Sara van der Giessen spent spring break on Dordt College mission project

2011 Apr 6

Sara van der Giessen of Seattle, Wash., spent spring break in Grand Junction, Colo., while participating in PLIA (Putting Love Into Action), a mission program with Dordt College. van der Giessen is a freshman majoring in nursing.

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 Grand Junction team worked in a homeless shelter called Homeward Bound where they prepared and served meals, cleaned, hauled trash, and interacted with the children staying there.

"The beauty of Colorado's landscape was one of the main reasons why I wanted to go to Grand Junction on PLIA. However, that beauty was nothing compared to the beauty seen in God's people who we interacted with in Grand Junction," said Kristin Janssen, a junior. The team saw that in spite of the poverty, pain, and despair of many in Grand Junction, residents were filled with happiness and reflected the light of Christ.

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.