The students will work with missionaries Peter and Ruthie Dutton of the Mekong Valley Food Project. They will meet the people that benefit from the work of the Duttons, worship with them, and explore the culture of Thailand, where less than one percent of the population is Christian, says Kim Crawford, DWM mobilization and connection assistant. Crawford will lead the trip.
Students participating in the trip are:
• Jamie Sladkey from Naperville Covenant Church in Naperville, Illinois.
• Jon Foley from Deerbrook Covenant Church in Lees’ Summit, Missouri.
• Kaitlin Choquette from Evangelical Covenant Church in Sloan, Iowa.
• Sara Wilson from Lakebay Community Covenant Church in Lakebay, Washington.
• Alison Honn from Valley Covenant Church in Eugene, Oregon.
• Steph Braman from Cape Cod Covenant Church in Brewster, Massachusetts.
The students are conversing regularly through conference calls to do team building, trip preparation and to pray, says Crawford. They’re also friends on Facebook.
Covenant high school students became especially aware of the work in Thailand when it was highlighted during CHIC 2009. Three students traveled to the Southeast Asia country and gave live reports to students attending the triennial conference in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Students at CHIC responded overwhelmingly with financial support, giving more than $109,000 for Thailand mission work. Many students and youth groups felt a strong desire to travel to Thailand and participate in the work.
“Calls began to come in mere hours after CHIC ended,” Crawford says.
Arrangements are being made and applications are being accepted for Spring Break and summer trips in 2010. Those trips will also visit Ruthie and Peter Dutton as well as Randy and Cheryl Bevis and Carl and Karen Groot. For more information, click here or email Crawford.
