A group of Milo Adventist Academy students, led by Pastor Eugene Miller and John and Darlene Kelley, spent their spring vacation on a mission trip to El Seibo in the Dominican Republic. They went to help finish the construction of an Adventist school and to preach six 16-day evangelistic series, using ShareHim sermons. They went to change lives in the Dominican Republic, and found through their days of service that their own lives were changed.
Tara Kay Miller, a senior from Scappoose, Ore., found how much fun service can be, and even though she was there to work on construction with her family, the relationships she developed there were worth far more. “I have never interacted with people that I could barely talk to on such a deep level,” she reports. Trenton Wilson, from Tigard, Ore., agrees, “This experience makes me want to get out more; to reach out and help others.”
Another valuable lesson learned from this trip is summed up by Ju’Lee Search, a senior from Christmas Valley, Ore.: “On this trip I think that God showed me that even if you don’t have anything, you can still have everything!” Heidi Beckner, a freshman from Aloha, Ore., feels that her experience helped her appreciate what she has more. She values the feeling of peace and contentment she observed in her new friends who did not have much, but gladly welcomed her into their homes. Rianne Margart, a junior from Eureka, Calif., was also impressed with people who don’t have a life “as cushy as ours, but they’re always happy and willing to share.”
Preaching God’s word to others had a significant life-changing effect on freshman Houpu Xu, from Battle Ground, Wash. Before he left on this trip, Houpu’s father asked him if he had given any thought to being baptized. While in the Dominican, Houpu found himself preaching a sermon called “Move Your Hands” that was about our sins being paid for by Jesus. During the sermon, he realized the words were not his own and he truly felt the Holy Spirit speaking through his mouth. “When I felt the Holy Spirit use me in such a real way, I knew it was time to be baptized,” says Houpu. He was baptized along with people he preached to there in the Dominican Republic.
Milo students and sponsors prepare to leave for the Dominican Republic. (Nancy Starr)
Heidi Beckner makes friends with a local child. (Rianne Margart)
