Recap of our High School Trip to Denver working with the Center for Student Missions.

The night was dark and the streets were alive. The high school group from First Church drove through the Mile High City as they prepared to spend the week on a mission trip. They were on a prayer tour that served as an introduction to Denver, its problems, and the many people who make up the city.

While the vans traveled through wealthy and poor neighborhoods, the song “Give Me Your Eyes So I Can See” by Brandon Heath, played.

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me you heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see

“One of the first things we did was taking the prayer tour. It was eye-opening” said Ken Rawson, Minister to Students. “They took us all over the city showing us different ministries and teaching us about what God is doing for the poor. And we prayed that God would give us his eyes and heart.”

The group served at a number of different ministries: They weeded Manuel High School that had been closed and is being re-opened, fed dinner, and played with kids at the Lambuth Family Shelter.

They packed unused medical supplies for Project C.U.R.E., the Commission for Urgent Relief and Equipment, who ships the supplies to foreign countries in need.

They played games at a retirement home for low-income seniors and helped staff a math and science camp being held for an impoverished neighborhood.

Ninth grader Aubrey Maxwell found God using her as she helped a 6 year-old girl named Shema.

“Shema had a little bit of Down’s Syndrome but she was the funniest girl in the world” said Aubrey. “It felt good to help her with making a volcano and a shirt with her name on it and stuff. I helped her make a spectroscope. Every time I told her to look through it she would try to listen to it!”

The group was blessed to have the Chair of Trustees Ken Hole accompany them on the trip. The highlight of the trip for Ken was meeting a homeless man named Robert Evans.

“We went to a store and bought supplies for folks like soap and brushes and then we went down to meet people. This one man told us his story about how he was a college graduate and a painter but lost it all to drugs.”

“He then told us that if we go to the Caldwell African-American Research Library that there are three of his paintings on permanent display. So we went and saw them. Not only were they amazing, but they were signed in 2003 and 2004. It really puts things into perspective when you think that it was just five years ago that this guy had his life together.”

The group also played with children at a day care in Aurora, danced with older folks and the developmentally disabled, and served hundreds of meals at the Broadway Assistance Center and the historic Denver Rescue Mission.

“I was blown away by the sheer number of people who came into eat to get a meal. We fed over 450 people and I served 60 gallons of soup” said soup-slinger Ken Hole.

But the week was not limited to service projects. It was about learning and experiencing the city.

The group ate dinner at different ethnic restaurants, was put through a homeless re-enactment, dropped off in an Asian market, took a homeless man named Rick out to breakfast, and sent out for an “adventure” in the city.

“The Downtown Immersion was four hours of simulating the experience of time on the streets for a teenage runaway” said junior Max Sherard. “It was pretty intense to experience what it actually takes to be out there on the streets.”

“This week has given me an understanding of the extent of homelessness. It’s changed what I see on the streets, especially after meeting Rick. You really don’t know if they are going to survive. They are in a tough situation.”

Ken Hole summed up the week. “We aren’t going to end homelessness. We aren’t going to get rid of poverty, ever. The thing is, we need to take care of each other and give as many “hand ups” as we can.”