While some of the Cascade Christian Academy (CCA) student body went to Belize for a mission trip in March 2014, the high school students left behind served their local Wenatchee, Wash., community. For a week and a half, CCA teachers Diana Hernandez and Vicki Downer supervised 12 students as they worked at a variety of ministry venues.
The students were divided into two groups for their morning assignments, which included cleaning homes and yards for the elderly and tying quilts for the Wenatchee Adventist Community Service (ACS) as well as cleaning and organizing some of its shelves. Marly Peet, Wenatchee ACS director, and her assistant, Joan Pierce, instructed the group in quilt-tying, a skill that most teens have never tried before. Several baby and full-size quilts were finished due to their help.
The Lighthouse Christian Ministries also appreciated the service CCA students provided in the soup kitchen and the yard work done at the men’s and women’s shelters. The girls especially enjoyed working at the Blossom Creek Memory Care facility, where they painted fingernails and read to the residents. Olivia Diede, a freshman whose mother works at the facility, enjoyed painting the women’s nails and spending time with them.
In the afternoon the students returned to campus to offer their services to various teachers and office staff by playing with the elementary school children, preparing bulletin boards, helping with art projects and stuffing envelopes for the alumni mailer. Hannah Stonas, CCA freshman, commented on how much she enjoyed getting to know the younger children on campus.
Working in their own community allowed the students to be a part of the vital ministries occurring each day that often go unnoticed. Staff pray the students of Cascade Christian Academy will embrace ministry opportunities like these and develop the compassion of Christ for others.
Students from Cascade Christian Academy are part of vital ministries occurring in their local community.
