Hi. My name is Melissa, and I’m 13. This year I went on my first mission trip ever, and it was so amazing! I would say my favorite part would have to be how caring and understanding the staff was. The staff made a huge impact on my life that may be hard to believe.
I’m a girl who suffers from an eating disorder. My mom’s anorexic and by seeing her bad habits and wanting to help her so badly, we both became anorexic. I can also say that both my grandmas’ sudden deaths last year did not help either of us at all.
After a few meals with them, the staff started noticing how I wasn’t eating much at all. I only ate an apple a day, if that. Noticing that, the Schuylkill staff there sat down and talked with me one of the nights and listened to my whole story and after that we prayed together. I will admit that tears did fall from my eyes; they touched my heart so much and made me feel that I need to eat more, and I can’t let my life go now.
After talking with them that Thursday night, I felt so good about myself that the next day I ate even more. I’ve never felt the way I did that night after talking with them. I have been fighting with these problems for months, and my mom has for over a year now. I’m proud to admit that after months of not feeling good each day and even developing breathing problems, I’m finally almost completely done with this battle. If I didn’t get to go on that mission trip and sit down and talk with the staff, I think I would be really, really sick and getting worse.
Besides the battle on the trip, I had so much fun serving others; it’s what I love to do. Getting to work with the kids at Kids Club was amazing, but hearing them curse was horrible. Even when running the crafts, we set up a project that says something about Christ that they would want to do. I enjoyed getting to know the kids there and getting to work with them.
On the last full two days, I enjoyed working with the elderly at the senior centers. I had some experience working with the elderly before the trip, because my church helps out at a place nearby, but getting even more experience and being with them all day was so much fun. They are so friendly and love to talk to you.
Also, the other churches that we got to meet were so friendly, and we keep in touch and will for a while. I’m excited for my church group to get our service project started so that we can continue to help others while not on a mission trip.
The activities we did were really fun, especially the scavenger hunt. It was such a neat way to get to know the town better. Even though I don’t like ice cream, I still enjoyed taking pictures at different places. Tuesday, when we toured a coalmine, it was amazing; I never thought I would see the inside of one.
Then, Wednesday, it was really fun playing the best game ever with a staff member on the sand from the lake; we got him to love the game “Ninja.” And, of course, on the way back from the lake, I went to go get out of the car and ended up getting my head shut in a car door since we were parked on hill. That got some laughs from everyone, but I ended up with bumps on each side of my head and couldn’t open my mouth all the way for days.
How could I forget Thursday, the best day of all. My crew got to serve at the Community Cookout, which was a neat experience and we even had some entertainment. I loved the songs from Club and even wrote down some of the names so now, whenever I’m feeling down, I listen to them.
I really believe that this trip brought be closer to God and made me realize that the first step to getting better is forgiving myself. I can’t wait for the day to come where I’m anorexic-free again, when I will be as healthy as can be. The verses that kept me strong through this are from Psalms 139:1, 13–14:
“You have searched me, LORD,
and you know me…
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together…
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
My story may not be prize-winning, but I wanted to share it anyway to show how nice my staff was.
–Melissa, Schuylkill County 2011
