For the eighth year in a row, Briarcrest Christian High School has sent students and teachers to Misahuallí, Ecuador, to assist the Jungle Kids for Christ ministry at Antioch Christian Academy. Jungle Kids for Christ is an organization that is passionate about empowering children for God’s glory in the jungle of Ecuador so that they can break the cycle of poverty and abuse and share a message of transformation with their family, community, country, and world. Throughout the school year, students at Briarcrest participate a variety of fundraisers to support the ministry at Antioch.
This year, Briarcrest sent two mission teams, each composed of 12-15 students and three to five Briarcrest teachers. The first mission team conducted Vacation Bible School (VBS) with the students at Antioch during their last week of school as well as at a one-room schoolhouse up the river, teaching the students about the powerful message in the story of David and Goliath and that the Lord is their Rock no matter how big or small they may be. The team was able to take photo equipment so that each Antioch student received a picture frame with a photo of himself or herself, which is something that these students have very few of to give to their family. They were also able to decorate and provide family photos and candy bars for the end-of-the-year celebration the last night of school. The second mission team conducted a VBS Sports Camp at the local pavilion for students in the community the week after their school year ended. The team was also able to provide photos for all of the children who attended.
Antioch has been working on a new education building for several years now that will house classrooms as well as other specialty rooms. Both teams spent each afternoon working on various projects at the new building: digging trenches, moving sand and dirt, painting scaffolding, plastering walls and performing various other tasks.
For more information, visit junglekidsforchrist.org.
