TCS GO WEEK 2023

By Samantha DePriest

  Each January, Trinity Christian School provides wonderful opportunities for all of our high school students through something we call “GO Week”. It gives them a chance to share their Faith and serve others while visiting and exploring God’s creation in new places and making new friends. This past week, we had teams on 3 continents with Joshua Expeditions. Please click the link below to learn more about Joshua Expeditions:

Joshua Expeditions

A few weeks before the trip, our school community gathered together in a “Night of Prayer” to lift up our students, parents, and staff members in prayers as well as the lives they will touch during their time on mission. They prayed that the Gospel would be spread, that people would feel God’s love, hearts would be transformed, for safe travels, bravery to share the Gospel and help others, and for the opportunity to go and make an impact.

This year there were 9 teams who traveled both stateside and internationally for GO Week including Arizona, Costa Rica, 2 teams in Ecuador, Europe, Florida Keys, Montana, Puerto Rico, and Yosemite.

Arizona GO Week Team lead Shannon Bragg shares, “Our team partnered with a church called Church on the Streets and had the opportunity to pass out sandwiches and tracts to the homeless in downtown Phoenix. It was such an eye opening experience for us. We also heard testimony’s from men who used to be either in prison or on the streets, but were rescued thanks to this church. They now attend weekly Bible studies and then witness to those currently on the streets. It was cool to sit in a Bible study with them and witness alongside them on the streets. It really showed our students the power of God.” The Arizona team also was able to take in God’s creation as they hiked Bell Rock Mountain in Sedona and experienced the Grand Canyon in the snow.

Our Costa Rica GO Week team joined two families to build two houses, one for each family. One family is a family of five, the Familiar Marcio Orozco. The other is a family of four, Familia Mora Garcia. The team also got a chance to grocery shop for them and celebrate their new homes. Prayers were answered when Gospel conversations arose for students, there was fellowship around the Word, and awareness of the ways the Lord is moving.

TCS Head of School, Dr. Anthony, shares “I am so proud of all of our students. They broke into groups and helped lead devotions and share scripture with over 100 kids each day. They even held a glow party.” Mike Townson, Director of Soccer and Head Varsity Soccer Coach at TCS, shared the excitement of hosting soccer camps for almost 1,000 students in Ecuador. Coach Mike shares, “Multiple camps and hundreds of kids experiencing Jesus and soccer today! Our TCS Staff, students, and parents are amazing…I can’t brag on our students enough.” The group explored the beautiful country side and enjoyed zip lining through the Andres Mountains on their last day in Ecuador.

Ecuador GO Week Team led by Assistant Director of Student Development Reed Shackelford had a full week of serving and made quite an impact. Reed shares “We served alongside fellow believers from different parts of Ecuador. We served on a farm in the mountains helping with construction needs, harvesting fruit, and teaching kids how to play baseball. We helped a local church build new walls, stained walls, and helped preserve the current place where they worship. We had many meaningful conversations with believers about who the Lord is and how the same Lord that changes and works in our lives is the same Lord who is changing lives and working in lives in Ecuador. One of the most impactful things that we have seen is that we are worshiping the same God no matter the language.” 

Trinity History teacher Quincy Forde is still leading our Europe (WWII) GO Week team on a journey on the other side of the pond. The team has visited London, the Imperial War Museum, Tower Bridge, Normandy, and even laid a wreath at the American cemetery. They are still overseas on their trip and exploring the sights in Paris and Versailles today. We can’t wait to learn more about their adventures when they return to the states and pray for their safe travels back on Monday evening.

Florida Keys GO Week team was lead by High School Science Teacher and Varsity Swim Coach Devin James shared, “Our students spent time marveling at God's creation by snorkeling, swimming with the dolphins, kayaking, and more. They also spent time at the Redlands Migrant Christian Association. They support the migrant community and our TCS students specifically helped in the childcare facilities. Students were split up in a bunch of different classrooms and helped the kids play, read, color, draw, and do puzzles. Our students did a great job with kids and we were really proud of how quickly they jumped in.” 

Our Montana GO Week Team was led by High School Bible teacher Patrick Brannon. The team visited downtown Livingston, Montana and Sacajawea Park. They also spent time exploring “Paradise Blvd” to Yellowstone National Park with magnificent views of God’s creation. They visited the main trash site for the town, as the community does not have trash service for various reasons, and cleaned up the entire location. They also cleaned up a church for youth night, set up an assembly line to pack food for the local community for the Backpack program, and created invite cards for youth night. JP Weaver, Trinity High School Director of Student Development on the trip, shared the impact was deeply felt by both the students and pastor in that community as well as within our group of Trinity GO Week students.

Our Puerto Rico GO Week Team was led by High School Principal Kimberly Jones. Kimmy shares, “Our group served at YWAM and at the Center Cristiano Casa de Pacto assisting with painting, cleaning, and setting up their converted meeting space. Because of our students help, the center was ready to welcome families for services this Sunday. Praise the Lord! After serving in the community and putting in hours of work each day, our group enjoyed the sights in Old San Juan and even took a catamaran adventure complete with sand, scuba, slides, and smiles galore! We have enjoyed all aspects of our Puerto Rican adventure together!”

Our Yosemite GO Week team was led by High School teacher Taylor Bouma. The team ran into some bad weather upon arrival and had to make some last minute adjustments to their trip, but weathered out the storm and made the best of it. The team visited Dave & Buster’s until the storm passed on, and then hiked Land’s End and Golden Gate Park, explored Fisherman’s Wharf and rode bikes across the Golden Gate Bridge. Exploring the west coast of our beautiful country was both eye opening and memorable for this wonderful group of students and staff.