Covenant News

Youth Devote Spring Break to Helping the Homeless

WASHINTON, D.C. (March 18, 2005) - In Wednesday's edition, the Washington Times published a story on teenagers from Hillcrest Covenant Church in Prairie Village, Kansas, who traveled more than 1,000 miles to work with the poor and homeless in the nation's capital.

The 34 students have worked on projects such as Vision D.C., which is a food and products distribution bank, and tutoring children. In addition to the team that went to Washington, other students have traveled to Mexico.

The trip to Washington "gives our students a chance to see other cultures," the article quotes George Bocox, the church's minister to students as saying. "Some of these kids are very sheltered and well-off. The biggest thing is that they get their eyes opened. The church is located in what the U.S. Census Bureau shows to be the wealthiest county in Kansas."

"Some of our kids feel really called to urban ministry," Bocox told Covenant News Service today. "It's quite a dichotomy for them to see . . . the city of ultimate power, where all our decisions are made, contrasted with all the poverty there."

The newspaper article notes that many of the students' friends left for warmer climates to vacation during their Easter spring break. "We're just all very proud that the kids were willing to take the time to do this so that they can be with people who are not like them," said Pat Ceroasmun, the children's minister, when she learned the team had been the subject of the news article.

Students had the opportunity to pray on the steps of the Capitol and were scheduled to meet with Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kansas). The church organized this year's trip to the Capitol District through the Center for Student Missions, an urban missions group that assists churches and schools in organizing trips to major cities nationwide.

To read the complete Washington Times article, please see Hillcrest Covenant.

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