Given the opportunity to help out someone in need was so cool. I was really excited to be able to give these people hope like Jesus has me and hopefully push them through these hard times. It was so cool to see our work slowly progress into something great. It was genuinely so cool to see how connected everyone was and there to help the second you needed it .Also shout out to the people who got there at 6 and the HOM team you guys are awesome. I am so thankful for my team. It was really cool to get to know them in the time we hung out and laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe with them. Although we didn’t have much experience I’d say we nailed it… Anyways, working today was such a blessing to bless others and I can’t wait to do it again next year. 

Proverbs 11:25 

The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped. 

Kallie Olson (9th)

Today I had a lot of fun putting parts together for the houses being sent to Mexico! I was in charge of building a window, and it was a lot of hammering which actually wasn’t that bad. My favorite part was getting to work with friends and being out in the sun. I liked seeing everyone work hard and being in a good mood throughout the day, and I can’t wait to make families in Mexico happy and feel safe.

Jaslene Krueger (9th)

Today was so much fun, though I had to wake up and be in the parking lot by 6. The process of building was super fun, I was responsible for lifting and cutting pieces used by the different groups. I was able to interact with some members of the organization we worked with (Hands of Mercy), and they were all nice people. The whole point of today was to assemble a house for a family in Mexico, and with an opportunity to bless others I was lucky to know that I helped people. It was a very tiring yet productive day, but we got the job done both in construction and on aux :).

Bryce Noonoo (11th)

Today we had the opportunity to work with Hands of Mercy (HōM) and build two houses for those in need. Before getting started two HōM leaders explained a few things we needed to know before we started building, such as the different types of nails we would be working with and how to properly hammer them in so that we wouldn’t bend them. Afterwards we headed to the lower parking lot and began distributing the materials so that the different stations could start building.

Each section was assigned a specific part of the house that they were responsible for building two of. I was in section 4 where we were assigned to build the stairs along with the base and honestly, after watching the instructional video, I was a little worried. I still wasn’t sure how we were supposed to build it and I really didn’t want to mess it up, especially since this was going to a family who really needed it. Luckily, the HōM leaders were kind enough to help us get started and explain it step by step and soon enough my team and I were building on our own! 

Even though some mistakes were made and many nails were bent, overall it was a really fun experience! Today we were able to laugh, learn new skills, and serve those in need while building. However, I think out of the entire day, my favorite part was walking through the sections and seeing all of the parts of the house finished and ready to be sent off where they would be assembled. 

It was truly incredible to see what the school can accomplish when working together. What used to be piles of wood were now parts of a house that would soon bless two families.

Angelina Nunez (10th)

Today was an exciting day, we started the morning getting prepped and ready for the kindergarteners (5 year olds all the way to 3 year olds!) they were adorable! I was in the craft team so I had the opportunity to share the bible story with them. The kids had the opportunity to color and make a treasure chest that demonstrated the poor widow giving her 2 coins, we even gave the children 2 pennies to put in their little treasure chest. I had the opportunity to talk to a kid named Adrian who loved dinosaurs! We ended up doing 3 stations! We also decided to let the little kids play with bubbles, it was really fun seeing them all jump up and down to pop the bubbles. We finished the VBS around 10:30 and we got to say goodbye to the kids and get ready for lunch which was Jimmy Johns! After we got to relax and eat our lunch we got ready for the campus cleanup! We were all split into 7 teams, such as the picking up trash team, gardening team, window team, and even people who got to help out in the worship center! I was a part of the picking up trash team, where I got to pick up trash on the field and playground, my partner and I finished early so we decided to clean up the rest of the campus as much as possible. The day was definitely exhausting, and it left me tired afterwards but it was definitely worth it, to see the kids excited to learn about Jesus and to just clean up our beautiful campus.  I can’t wait to see what is in store for tomorrow! 

Gabriella Suarez (11th)

Today was day 3 of missions and I really enjoyed it. To start off the day, we set up our classes and prepared for the kids to come. Around 8:30, we welcomed all Pre-K learners and facilitators with a tunnel made with our arms into the packing house. Then, we split them into groups and started the rotations. Personally, I was with the craft team making small paper treasure boxes and I had a great time. After VBS, we went to the other side of campus to do various tasks. The group that I was put into, scrubbed the lunch tables & picked up trash on and off of the field. It was great knowing we made an impact on the people on the other side of campus!

Mallory Whitlock (9th)

Today was day 3 of missions and I really enjoyed it. To start off the day, we set up our classes and prepared for the kids to come. Around 8:30, we welcomed all Pre-K learners and facilitators with a tunnel made with our arms into the packing house. Then, we split them into groups and started the rotations. Personally, I was with the craft team making small paper treasure boxes and I had a great time. After VBS, we went to the other side of campus to do various tasks. The group that I was put into, scrubbed the lunch tables & picked up trash on and off of the field. It was great knowing we made an impact on the people on the other side of campus!

