Christ the King wants to be a sending church, sending our own people into the mission field to extend the good news of salvation to others through word and deed. We send teams and individuals. In the past year, these places have been touched by the lives of our members.

What was it like?

Recently two members at Christ the King had opportunities to go on short-term mission trips around the world to Romania and Africa. After Jennie Dollinger and Sol Edwards returned from their trips, I had a chance to catch up with them and find out more about their experiences.

Jennie, where did you go and what ministry did you go with?

I went to Targu Mures, Romania for the month of June. I served with Livada Orphan Care which is a ministry that works alongside the State orphanages and group homes.

What about you, Sol?

I went to Uganda, Africa with Child Evangelism Fellowship.

Please share with us a sample of your daily activities.

(Sol) Teaching started at 7:30 a.m. as I walked among five different villages teaching Gospel stories and the message of salvation to schoolchildren in the villages.  Most days I taught four to five schools with one-hour lessons at each school.  I spent the rest of my time in transit as I usually walked to most of schools, which totaled 8 miles each day.  I continued teaching until about 4:00 or 5:00 p.m. at which time I would retire to my host home for prayer, devotion, or preparing the next day's lesson.

(Jennie) In the mornings we led a VBS program at a Day Center, including memory verse, recreation, arts and crafts, and Bible time.  I was in charge of Bible time and with the help of a Romanian translator told stories from the book of Luke. My afternoons were spent at the babies’ orphanage playing games with the special needs kids. We also spent time with children in group homes in nearby villages.

Jennie, do you have any examples of how the Lord used you to share the love of Christ with someone else?

Being with children that receive little physical touch, I felt that the Lord used me to be His arms to hug and love these kids every day I was there. The special needs kids could not speak nor understand much Romanian, much less English, and so our communication mostly involved playing together, smiling, hugging, giving piggy back rides, dancing and singing.  It was challenging to trust God that, though I could not verbally tell them about the Gospel, he was still using me to share his love with his children. Seeing the kids’ faces light up each day when our group approached the babies’ home made me realize that they did feel loved by our awesome God.

How about you Sol?

As I taught the message of salvation to the schoolchildren, I placed great emphasis on God's love.  Most school groups I would teach had 100-350 children.  The largest school groups I taught to were 800 and 1200 children.  My fervent prayer in Africa was that God would allow me to plant a seed in all those children about his love for them and their need for Christ.

Sol, in what ways do you feel you have changed by your ministry overseas? 

My faith has grown stronger.  I have learned a stronger reliance on God for everything.  Being in a strange land surrounded by strangers is intimidated and frightening, but with God's persistent presence, I felt ease, peace, strength, courage, and love at all times.  As I traveled in Uganda by foot or by motorbike, traveled to schools or on a safari, taught to 30 children or 800 children, I was in constant prayer and conversation with our Lord.  It has challenged me to rely on him even in more familiar terrain.

Jennie, how do you feel like you have been changed?

The vision of the directors of Livada Orphan Care is “to bear fruit that will last.”  Ever since I have returned from Romania, I have wanted to live my life so that I too may bear fruit that will last.  It has made me re-evaluate the way I spend my time, energy and resources.  This experience has made me realize, once again, how incredibly blessed I am and has encouraged me to share my blessings with others in order to glorify God and extend his kingdom.

How has this experience give you a fuller vision of God’s church around the world?

(Jennie)It was a privilege to serve God with my brothers and sisters from around the world. God reminded me that his church is made up of many different parts: people with different backgrounds and from different denominations. Not only did I get to worship alongside my Romanian friends in their churches, but I also fellowshipped with people from Hungary, Northern Ireland, and Holland. We were united as the body of Christ with the common purpose to love his children, and that was an awesome experience!

(Sol) With God's love and through the gift of his Son, all people can overcome the heartbreaking sadness of the fallen world around them.

For more information on future mission trips with Christ the King, please contact the church office.