Missions 2013 Highlights Intercessory Team Before and during Spring Break the Intercessory Team gathered together to cover the missions teams in prayer. We prayed consistently for safety, God’s work in their lives, team unity, transformation and miracles. We were able to pray for each team individually before they left, attend Orientation, and pray as we received updates from the team throughout the break. The team met during Spring Break to serve dinner at Hope Central in Mission, and for a community dinner, worship and sharing time. Mr. Brown on behalf of the Intercessory Team

Costa Rica We had a fantastic variety of experiences during our time in Costa Rica. We divided our time between a small, poor beach community called Playa Azul and a tourist town called Jaco. We were a part of many work projects such as building a beach volleyball court for the community, painting and putting in water drainage for the church building. We were able to use the money raised from the Grade 8’s and their 30 Hour Fast to put towards the building of a house for an elderly lady who had nowhere else to live. As a part of servant evangelism, we went from

house to house, asking people if we could do anything around their house or yard and often ended up raking or cleaning an area for them, as well as hearing about their lives and praying. Every afternoon, we hosted a kids club in Playa Azul where we played games, shared a Bible

story, sang songs and did a craft with the kids. This was always a favourite time of day for us as the kids were so full of life and embraced us with open hearts. Twice we played soccer with the community, although their skills seriously outweighed ours and many laughs were shared. We were able to help host two

youth group nights, where we shared our Drimes and our testimonies. We really enjoyed worshiping together in both Spanish and English. We experienced God in our team and our unity and depth of sharing was life changing for all of us. We encountered His love in many ways and were humbled by his powerful and changing presence in our lives. Every day, we were able to spend an hour of quiet time with the Lord, reading, journaling, listening and resting in His presence. We all felt challenged to come home and make this a priority in our schedules and our lives. “Set a fire down in my soul, that I can’t contain and I can’t control. I want more of you God.” These are lyrics of a song that we sang in both English and Spanish and will continue to remind us of what He has started in each of us on this trip. Mr. Willms on behalf of the Costa Rica Team

Haiti We had an amazing trip! In Haiti we were stationed at the Heart to Heart orphanage in Grand Goave, a two hour drive west of Port au Prince. The school at H2H has 500 students, and there

are approximately 100 children living at the children’s home. The children either have no one able to provide for them financially or they have lost one or both parents. The impact the earthquake had on H2H is still evident. Part of our mission was spending time connecting and loving the young children at the orphanage. They were so easy to love and craved our hugs and attention. One of our projects was re-painting the outside kitchen, two girls’ and two boys’ bedrooms in the children’s home. We also repainted the refurbished playground in very bright colours. The children were active in helping us paint, although they were wearing

more of the paint by the end of the day. The days were long and the heat at times was intense. Our team also helped dig out the old garbage burn pile. As well, we dug out soil using pick axes and shovels to make way for a new vegetable garden. The older teens from the orphanage worked alongside us on our projects. We spent time at the Lavanj church, sharing testimonies and performing our Drimes with the church. The Lord not only used our team to minister to the people of Haiti, but our team

members were equally ministered to. Lavanj is a very poor area, where the children walk a very long way to school, if they are able to go at all. It is accessed via a long and very bumpy ride up the riverbed, then a long uphill drive as the church is situated on top of a mountain. What a view!! Pastor Luc hopes to one day build a school beside the church. On our second trip to Lavanj, our vehicle became stuck in the river during our return trip to the orphanage. After four hours of waiting and praying and watching day turn to night, help arrived. After much pushing and strategy, we were free and on our way. It was just another example of how important it is for us to trust in

the Lord and not be anxious. We also took all the children to the beach for a special outing, we

piled over 100 children and adults into the vehicle. Playing lifeguard at the beach was quite a task with so many excited children. Funds from the Penny Drive were used to purchase sheets for the beds in the children’s home and the 30 Hour Fast funds to purchase gifts for the children, such as marbles, bubbles, soccer balls, games and craft supplies. Mrs. Dirks on behalf of the Haiti Team

