Mountain States Children’s Home Trip June 2019

Pressing on towards the Goal

“I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” ‭‭

Philippians‬ ‭3:14‬

Painting fences, digging holes and trenches, planting trees, landscape maintenance, organizing storage rooms, assembling bikes, oiling saddles, cleaning out barns … the list of tasks was extensive as a team of teens and adults, including parents, chaperones, and the dedicated kitchen staff arrived on the scene to perform various acts of service at Mountain States Children’s Home (MSCH).

The setting for these activities is a lovely property with breathtaking views of the majestic Rocky Mountains on the horizon.  Located in Longmont Colorado, MSCH is a children’s home that serves to provide healing and restoration for wounded children.

During the day, the 30+ members of the team were split into four working groups and assigned to various projects around the property.   As the teams worked together with one another and the MSCH folks on the various tasks, we were able to learn new skills, create closer connections to one another, and develop a deeper understanding of God’s purpose for his church and the bonds of love we share in Christ.

After a busy morning of working on various tasks, lunch was a time of shared food, fellowship and fun as the team intermingled with the children, house parents, and staff of MSCH.   The afternoon schedule was similar to the morning: working in teams on various tasks, then breaking for dinner and an evening of shared time which included a devotional time of singing, prayer and a brief lesson from the scriptures.

Though the work had a certain level of intensity, at times challenging, the children, teens, and even adults had time for recreation.  Everyone had an opportunity to enjoy various games, sports, and a bit of healthy competition as friendships developed during these shared times of work and play.

Outwardly, it might seem that our primary purpose was to complete these many necessary tasks, however, in reality our intentions were also to be examples as people living in a way that reflects Jesus into the lives of all these children being nurtured by this home, and to develop the Christian character of the teens (and adults) who traveled to Colorado.  Our desire is that the time we invested has imprinted on all of our hearts (deeper than the holes and trenches we dug, and longer lasting than the paint we applied), a surer hope and stronger faith in the reality that we have Jesus to guide us all the way into eternity, as we follow his teachings.

“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.”

James‬ ‭1:27‬ ‭

In God’s eyes, every person is an orphan and he desires to adopt each of us into his family.  We invite you to join us as one of his children by following Jesus and obeying his Good News of salvation.

“God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.”

Ephesians‬ ‭1:5‬ ‭