By Elijah

Every year, the New Covenant Academy Senior Class of Springfield, Missouri, goes on a mission trip to a Central American or a Caribbean country and helps with a service project, such as building a house or organizing a Vacation Bible School.  However, my senior class had to do things a little differently, due to COVID-19 restrictions.  It was a rather unconventional trip, but it was unforgettable nonetheless. 

Deciding on a place to go was very limited under the pandemic’s circumstances.  After overcoming many obstacles, it was decided that we would stay in the United States and work with an organization called Frontline Response in Atlanta, Georgia.  In preparation for the trip, our school was able to gather toiletries and other essentials to be put into care packages to donate to Frontline.  Those packages would then be given out to homeless people in the Atlanta area.  The class (which only consisted of about 32 students, plus seven sponsors) rented four vans and drove down to the camp where we would stay, which is just outside the City.  We got there Monday evening, and that night we had an overview of what we would be doing.

Tuesday was filled with homeless outreach.  Each van would take a different route through Atlanta and would hand out the care packages, sack lunches, and blankets.  While we were there, it was raining.  We came across one man who was only asking for an umbrella.  One person in my van had brought their own personal umbrella and passed it up to be given to the man.  That action turned into a new item being added to the list of what would be given out to homeless people.  The next day, our class bought as many umbrellas as we could and gave them out that night. 

The latter half of the week was filled with children’s outreach, where we would play games with kids and give their parents a break, as most of the schools in Atlanta were virtual and many parents were also working from home.  We also helped give out groceries to families who were struggling to make ends meet, as well as picked up trash around the neighborhoods.  It was heartbreaking to see how much trash that had been dumped on the sides of the streets and how no one except Frontline was doing anything to help clean it up. 

During my time in Atlanta, managing my hemophilia was not too difficult.  The last night we were there, I did my infusion on a picnic table, with my friend holding a flashlight to help me see exactly what I was doing.  Part of having this disorder is learning to improvise, and that skill came in especially handy during the planning and execution of this mission trip.  Whether it was abruptly changing plans in order to stay in the U.S.  or spontaneously buying umbrellas to give to people that cannot afford one, being able to adapt was a key part in making that trip one that I will never forget.