Ground Zero Youth Ministry to send 29 missionaries to the Haitian Border
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New London, PA – July 16, 2004 – “It’s not about me.  It’s not about us.“  Unusual words to hear from the mouths of teenagers, but that is exactly what 24 high school students & young adults are saying regarding their upcoming mission trip to the Dominican Republic.   “I want to learn to look beyond myself.   I want to see that this world is bigger than my selfish wants and desires.   That’s why I’m going to the DR,” said Kevin Crossan, a 2003 graduate of Avon Grove High School.   Lindsay Pincin, a senior this fall at AGHS said, “God has blessed us in so many ways and too often, we loose focus of that and take what we have for granted.” “I want God to humble me.   I want Him to remind me of what’s really important in life,” said Tyler Weitzel, who will be a senior this fall at Oxford High. “I want to use what He’s given me to serve others & bring them hope.” 

Pastor Mike Atkins, four leaders & 24 students from the Ground Zero Youth Ministry will be spending a week in the Dominican Republic.  Beginning July 26^th, they will be stepping out of their comfort zones, everything familiar and “safe” to them, to bring a message of hope to those who are in need.  Leaving by bus from New London at two o’clock in the morning for Newark International, they will spend several hours on the road, in the airport and then on the plane before they arrive in Santiago.  Once there, the team will drive two and a half hours from the airport to the town of Dajabon in the North-West corner of the D.R. on the Haitian Border.  Water is a scarce commodity.  Electricity is unreliable & often unavailable.  Dajabon will be unlike any other town these teens have ever visited.

“Every morning these teens will be running a Vacation Bible School for the local church with 200-300 children everyday,” said VBS Coordinator, Sarah Abel. “The team will be leading crafts, playing games, singing songs, helping with lessons and more.  Local translators will help with the language barrier as the students have a chance to love and care for the children in the Dominican Republic.”  Abel, a long time member of Ground Zero, an Avon Grove Graduate & a sophomore at Millersville University is responsible for coordinating the entire VBS program for the week.

           Christine O’Connor, Ground Zero’s Administrator pointed out that this won’t be a vacation.  “There is no free time.  After the VBS each day, students will break into four teams and spend the afternoon ministering in several areas.  One day they will be working with children in the orphanages.  Another, they will be visiting prison inmates, or going door to door to pray for people.  They will spend time each evening playing with the local children in a nearby park, loving on them and sharing a message of hope with them.  Some nights, the teams may spend time in the local market, sharing their stories about what God has done in their lives with the local people.  They will also be involved in local church services, leading worship, giving their testimonies, and presenting the gospel.  This isn’t going to be a vacation.  Our team is going to experience the OTHER side of paradise this week.”

“Our mission focus is two fold at Ground Zero,” said Atkins, Pastor of Children and Youth at New London Presbyterian Church when asked why he was taking students into such terrible conditions.  “Our teens do local construction projects 5 times a year, offering free home repairs to low income families & seniors citizens through, Project: R.A.K.E.  That’s one piece of the puzzle.   We want them to learn to focus less on themselves and more on the needs of others by giving back to their community.  Our second focus is overseas.  We really want to give students a broader perspective on the world they live in.   The gospel isn’t just for our little town.  And not everyone lives as neat and pretty as we do.  We get upset when our XBox or PS2 breaks.  Students need to gain a global world view.  Jesus told us to go into all the world and share the Good News and we want our students to understand that.”

“This is a bit of a stretch for me,” said Megan Leff, a senior this fall at Octorara High School.  “I’m kind of a quiet person.  I’ve never traveled much.  But I’m looking forward to God stretching me in new areas and to Him using me to help other people in a way that I haven’t experienced before.   I want Him to break me out of this little bubble that I’ve been living in & use me to help others.”

            Ground Zero is the Youth Ministry of New London Presbyterian Church located in historic New London, PA. Ground Zero meets weekly on Thursdays from 7:00 to 9:00 pm for middle school age students and on Fridays from 7:00 to 10:00 pm for senior high & young adults.  GZ also meets on Sunday mornings from 11:00 am -12:15 pm.   All 6th-12th grade students & young adults are invited to attend.  New London Presbyterian Church is located at 1986 Newark Road/Rte. 896, 20 minutes north of Newark, DE just minutes south of State Rd. in the heart of New London. 

If you’d like more information about the mission team’s trip to the Dominican Republic, about how you might qualify for assistance from the Project Rake home repair ministry, or about how your teen can get involved with Ground Zero, please call the GZ office at 610/869-7332 or visit www.GZYouth.com.

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