keeping us on your hearts. We're excited to come home and share our experiences and how God made our hearts move for this city, our country and ultimately, our world. Janel❤️

Day 3

I am Brittney Fang and today was the first official day of ministry. This is the first mission trip I've ever been a part of, and it's already been a great experience, despite it's rocky start (the rental car debacle and the whole thing where I fell asleep at the hotel and no one woke me up to go to the Together conference).

The day started at 6:00 AM to get ready for the first item of our agendas. Our first task included helping out at a church where they were holding a summer camp for kids. We were first greeted by three little kids who immediately hugged everyone. Then, while preparing a small presentation for the kids, we met Minister Moten, who spoke completely in rhymes and songs. She invited all of us to help out at a funeral service that would be held that afternoon. I chose to help out with the kids. To be honest, the kids were pretty wild, but they managed through a short story and several songs. After, we went outside where I played many a game of hide-and-go-seek and toilet-tag, and where I judged a dance contest. We then helped out with crafts where I met a little girl named Lamari, who drew me a shelf where I could put all my stuff, though she promptly turned it into a house for a giant who had his hand perpetually stuck in his nose.

By the time 12 o'clock rolled around, I was completely drained, but still, we forged onto the final task of our schedule at Food and Friends, a non-profit organization where meals are prepared for people with terminal illnesses or for people who cannot get or cook food by themselves. There our group helped pack meals. I personally was in charge of putting a small cup of granola and two small packages of peanut butter. It was truly remarkable to see how much the chefs and volunteers at Food and Friends cared.

After dinner at a great Chinese restaurant, we embarked on our prayer tour. Our first stop was in a park of a nice neighborhood where the housing situations of DC were explained. Basically, getting an apartment can cost as much as working three full time jobs paying minimum wage. Obviously, this is unreasonable, so many families either are left homeless or are left to try to fit extended family in a small studio or two room apartment.

Our second stop was at the national mall where we prayed for the officials in charge of our country and their families, as well as the stability of the other aspects of our government.

Our last stop was in Anacostia, where we stopped by a church with a beautiful view of the city skyline to pray for the housing situations and the stability of our country.

I hope everyone at home is having a good break, and I ask that everyone keeps on praying for us in DC.

Brittney Fang

Day 4

Today, we started off our morning with devotion from Galatians 2:19 led by Timmy and the usual bowl of cereal. Because it's Day 2, everyone is pretty much exhausted from yesterday. There was more naps snuck on car rides between each serving event, but thankfully God provided us energy to sustain us through this day. At the First Rock Baptist Church, we prepared a short skit based on the story of the lost sheep in Matthew 18. Aaron narrated a more detailed and entertaining version of how Jason, our lost sheep, was found by Kevin, the ever loving shepherd, with the help of very energetic kids. The overall lesson summarized by Emily was that even as the sheep wander away in the dark, God will always seek for them or us. Comparing the sheep with us caused a cute girl in the front pews to cross her arms adding in angrily that she "didn't want to be fluffy!" I think it was after all the song singing and jumping around with kids did we fully wake up. Their excitement and bubbly energy for worship was expressed through much screaming which brought a smile to all of our faces. Luckily for us, the adorable kids had a field trip to the movies. I believe most of us thought that with movies it would be a easier session to take care of kids. On the contrary, there was lots of talking, moving, jumping, and asking if I could take them to the restroom which I gladly did. We came out a bit worn out, but the kids were so adorable that it makes serving much more enjoyable and rewarding. After lunch on the car, we were off to work at the Food Bank packing boxes of food. Because we worked efficiently and without stop, the packing ended in a hour. Within a couple minutes, we were sent off to sort food donations for the last two hours. It was tiring, but our youth teamwork has become stronger as we learn to work side by side. Our night ended with a delicious dinner at Ben's Chili Bowl and a debriefing at the Washington Memorial. We left the Memorial with the thought of sacrificing all to God and serving all we can offer. We should do everything with no thoughts of retrieval, retreat, or regrets! Signing off, Jamie Dee

Day 5

Today was a day that had great moments and depressing stories. First, we went to First Rock Baptist Church to take care of the kids, which is a not only a great training experience but also a hassle because they sometimes don't listen. Next, we went to St. Thomas, a physical rehab center that cares for those who are physically ill. We talked with some of the residents there. Some conversations were great, but there was one in which the person had had a sour experience at St. Thomas. A woman named Helen told us that she hated living at St. Thomas and the only reason that she was even in this center was because her family didn't want her to get in their way. After she told us this story we prayed for her, but we didn't get the full picture of the story to the point where we could deduct who or what made her be at St. Thomas. Finally we went to the Lincoln Memorial and the Korean War Memorial. The whole trip has so far been a blast and it has helped me grow spiritually. Also, I have realized that we need to be aware of what's going on in the world, especially those who don't have the things we have. I do however look forward to going back home, but at the same time stay at D.C. For some time. On another note, the other group did something a little different in the morning. They did the urban plunge, where they split up into three groups and each person was given two dollars. Their task was to buy lunch and share a meal with a neighbor, the term used for someone without a phone. In addition they needed to locate shelters, find out where they could get free medical help, and really just experience what it is like to be homeless. It was an extremely rewarding experience for them, and they were able to meet a bunch of amazing people. Kevin

