In Their Own Words

We told you that Elliott went on a service trip with some guys the other week (mainly planned by Jim, a junior at Villanova University who Elliott has known for 2 1/2 years!). We wanted to share with you a couple of their responses to the week...

"I believe that an integral part of any mission trip experience is learning something new in the process. In past trips, this has been fairly easy, because whatever group I have been with has gone to our location, and then spent our time in that one spot. In this way, we have the opportunity to get to know the community of the site on a deeper level. What made this trip unique for me was that we did not stay in a single location - every day was a new site, a new community, and a new purpose. While I was at first apprehensive about this, I ended up discovering something nevertheless, something which I would never have realized if it hadn't been for the constant motion of the trip.

"At every community we arrived at, we heard the story of its origin. All of them...had one commonality: they were new. ... This is where I discovered the message being delivered to me by this trip: there is hope, and things will get better. There are few places more in need of help than the Philadelphia area, and it feels like it has always been this way. But after witnessing firsthand the growth of so many new organizations that are making it their mission to bring positive change to Philadelphia, I see true reason for hope.”

- Billy Albert, Junior, Villanova University

"Revelations hit me like a wall of white-washed stones during our unique week-long service trip to Camden, Norristown, Chester, and Philadelphia. Our first mission involved white-washing two stone walls in the basement of a converted convent called the CRIB as part of our service to HopeWorks, Camden. Retrospectively, this flagship job symbolized the beginning of something new for me - a kind of fresh start on my journey of faith. While I had not been drifting, backslidden, or falling away (to use the typical Christianese), I had become set in my ways and God decided to challenge me by taking me out of the comfortable place I had built around myself.

"In short, two radical (but obvious) themes colored the week which had begun with two white-washed walls. First, the idea of excellence in our service to God and others. We explored God's call for ministerial excellence with Pete and Becky Bowersox at the Norristown Community House. The second idea grew out of a conversation I had with Eastern Professor Lindy Backues: the parish community. Essentially, the prerogative of the parish is part of the Christian's duty to impact his local community by means of the Gospel. The Christian thus becomes committed to his neighborhood, and consequently, a local church. God sent me on a trip to serve others; unexpectedly, He showed up to give me a gift of ideas with which I am applying to some tough decisions that I must make in the near future. To God be the glory!"

- Zack Groff, Junior, Temple University