For the past two years, a small group of the youth ministry mission team from First Christian Church in Maryville have traveled down to Perry, KS for two different week long service missions at the Alpha Christian Children’s Home. Alpha is a ministry that houses children in need and provides them an education on campus as well during their time at Alpha. Alpha is 100% privately funded and relies on the donations of churches and volunteer labor to keep the 170-acre property going for the children and staff who reside there.
Our first summer visit was in July of 2017. Our team worked side by side with the VIM (Volunteers in Mission) to help rebuild the main staff house (it will also serve as respite care for the children) which had been destroyed in a fire from a lightning strike a couple of years prior to our visit. Our children were taught how to hang cement board siding, install windows and doors, put in flooring and walls, and run a variety of power tools necessary for the jobs. While there, we had the opportunity to share meals and games with the children and families of Alpha, as well as prayer for and with the mission director each night during devotion. Prior to our trip, the youth had also collected a van load of food and supplies donated from our church family and matched by the youth mission team. Over 100 items and $400 was given to Alpha as a result of their donation drive. This was the beginning of a beautiful relationship and a life-long love for the ministry being provided at Alpha.
Our second trip out was this past summer of 2018. This time we worked on gutting a few rooms in a house recently being renovated on the property for one of the school staff members. The mission team tore out an old fireplace, the bathroom, and flooring during the afternoon. The mornings were spent clearing out areas around the house outside. As part of the clearing job, the team took down play equipment and moved it near the school house. They also disassembled a goat pin and then reassembled it at the main staff house as a dog pin. Again, we got the opportunity to share a meal and evening of water games with the families of Alpha. Prior to this trip, donations were once again gathered and a $1 per mile challenge completed allowing us to bring a large amount of supplies and over $300 to donate.
Submitted by Tana Wymer
Youth In Ministry Director
First Christian Church in Maryville