14th Annual Adult Mission Trip

MACON, Georgia, Feb. 2018

Mission trip coordinators, Kent Sands and June Nikoleit, organized the 14th annual mission trip since 2006 for Saint Peter’s United Church of Christ through the Fuller Center for Housing. Accompanied by 25 adults from the church, they journeyed to Macon, Georgia for their 3rd time in the past 3 years where they rehabbed and built two homes. During this most recent mission, it will be revealed why those who participated all say that it was the highlight of their entire year.

The project managers, Dave and Claudia Burgener, and an engineer arrived at the site on a Saturday to see what they were getting themselves into. Whether skilled or unskilled, Dave and Claudia knew exactly what tasks to assign to who. This mission involved rehabbing two single floor homes, which were graciously donated to the Fuller Center for Housing. A single mother with three children would take over one of the homes when completed. The process of finding a family for the second home was still in the works. Creating a home for a family involved careful consideration through interviews with potential inhabitants in order to determine the best fit.

Why roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty in Macon? According to Kent, “Getting to meet the mother and children who would be moving into one of the homes we were working on was pretty special. That was the best part, you know?” One of the adults came up with the idea of purchasing bicycles for the three children. The last day of the mission, the group put the bicycles in the garage to surprise the children. When the children found them, the look on their faces were priceless! Kent claimed, “Making that human connection with the people that you’re helping is what makes it so special.”

As the St. Peter’s United Church of Christ Adult Mission Trip came to an end, one of the most important takeaways is to realize the importance to not only give money to missions but to get hands on with them. With the Youth Mission Trip quickly approaching in July, talk and planning is already in the works for the next Adult Mission Trip.