UPIKE spring break mission trip to Colorado serves others in need
0By Tori Breeding
On Saturday, March 10, Rob Musick, chaplain and instructor of religion, and Wes Rose, student success advisor, led a group of students to Denver, Colo. for mission work. Teddy Woods, Isaac Hall, Amanda Pelfrey, Joey May, Coy Holstein, Laura Kirk, Dawson Clark, and Tori Breeding spent their spring break serving others.
In Denver, students served at Metro Caring, a food bank that also offers many other services. Students composted expired and unusable food. Students volunteered with Bessie’s Hope, where they visited with elderly residents in a nursing home; they played games, sang, and danced. Students served food and cleaned Father Woody’s, a soup kitchen that also offers showers and other activities for residents in Denver. Students worshipped and had bible study with members of the homeless community at Bus Stop Ministries then travelled to The Network Café where they shared stories and coffee with the staff, volunteers, and visitors. Some students helped members of the Ronald McDonald House deep clean a family suite on the NICU floor of the Denver Children’s Hospital. Other students volunteered their time with Senior Support Services, where students and seniors played BINGO and fellowshipped with each other.
Students also went hiking in Alderfer, saw the view from Pike’s Peak, and saw amazing rock formations at The Garden of the Gods.
“My first mission trip with Rob was amazing. I made lifelong friends and got to serve a community. One lesson I will hold with me after this trip is that you can leave the homeless in the dark, but you can never take away their light,” Dawson Clark, freshman, said.
“One thing that stood out to me was when Camille, leader of the Bus Stop Ministries, said ‘being in our pain is where we truly encounter God,’ this was a great lesson that all of us brought back with us,” Rose said.