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Mission Focused: Four High School Girls And What Could Only be a God-given Vision

Writer  /  Lisa Mitchell

Driven by their hearts for sharing God’s love, four local HSE High School girls will be embarking on mission trips that will take them far from home and far out of their comfort zones. And they could not be more excited for what lies ahead.

Junior Chloe Green and seniors Lauren Pidgeon, Esmeralda Saldana and Rachel Phillips will each be serving on the mission field in the upcoming year. They have launched a collective fundraising effort, which they’ve named CLERvision16, with the “CLER” standing for Chloe, Lauren, Esmeralda and Rachel.

They will be hosting a fundraising event together on April 22-23 (location TBD) and will be selling items such as crafts, refurbished furniture, clothing and baked goods. There will be live music and a photo booth to add to the fun. The funds raised will be split evenly between the four girls and will go directly towards funding their individual missions trips.

When asked why the four of them decided to raise funds together as opposed to individually, Rachel said, “Raising funds on your own can seem really overwhelming. By doing it collectively, we can reach more people and raise more awareness. We also can hold each other accountable and support each other through the efforts.”

Esmeralda agrees, “By doing it together, we can keep from getting caught up in the stress of just raising money and continue to focus on the real purpose of these trips. The sole purpose is to go where the calling that God has put on our hearts compels us to serve.”

While they are raising funds as a team, they will be venturing to different countries to serve. Chloe and Esmeralda will be heading to Germany as part of a trip through iTown Church in Fishers and organized by European Initiative. They will be leaving May 1 and will be returning May 10.

Their mission focus will be to spread the love of Jesus to the people of Germany, especially those who were impacted by the sex trade industry, as well as visiting a Syrian refugee camp. They will be working through various formats including street art and flash mobs which the German people love and respond to. The goal is get their attention, hear the stories of the German people and tell them about their stories as well as share their testimonies with the people they meet.

Lauren will be setting off on two separate mission trips, the first of which is to the LA Dream Center in California June 6-12. This trip is through iTown Church as well and will be focused on serving people in poverty and crime-stricken areas to help give them a chance to dream again. Through the “Adopt A Block” program, members of the mission team will be caring for the community, one block at a time. They will do so through community clean-up and improvement efforts, working directly to care for residents’ needs, and offering new hope for the future through the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Lauren’s second trip will take her to Guatemala through the group Adventures in Missions. This trip will be taking place in the spring of 2017. The focus of this trip will be very need-specific at the time of the team’s arrival. They will work to help with the most urgent needs of the community and to be highly responsive and Spirit-led. The team will be working to serve children in the community, widows and those impacted by the sex industry.

Lauren’s hope is to continue to go onto the mission field as she is called to do so, and she will be continually raising funds to allow her to respond to those calls where she is led to serve. The efforts of CLERvision16 is key to providing the resources she needs to fulfill that goal.

Rachel will be returning to the mission field after serving on a five-week trip to Nepal to assist with earthquake relief through Reign Ministries in 2015. After showing strong leadership skills on the Nepal trip, she was invited back by the group to serve on this year’s trip, a seven-week long excursion that will include serving communities in Slovakia, Poland and Israel. Rachel will be serving with the group from June 9 through August 5, and her focus will include running a youth baseball camp, working with orphans and the elderly and serving those with the least resources in those communities.

When asked why they chose mission work over all the other things that they could be doing as high school students, they each had compelling personal reasons for dedicating their time and efforts to following the call into missions, but all agree that it is indeed a calling. It’s something that they each strongly feel was placed on their hearts by God, and they are certain that it is absolutely what they are supposed to be doing.

The girls want to stress, however, that going into international missions is not something that everyone should feel required to do, and that people shouldn’t feel bad if they don’t feel the call from God to serve in this way. As Lauren put it, “The body of Christ is made up of many parts, and each serves a specific purpose. Each part is distinct and important, and what one person may feel called to pursue may be totally different than what another person feels their calling is, and that’s OK. That’s exactly how God designed it to be.”

Their biggest advice to anyone considering serving on a missions trip? First, pray about it! Wait for God to speak to your heart to tell you where and how He wants you to serve. Secondly, don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. If you think mission trips are easy and fun, they encourage you to think again. You often find yourself in places that are very uncomfortable and with people who are in great need.

It really is an emotionally and physically challenging undertaking, but each girl agrees that what they gain personally in their faith makes all the discomfort totally worth it.

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