Day 6

At our 6th day in Washington, I can speak for everyone that waking up this morning at 6:30 am was especially difficult. Our breakfast consisted of cereal and yawns, followed by our daily devotionals. Today, I had the opportunity to lead the discussion and found out that a lot of us had a great experience yesterday serving the homeless or our neighbors. It was intimidating approaching them at first, as every one of us had trouble relating with our neighbors since we came from such drastically different backgrounds. However, as we read through Ephesians 2:11-22, God showed us that our uncommon ground shouldn't create a barrier or distance. Jesus had sacrificed himself on the cross to bring unity not only between us and God, but also to unify all the people on Earth. Keeping that in mind, we volunteered at the City Orchard, which is managed by Bread for the City, a nonprofit association that provided free Doctor/dentist checkups, legal help, and food for 5 days for the needy. As a team, we managed to harvest enough boxes of fresh blackberries for 93 families today and weed the sweet potato field. Although the day was hot and humid and dirt was smeared all over our bodies, the feeling afterwards was a combination of satisfaction, peace, and contentment. After falling asleep in the van on our way to the summer camp, I was immediately greeted by the sticky and clingy hands of energetic children. Even though I was exhausted, seeing the kids always brought a smile to our face. They often reminded me of the children from our church, and it was hard to imagine that they grew up with a different culture. A couple days ago, a little girl approached me and asked, "Are you going to be one of those people that help for a little bit and leave forever?". Her question made me falter a bit while I quickly managed to respond that our last day would be Friday. We were told beforehand that these children usually had issues with consistency, but I never really thought about it first hand until I was faced with it first hand. I now realize that we all have or will struggle with constant and consistent love on Earth because only constant thing is change; only God is never changing which is why as Christians we look to him for comfort and peace. After a delicious dinner, all the churches with CSM joined in the sanctuary for worship night. Our discussion through prayer time was made up of discussing our insecurities and lies we normally feel about ourselves. In my group, we all discovered that we could all relate to each other's feelings, creating a stronger bond between all of us. Though this missions trip was filled with ups and downs, serving along side my FCBC family has been a totally new experience that not only opened my eyes to the heart of our capital but also with my relationship with God and my peers. Kathy

Day 7

Today was honestly just one of the best days I've had with members of our church. For starters, we got to say goodbye to the children at the church we had been serving in; it was just great to see them develop and get to know their personalities over the course of the week. There was Edward, whose smile is as bright and rewarding as the sun after a long day in frost and snow, Lamar, who, although cried and required constant care, had quite the spirit of happiness in him, and of course, Xair, who persistently attempted to wake up his sleepy friend ever morning; their everlasting energy brought me near exhaustion every day, and sleep became diamonds, but more valuable. Today was a good day because of the repeated breaks, but the best part was our “Urban Plunge.” Having not talked with or served the homeless for the entire week, it was exhilarating to be able to actually talk to the impoverished homeless beggars along the street. Although I'd been incredibly carious as we first approached the people asking for food and shelter, they began to seem a lot friendlier after we began to talk to them. It was interesting being sucked into a community of its own, where all our unfortunate friends knew each other like neighbors in a tightly bonded community. We essentially became one of them, talking to people like “Scooby” and Bobby who had great stories to share. Of course, each one of them still maintained pride, and some even continued to have strong faith in Jesus. During the recap of the day, we sat and talked with each other in a nice park, and Jeanell shared her experience with a man who had a deeper faith than she herself did and knew the bible even better than her. It was great just to experience the life of the homeless and familiarize ourselves with the community on the streets. While roaming the streets, we were each given two dollars to buy food for ourselves and one homeless man, giving us the experience of an actual homeless person. However, I traveled in a group of eight, giving us 16 dollars to split amongst the 8 of us. I met and talked with many homeless, and the experience showed me that the people on the streets aren't always the bad guys, or the people in common stereotype. They deserve to be treated well like anybody else, and they got heart and can crack jokes as good as any of us. The lack of money also opened my eyes to a different look for prices. Usually, 2 dollars would've been really nice for a big bag of bread, but not for us. We were stingy to the point we walked for two hours to find a fast food restaurant or a supermarket selling cheap bread, meat and nutrition, like fruits or vegetables. Many times, we wouldn't even considering buying the cheapest brocilli just because it was too expensive. We eventually found a supermarket selling one dollar bread, and rotisserie chicken for five dollars each. We shared the chicken and bread with a homeless man, and bought the cheapest vegetables/fruits in the place (bananas, 47¢ per pound). One thing that did astound me was the amount of racism within the city. Jerry was approached by a man who said, “Hey, I know how Asians feel about black people, but just hear me out.” Another time I experienced harsh racism was when Aaron bumped into a man on accident, and he started cursing all Chinese and all Christians, saying we should go back to our country. Also, I was at the Metro station and a lot of friendly people who wanted to help us out offered to show us where Chinatown was, nothing mean or mocking, but they saw that we didn't belong because of our skin colour. Overall, the experience was educational and exhilarating, finishing the last day with a grand finale.

Jason Peng Michelle Li