TCS Families on Mission: Armenia, Colombia
By Samantha DePriest
Earlier this summer a team from Trinity Church (many of whom are also students at Trinity Christian School) traveled to Armenia, Colombia for the Trinity Church Youth Mission Trip. Pastor Ben Heilman and his son Ethan (rising senior), Sean and Holly Savoy and their four children Joshua (rising senior), twins Kristen and Rebecca (rising sophomores), and son Timothy (rising 7th grader), Sam Fader (rising junior), and Abby Wozniak (TCS Graduate ‘23) traveled south from June 27th through July 4th. The students on this trip, with the exception of Aiden and Alexa Collins from another church in Columbus, have all been friends since they were babies which made it extra special. They connected with a church in Armenia called “Asambleas de Dios Sembrando Vida” which means “Assemblies of God, Sewing Life”.
Trinity Church Youth Mission Trip team pictured l to r back row: Holly Savoy, Abby Wozniak, Rebecca Savoy, Josh Savoy, Ethan Heilman, Timothy Savoy, and Aiden Collins.
Front row pictured l to r: Kristen Savoy, Alexa Collins, Sean Savoy, Pastor Ben Heilman, and Sam Fader
The church building was a house and it served their community of 2-3 blocks surrounding it in a poor area. The church pastor shared that everything the church does focuses on serving the community in the surrounding area. The church serves in many ways throughout the week including a feeding program for at risk kids and Mom’s. On Wednesday nights the church hosts outdoor music and preaches in the streets where people listen from their homes and stand on their balconies participating.
The mission team connected with the community and built relationships through various ways. They led soccer camps in the mornings for children ages 5-15 and VBS in the afternoons for children 13 and under. The team spent a week serving at the end of June beginning of July while the children had a 2-week break from school. Several of the mission team members spoke Spanish. Sam, Josh, and Sean were all able to communicate and help with translation. The mission team performed funny skits, songs with motions, crafts, and shared bible stories. They helped with a children’s service on Saturday afternoon and attended the church service in the church house on Sunday morning.
Rebecca Savoy and the little boy mentioned in the story.
Holly Savoy shares “As we preparing for this trip, we had all these ideas for how we would organize a great soccer camp. We showed up to a dirt “soccer field” with dogs wandering around and kids wearing sandals, crocs, and some sneakers. These kids weren’t looking for some elite soccer camp, they just needed to be loved and feel wanted! God just used soccer to get us to this specific areas to reach these kids and this community. As we offered what we thought we had, God used it for so much more. It was definitely an unforgettable experience!”
Rebecca Savoy, TCS 10th grader shares, “All week we were getting to know the kids through the soccer camp and VBS. As we got to love on these kids, we told them ‘Jesus te ama!’ which means Jesus loves you in Spanish. On the last day, as we said our goodbyes, ones of the little boys I had hung out with a lot gave me a hug and said ‘Jesus te ama!’ right before I said it to him. God was able to use me to bring His truth to those sweet kids, and I am so grateful for that opportunity.”
TCS Graduate Abby was given candy from a student on the last day who she had done crafts with and played soccer with all week and she said, “I have nothing to give you back”. The child replied with “You gave me your heart this week.”
“God took what we offered and used it for Him.” Pastor Ben shared, “It was awesome to see our students to get out of their comfort zone and share what Jesus has done in their lives. They all stepped out and shared their Faith. Our teens laid hands on and prayed over the 5-6 Columbian teens.”
The pastor of Asambleas de Dios Sembrando Vida shared feedback “When your team showed up this week, the spiritual atmosphere changed. The team just loved on the kids and built relationships” . What a blessing for our mission team and for the families in the community in Armenia.
