Salt Life

Belle Glade Mission Trip 09

Thought I'd share a few pictures of what our two oldest children were up to this past week...

Mollie & Andrew each paid $200, along with 300 other students from our church, to spend a week serving a poverty-stricken community just 35 minutes west of our home.

Belle Glade is a small town nestled between Florida's sugar cane fields and the infamous Lake Okeechobee. It has the 10th highest percentage of Haitian residents in the United States and over 30% of the population lives below the poverty line with a median household income of under $27,000. Belle Glades violent crime rate is nearly five times the national average and its unemployment rate is a whopping 9.7%.. With these statistics in mind, our church decided to partner with its local residents & churches to share the love and message of Jesus Christ by reaching out in practical ways to their community .

First Baptist Church of Belle Glade was our host. This is where the entire team lodged for the week. The students were split into two groups with the middle school students leading a Mega Sports Camp at the church and the high school students heading off-site and leading various projects throughout the community.

Below are a few pictures of our students in action. You can also click here to see a clip from our local news station's "Making a Difference" segment.

Labels: church, family, ministry

posted by Kushmama @ 10:37 AM