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The young people of Westminster Presbyterian Church wouldn't find out until arriving in Atlanta just what their individual "service assignment" would be from Discovering Opportunities for Outreach and Reflection, a nonprofit Christian organization working in the city.

The work team spent each day at a different assignment, including sorting surplus medical supplies to be distributed to hospitals in disadvantaged areas. At night, they returned to air mattresses on the floor of Central Presbyterian Church in downtown Atlanta.

Trying to better their lives

I worked alongside some familiar people and some not-so-familiar people.

For the majority of my jobs, I worked with homeless people to try and better their lives.

I even played Monopoly with a homeless woman who was sure I was cheating.

I also worked with other volunteers during many of the projects. It was really interesting that they would donate their own time to work. I took a lot out of these experiences.

-Brian Behrhorst, rising eighth-grader

'The face of God'

We worked with a group called DOOR, and their motto is "see the face of God in the city."

The way I saw the face of God in the city was when we were at MedShare. (MedShare is an organization that gathers, sorts and distributes surplus medical supplies for use in health-care institutions in developing countries.) The people there were so nice and willing to give up their time to volunteer there. And all those volunteers help a lot of people and save a lot of lives.

-Carter Morsell, rising eighth-grader

'We are all different'

The first thing I talked about with my family and friends was the Friendship House (for mentally disabled adults). Quite frankly,when I heard about having to interact with handicapped adults, I was nervous. Then I realized how nice and friendly they were. They were just like everyone else.

We are all different in some way. I also realized everyone has something to offer, and sometimes just talking to somebody can make their day.

-Matt O'Dell, rising eighth-grader

Getting back on track

The trip helped us see different ways to help people from the simple things to the big things. For example, we thought that to help we would feed and do yard work or manual work for those in need.

However, Anna seemed to make a difference in a very simple way at the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift shop. Just talking to a volunteer there that was mentally ill made his day and made her feel even better.

A big way we helped was when Erica's small group helped a homeless man who was addicted to crack cocaine.

He wanted help and wanted to get his life back on track so that he could see his grandchildren grow up. He needed help to get into a detoxification program, and hopefully this will set his life on the track the Lord intended. Hopefully he will communicate with our church about how he is doing. .

The Atlanta mission trip inspired us to do more mission work and helped strengthen our faith, particularly after seeing suffering people carrying on in their faith after going through rough and frustrating times.

-Anna and Erica Gallerani, twin rising eighth-graders