North Park’s baseball team traveled to Detroit, Mich. with one goal in mind: helping a broken city. What the team members quickly realized was that the residents had not lost their determination; there was a fervor for change in the air. The Viking men served at three churches, the City Covenant Church, Ford Memorial Methodist Church, and Aldersgate United Methodist Church.
Initially, some were reluctant to give up a week of their Christmas breaks to be in Detroit, but attitudes changed during their first days of service. They repaired floors, cleared out space and rebuilt rooms for instruction in English as a Second Language; they painted, repaired a leaky church roof, distributed food, and heard stories from the locals. The team met one woman who, they learned, took three buses to get to work, serving meals to those in need, seven days a week.
The team members learned that while the city’s economy went downhill, the resolve
of residents did not. Josh Smith, Jr. C’18 said that he saw a sign hanging on a wall of one of the buildings that read, “God didn’t promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, nor sun without rain. But He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.”
Coach Johnson had this to say at the end of the week, “I’m really proud of the work these guys did. The fact that it was a stateside trip to arguably the most economically hurting urban community in the country made it more impactful on the guys for a number of reasons. It was six days in the cold, snow, and sleet, sleeping on church pews or chairs and showering occasionally in the church boiler room. Many times mission trips go to more exotic or tropical locations. The allure here was 100% in the work, encompassed by the need, and by being with the people.”
Infielder/outfielder Nate Simons C’17 says that “as you go about your business, take the time to hear your neighbor, hear the person who is next to you in the grocery store. You never know the impact you can make. Serving and embracing one another as brother and sister, and putting a smile on people’s faces young and old; nothing feels better.”