“Egging” for a mission
With eggs bagged and ready to go, these Valor Christian High School students were eager to hide candy filled eggs at donating homes as a fundraiser.
Some residents got a little help decorating their yards this past Easter. The Easter Bunny could not take all the credit, but some Valor Christian High School (Valor) Eagles sure could. Sixteen students raised money for an upcoming summer mission trip to Kolkata, India by “egging” yards across Douglas County. This definition of egging is simply students stuffing Easter eggs with candy and hiding the treats in the yards of customers.
Forty houses were egged and the event brought in around $2,200. The students were very thankful.
Senior Dennis Polzin, a Hidden Pointe resident, is one of those 16 students and this will be his first mission trip. He said he felt called to make an impact. “The most comforting thing someone can do for someone else is love them as Jesus would; that is my goal,” said Dennis.
Strength coach for Valor Erika Heckman is one of the four leaders going with and guiding the students. Erika, who lives in Forest Park, has been three times to India and said it is a powerful trip.
The Valor students will work with ministry partner Momentum Global. They will partner with a Christian school and with two programs whose missions are to break the cycle of poverty and empower children and young adults: a football club for boys and a program called Asha for teenaged girls and women in their 20s.
“In the Dalit [culture], the families will marry their daughters at ages as young as 12 or 13 to get the dowry money,” explained Erika. “The goal of Asha is to keep that from happening by keeping the girls in school.”
The Valor students will also serve at an establishment created by Mother Teresa, run by nuns, called Prem Dan. A home for the severely disabled, the missionaries will clean, feed the residents, do manicures, dance and spend the day doing what is needed.
Dennis concluded, “I hope to change someone’s life.”
Hiding eggs for a Castle Pines homeowner was fun for Valor student Delaney Stafford, and it helped her raise funds for an upcoming mission trip to India.
By Karen Leigh; photos courtesy of Erika Heckman
