Mark Van Weelden spent spring break on Dordt College mission project

2011 Apr 5

Mark Van Weelden of Brookfield, Wis., spent spring break in Ansted, W.Va., while participating in PLIA (Putting Love Into Action), a mission of Dordt College. Van Weelden is a senior majoring in engineering.

The goal of PLIA is to share Christ's love with people in diverse communities; to challenge participants to adopt a more service-oriented lifestyle; and to assist and encourage the growth of ministry centers with which they work.

The Ansted PLIA team assisted West Virginia University in collecting the first health survey in the state. "It was a different kind of serving, but it is certainly both historical and very much needed in this place," said Aleks Bosnjak, a senior.

"The survey will provide data comparing the health status of people who live in coal mining areas and those who don't," said Michelle Alkema, a sophomore. "We were involved in something that has the potential to effect policy that could change the circumstances of our brothers and sisters in West Virginia."

This year 135 students from Dordt College spent their spring break serving others. Groups of seven to ten students participated in PLIA, traveling to one of 15 locations in the U.S. and Canada. Teams went to Denver, Colo.; Grand Junction, Colo.; Atlanta, Ga.; Neon, Ky.; New Orleans, La.; Cary, Miss.; Jackson, Miss.; Mendenhall, Miss.; Bozeman, Mont.; Las Vegas, Nev.; Camden, N.J.; Shiprock, N.M.; Salt Lake City, Utah; Ansted, W.Va.; and Toronto, Canada.

To learn about the projects that the other teams participated in, visit www.dordt.edu.