GO Week: Orlando
By Samantha DePriest
One might think that a GO Week trip to Orlando Florida would be full of rollercoasters, sunshine, and palm trees. Our missions team of 55 high school students led by 6 high school staff members were excited to share that their time in central Florida was full of hard work and service. Because the mission team was large in number, they divided into two groups and took turns serving at four local ministries. After two full days of serving, students enjoyed a day together at Universal Studios. Before heading to the airport to return home, they squeezed in a brief stop at Gatorland too.
The ministries they served at reached people in need both locally and around the world. Students spent time at Clean the World, Christian Center for the Homeless, United Against Poverty, and Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. At each location, they met with volunteer group leaders who shared the mission and vision of their organizations and how our student mission teams investing and serving greatly impacted the communities they serve.
Clean the World collects hotel soaps from all over the US. Once they clean them, they send them out to emerging countries. The TCS GO Week team processed 40,000 bars of soap and 5,000 plastic bottles. Clean the World staff shared that hygiene related deaths have been cut down by 60% where their soap goes.
Christian Center for the Homeless
The Christian Center for the Homeless
Our TCS GO Week team sorted hundred of bags of clothes for the thrift store. They cleaned and reorganized the thrift store so it could reopen the next day. The staff member shared that in one days time, our students put in 165 man hours so the store only had to be closed for one day. During their time there, students also prepared more than two hundred lunches for the homeless and cleaned the kitchen.
United Against Poverty is a grocery store in central Florida for those living at or below the poverty line which is defined as a family of four making less than $60,000 a year. Shoppers must be members to shop at truly discounted prices. Their motto is “A hand UP, not handout”.
TCS students helped clean shelves in the store by removing all the items, wiping down the shelves, and placing everything back on them. Through a $600,000 grant to UAP, they purchased a new refrigerator and freezer. Our students sorted and organized the food in the refrigerator and freezer. Over the course of one day, the students put in an estimated 110 man hours in one days time.
Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida
The Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida serves over 600 feeding partners. Their mission is “To create hope and nourish lives through a powerful hunger relief network, while multiplying the generosity of a caring community.” and their vision is “Inspiring and engaging our community to end hunger and help our neighbors thrive.”
TCS students processed over 4,000 pounds of food sorting 15 pallets of unprocessed food. They packed over 1,000 family meal boxes of food which will serve more than 15,000 meals. Our students shared how surprised they were that a family would only have a small bag of rice, individual cups of mandarin oranges, green beans, powdered eggs, pancake mix, canned corn, and milk to eat. It made them even more grateful for the delicious food choices they receive every day both in their homes and at school. They were also impressed upon the importance of cleaning their clothes before donating them since many of the families receiving donated items do not have access to a washing machine, running water, or detergent.
Our staff shared how impressed they were with the workmanship of our students. They chuckled as they shared that making projects a competition truly motivated students to work together at accomplishing each task. The local ministries shared about the tremendous impact our GO Week: Orlando team made. In fact one of the leaders shared that they were going to have to come up with new projects for the volunteers the rest of the week because our Trinity students completed so many tasks on their weekly list of needs. Though one of the most meaningful memories of the mission trip was TCS students leading impromptu Bible studies during the trip without prompting. Students brought Bibles and used the time to encourage one another and dig deeper into God’s word. This is what being a TCS Lion is all about.