Philippines Members of the Philippines 2013 team lived in huts high on a mountainside overlooking a river, swam in and drank (filtered!) river water, learned a lot about midwifery and did a lot of

prayer and worship during their two weeks in Olangapo. What a privilege to be hosted by Jason Eheler (MEI alumnus 1998), his wife Theresa and their four children who work with Mercy In Action ministries. Theresa is a midwife in a birthing centre there which provides free pre-natal care and delivers babies for the tribal women. The Ehelers are very involved in their community and the local villages and it is evident that their friendship and ministry is highly valued. It was a particular blessing to work with them because Jason first experienced missions on an MEI Missions trip to

the Philippines in 1997 as a Grade 11 student. God has since called them back to live amongst the people in this country. Our team cleaned, painted and mixed concrete for walls at the clinic, visited and prayed for the sick and dying in huts and in a hospital, cuddled babies in a recovery home, hiked to villages in the mountains, ran a children’s program for 400 kids one Saturday and shared Jesus and His love at every opportunity possible. We shared testimonies, Drimes and music and felt the Spirit of God as we prayed for and saw deliverance and freedom. We saw

people living in all sorts of conditions - it was wonderful to bless people living in the middle of a landfill with food and with health and hygiene kits as we prayed with them. Thanks to our Grade 8’s who raised money in their 30 Hour Fast to purchase food for many people as we distributed food hampers to the poor. The MEI Schools penny drive enabled us to purchase a bed for a very sick girl who lay dying in her home on a sheet of plywood. Our team also financed the projects at the Mercy In Action Center and was able to leave money to put windows, doors and a new roof on the home of a family who had so little and became very dear to our team as we shared time together. In giving we received so much – and we thank God for the blessing of our time spent in the Philippines. Ms. Smith on behalf of the Philippines Team

Quebec The Quebec team, consisting of eight students from Grades 10, 11 and 12 plus two leaders, headed out to “La Belle Province” over spring break. Most visitors to Quebec go to experience the fun side of life in our mainly French-speaking province, but our goal was to show French Quebecers, who have been called “the most unreached people group in North America”, the love of Christ through our service work.

We spent the majority of our time in Montreal, where we were hosted by MCC Quebec. We worked at five different agencies, including a thrift store/food bank catering to immigrants, two shelters for men suffering primarily from schizophrenia, a church-based soup kitchen, and a community centre in a disadvantaged neighbourhood. We swept, cleaned, scrubbed, sorted,

organized, arranged, painted, cooked, and baked! People were somewhat puzzled by our willingness to volunteer to take on these tasks, and this gave us an opportunity to tell them about our school, our mission, and Jesus. Being able to serve God in this way was a great experience for our team members and our eyes were opened to the many

different needs around us. We packed a lot of other activities into our trip. The weekends were spent exploring the province: eating poutine of course, attending mass at Notre Dame Basilica (breathtaking building, mysterious rituals), touring the Biodome at Olympic Park, and visiting Old Montreal, Quebec City, and Trois-Rivières. We experienced a true Canadian winter with a storm that left 20 inches of snow, which we loved but the locals

hated! We became pros at riding the Metro and were always on the lookout for opportunities to brighten someone's day while commuting. The team's unity grew each day and the friendships that developed are certain to be long-lasting. We felt truly blessed by God in this way. Mr. Girard and Ms. Beswick on behalf of the Quebec Team

Thailand The MEI Thailand Team was blessed with an amazing opportunity to serve alongside Ricky & Karen Sanchez.

We hit the ground running in Chonburi, launching into VBS in Sila, and work projects at the Abundant Life Home Orphanage. Our team also led sessions of English training for preschoolers, preteens, teenagers and adults. We had the privilege of witnessing 12 children come to know Jesus for the first time, and were greatly blessed by the commitment and passion of the local church. Our team bonded over different adventures to the Beach, Tiger Zoo,

Monkey Hill and 7-Eleven. Team Thailand then travelled throughout the north of Thailand, touring Khmu villages, completing some work projects for the Changed Life Center, meeting local pastors, and praying over neighbouring Burma and Laos. Team

highlights included connecting with the orphans at Abundant Life Home, seeing children come to know Jesus and seeing the healing power of God after we prayed for a team member. The money from the 30-hour fast was used to help purchase and clear land for a new church plant in Ang Sila and then the Penny Drive money was used to purchase a barbecue for the Abundant Life Home Orphanage. Mrs. Craig on behalf of the Thailand Team

