Lake Mead Christian Academy’s Mission Week benefits Third World countries

For four years, high school senior Emily Weddell has dedicated a week of her time to answer prayers.

With a group of her school peers, the 17-year-old visited Guatemalan schools and orphanages and donated water filters that benefited more than 6,000 children.

“One of the major causes of death in children in Guatemala is due to digestive problems they get from dirty water,” Weddell said. “When we brought the filters, the ladies said they had been praying for them, and our efforts were answering their prayers.”

About 260 middle and high school students from Lake Mead Christian Academy, 540 E. Lake Mead Parkway, participated in the school’s annual Missions Week.

The students were divided into 11 teams that visited Las Vegas, Arizona, Hawaii, New York, Seattle, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Mexico, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic between Feb. 27 and March 7.

“It’s a week where all students experience Evangelicalism and share the gospel with the community they visit,” Weddell said. “It’s a week of serving other people and not focusing on ourselves.”

Given the opportunity to pick her destination, Weddell chose to visit Antigua, Guatemala, for the fourth time. She said the experience has allowed her to build relationships within the community and see her work come full circle.

“A little girl walked up to us this last trip and said, ‘I missed you,’ in Spanish,” Weddell said. “Seeing them each year has allowed me to realize how privileged we are here, and we owe it to the rest of the world to help. We can, so we should.”

The idea of having students participate in Missions Week is twofold, according to missions coordinator Frank Tappe.

“First, we want to make an impact in the community, no matter where we go,” Tappe said. “Our kids know they’re going to these places to give and serve, and sometimes that looks like fixing someone’s house, and sometimes that means showing love to a homeless person.

“The second part is to help our students see the bigger picture of the world. There’s a lot more out there than Lake Mead Christian Academy and their friends and family.”

Throughout the week, students were responsible for building a home in Mexico, serving the homeless in Los Angeles, providing relief work in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and Hurricane Sandy in New York and more.

Tappe’s team traveled to the Dominican Republic with two doctors to host a medical clinic and children’s basketball camp.

“One of the biggest highlights was watching our students really get to use some of the skills they’re naturally gifted in,” Tappe said. “They got to do things that they’re good at, whether it be as simple as basketball or as complicated as medicine.”

Senior Michael Suarez, 18, led a group of middle school students in serving North Las Vegas and portions of the Strip. The team handed out water, picked up trash and interviewed people about their views on love and God.

“There are people in our home city that need help. We don’t have to go to a third-world country to serve those in need,” Suarez said. “God is the ultimate source of love and joy. Even if people don’t comprehend that at first, we try to plant the seed so they can think about it until they’re ready to understand.”

The students prepared for about five weeks by learning about the different cultures and details of each project.

“Sometimes all it takes is getting outside your comfort zone to understand the needs of the world,” Tappe said. “When you step in a place where you don’t speak the language, and the food and culture is different, you see the needs of the people in a greater way that inspire you to love more while you’re there and bring that love back with you.”

Lake Mead Christian Academy hosts Missions Week to inspire its students to change their daily lifestyle, according to Tappe.

“It broadens their worldviews and shows them that they can make an impact every day in their families and community,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be a special week once a year. They can do it every single day, and they have the power to do it as a sixth-grader.”

For more information, visit lmca.org or call 702-565-5831.

To reach Henderson View reporter Caitlyn Belcher, email cbelcher@viewnews.com or call 702-383-0403. Find her on twitter: @caitlynbelcher.