Brooke Ransbury (9th)

Day 2 of local missions was an amazing experience! Today we got to serve the community in Los Angeles by packing food boxes. This was a unique opportunity to get off campus and make an impact outside of Corona. We loaded on two buses this morning and made our way to the food bank. It was fun to have some fellowship with friends and facilitators during this time! We arrived and started serving right away. Each person was assigned a job whether it was packing an item, folding a box, stocking the supplies, or throwing away cardboard and trash. With each person fulfilling their role, we were able to successfully pack over 2,900 boxes which will feed both families and individuals. What a privilege it was to not only support the dedicated staff at the LA Food Bank by volunteering, but also touch the lives of thousands who will receive food. I am excited to continue serving and putting together the documentary this week. Keep up the great work local team!!

Maddy Ryan (12th Grade)

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Working at a food bank during a missions trip can be a deeply impactful experience. Volunteers typically engage in various tasks, but we as Crossroads worked on sorting and packing food donations. The atmosphere was often one of compassion and camaraderie as we volunteers worked together to serve those in need by creating the packages that they get their food from. We were able to come together as one to create over 2,900 units of food packages to be distributed around the greater Los Angeles area. It was truly an unremarkable experience to be a part of, and to do it with the people that I’m close with was an even greater blessing.

Carter Whitlock (11th Grade)

Being able to help out at the food pantry was really cool. I was helping with packing the food in the boxes at the end of the line and it was satisfying seeing all the food in the boxes and it being so full of food. It was also really cool knowing that the boxes were going to feed people who I’ll probably never meet. 

We were also able to grow closer to one another becuase we were away from the distraction of our phones which allowed us to talk with the people close to us. Some of us were around people that we don’t usually talk to so we were given the opportunity to grow closer to those people. So in a sense, all of us grew closer as a school. 

Speaking of growing closer, this opportunity gave us the chance to grow closer to God. God calls us to serve our community around us and this counts the people we’ll never meet. We were able to hopefully grow the kingdom of God!

Reese Oehlert (10th Grade)

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Today we went to the Los Angeles Food Bank. We helped pack boxes of food for those who needed it. Together we were able to pack 2,940 boxes of food in 3 hours. They showed us a video of how this contribution will affect their community and many other LA citizens. The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank’s mission is to help provide food for all of those who need it in the LA community so that no one goes hungry.

Together we formed two production lines, pad food down each line and put the food in boxes. Through this we were all able to contribute and clearly see our contribution. Down the production lines most of us were paired in teams of two. One person packed the food and the other person made sure there was food to pack. The people working there were very helpful and answered any questions that we had. Overall, the food bank was a great experience and we all made a great contribution to the LA community.

Preston Jones (9th Grade)

Jaylene Vera (10th Grade)

Today was just a super fun day! I had the opportunity to serve with the games group for VBS Today. We had a different set of games for each one of four rotations but there was one game that we just got to play with more than one group. We played Banana Tag with the kids and it was so chaotic! The kids kept targeting us high schoolers without giving us a chance to breathe! I myself was even full on tackled to the ground! The littles just brought this excited and refreshing energy.  It was overall just a blast to be able to super them and give them a good time! 😀

I also was able to serve the Angles Over Cliffs program by helping them reorganize their storage container. We started off by clearing out everything they had in a storage container and putting it out in tables to sort. After sorting through the stuff, we reorganized the stuff we were going to keep so that way they could fit more into the container. Whatever they had that they didn’t want would go to a thrift store that they partner with. We loaded up the truck with the stuff on its way to the thrift store and called it a day! It honestly felt so nice to serve this program who serves so many others. I really hope that we made an impact!

Nathan Byun (12th Grade)

On the first day of local missions I learned that teamwork is very important. Because the VBS kids were kind of wild. And I had so much fun with them because one of the kids named Cruz he was a very chill kid. And the second thing we did in the afternoon was cleaning for the church and it was fun because I got closer with people in my relationship.

Shujin Li (10th Grade)

This Monday morning, as part of the Story/Song team, we arrived to the Backyard at 7am for an hour of rehearsal and going through dances to prepare. We did that until 8:15 and met up with everyone out in the packing house to welcome all the kindergarteners. The rotations started at about 8:35. Everyone loved worshiping and dancing as well as the story we prepared based on Mark 12:41-44 about the widow’s offering. Personally, I really enjoyed dancing with everyone and how our energy and enthusiasm rose as time went on. After that, everyone enjoyed a good lunch as Raising Canes was provided. Then, everyone was split into 3 teams: Project Hope, Angels over Cliffs Team B and Team C. The Angles over Cliffs team B, where I was in, divided and packed family necessities baskets for the organization to later hand out to people here in Corona living in motels. Our team then went over to the Project Hope to help clean sheds and the kitchen. It started raining a little bit and was quite enjoyable for everyone as we were frolicking to end the day on a good note.