Ukraine If I had to summarize our trip this year to Ukraine I don’t think I can. It left all of us so grateful for the faithfulness of God, loving Him more, trusting Him more, knowing Him more and overwhelmed with how big our God is. While stationed in Ukraine we visited different orphanages where we did dramas, told Bible stories and did many crafts. Due to the generosity of many of the people who supported the students financially to go to Ukraine we were also able to give each child a gift bag (around 800 were given out). The best part of visiting these orphanages was being able to just love these kids, play with them, hold them, laugh and cry with them. Not one of us wanted to leave as our hearts were so full of love for these precious children! We also went to many public schools where we played sports, did talent shows and shared not only about Canada, but about Jesus as well. This year, as each student shared

their testimony, whether in easier or tougher crowds , we saw God at work whether it was a message one or many needed to hear. The shelter worker in tears kept commenting on how the dramas touched her personally so deeply and she saw God working through your sons and daughter to reach out to the people in Ukraine. Who knows how many seeds were planted but let’s keep praying for the growth of those seeds and the harvest. We also got a chance to purchase and give some bibles for some students in an orphanage who were longing to own their own Bible but couldn’t afford one. They literally ran off hugging their new Bible excited, to get to

their bed and read it. What an example to all of us. Other activities we were involved in were speaking in churches and youth groups, sports with various groups, programs in the shelter that we were stationed out of, working with the children there and much more. We also were able to bless the Shelter children with school supplies,

medicine, toys, sports equipment, and money for camp in the summer. Thanks to the many of you who gave so generously and to the Middle School students who raised some money for us to take to Ukraine which went towards the purchase of a projector unit and screen for them to watch movies on. So much happened in our lives, hopefully in the lives of the people we were in contact with, so hard to put into words other then we all left changed. On behalf of my team I would like to thank each one of you who supported our team either through your prayers and / or financially. Your prayers were needed, counted on and answered in some powerful ways. Due to God loving these Ukrainian children and due to your generosity there were funds available to help them financially meet some critical needs. I can’t thank you enough. There is no question we saw the goodness of God and saw Jesus in the faces of these beautiful children. I think it is safe to say that we all left our heart in Ukraine! Thank you once again for the part you played in loving these forgotten children in Ukraine. With hearts over flowing with gratitude to God, for the children of Ukraine and for you, Ms. Rempel on behalf of Ukraine Team.

Zambia This spring break we had the privilege of leading a team of eight high schools students to Kabwe, Zambia. There we served alongside of Hands at

Work, who care for “the most” vulnerable children by providing the basic needs of food, education and medical care within their communities. Before stepping foot in Zambia, our team of ten, along with parents and supporters had the opportunity to meet with George Snyman, founder of Hands at Work. He was able to convey to us

how we needed to engage and genuinely respond to the harsh realities of pain, poverty and disease we were about to encounter. He stressed that our assignment wasn’t so much about “us” and what we were bringing to “them,” but more importantly, what we could learn from each other. On that note, our team left for Zambia, hearts and eyes open for what George described as “diamonds in the rough”. As leaders, we were impressed with our students’ attitude, involvement and sacrifice during our two-week stay. We witnessed our students boldly step outside of their comfort zones thousands of miles away from the familiarity of family, friends, hobbies, schedules and internet.

A typical day involved us gathering together in the morning with local care workers for devotions (always involving song and dance), accompanying care workers (sometimes walking up to 5 km in the hot sun) on home visits where we would offer assistance with chores, encouragement and prayer, assisting with lunch preparations and leading an afternoon of games, song and dance to over a 100 excited children not accustom to routine (a nearly impossible task!). As the days advanced, our laps became beds for tired children, our hands a tool for

chopping vegetables, washing laundry and weeding gardens, our skin soaked with colour and our hearts changed. The growth in each of our students was evident to us, as they gave expression of their authentic care for each other and the people of Zambia that we interacted with. As our time in the rural communities of Kabwe progressed, so did our understanding of what it meant to love. We were humbled by the strength, conviction and belief in Christ expressed by local Zambian care workers - a belief that shaped their entire lives carrying them through death and spurring them towards love and sacrifice in some of the most unlikely circumstances. Taking part in the daily celebration and joy naturally resulting from close relationships between members of the community

revealed to us the rich value that results from caring for one another. Thousands of miles away from the security of our individualist Canadian culture and prominent materialism, we experienced a sense of personal healing, gaining a greater perspective in what is really of “value”. In returning home, we now face the challenge of applying these newly discovered truths and values into our lives and the choices that we make each and every day. Mr. Zukowski on behalf of the team.