news-record.com

Last summer, young people from across the community shared how they live out their faith in a weekly feature called Youth on a Mission.

Coverage kicked off with the annual journey by eighth-graders from B’nai Shalom Day School to Israel and other ancient sites important to the Jewish faith.

“We toured the outside of Yad Vashem (the Holocaust Museum), and the coolest thing happened when we were in the Valley of the Communities. While we were having a short memorial service, a pure yellow butterfly flew over us. It was one of the most meaningful experiences in my life. The butterfly was so moving because recently we had been studying the Holocaust in school. We read the poem 'I Never Saw Another Butterfly.’ That poem was written by a young boy in the Terezin Ghetto during WWII.” — Mackenzie Morris

Other entries included West Market Street United Methodist Church young people, who while sleeping on the floor of a church, lived out their dawn-to-dusk mantra: To serve as the hands, feet, voice and heart of Jesus Christ in Costa Rica.

“Restoration — it’s what brought us here, all the way to Costa Rica. It’s almost as if through the restoration of the bathrooms, I have seen a restoration of myself, and the rest of my mission team. Every piece of tile laid, every bit of mortar scraped, and every drop of sweat shed has made us grow. We’re growing into the selfless people I’m pretty sure God wants us to be.” — Olivia Cox

Tell us about your youth group’s trip by e-mailing summeryouthmissions@news-record.com. (Send basic details about the nature of the trip and a contact name and number or e-mail address for more information. Questions? Contact Nancy McLaughlin at nancy.mclaughlin@news-record.com