Mesa Grande Academy has a tradition of graduating servants. Students often "sign on" for mission trips, community service or poverty outreach programs because they think they should or they have to — the first time. Once they have the opportunity to interact with the people they are helping, their motivation changes. They discover that they can make a difference. They discover that they are helping real people with needs and feelings much like their own. They learn how to care.
Mesa Grande gives students a passion for service through a number of long-standing mission programs. One is a global outreach organization called Christian Youth Builders, which has helped people in the U.S., Mexico and Bulgaria. For years, they have built churches, held evangelistic meetings, conducted vacation Bible schools, played with the children, and distributed toys and clothing. This year they replaced the entire roof structure on a church in the small farming community of Ojido Guerrero.
Additionally, some students joined the Southeastern California Conference-sponsored Amor mission trip to help build homes for families who were living in cardboard shacks.
MGA students have adopted a 110-unit local community trailer park, where they help residents who are disabled, elderly or single parents. They assist with household chores and donate manual labor to keep the outside of the trailers in code. At Thanksgiving, students deliver baskets of fruit, homemade bread and gift cards. They wrap presents to deliver to children at Christmas and deliver Christmas concert tickets donated by the Calimesa church. This program recently received funding from the Pacific Union for its creativity in serving the community.
Mesa Grande Elementary students also learn to give. This year, they were very enthused about the Pennies for Patients program. Collecting loose change from home and neighbors raised nearly $3,000. The seventh-graders alone collected more than $1,100.
These and other service experiences teach Christian young people to face their adult lives with Jesus' heart for serving others. In this, they are following the example of the greatest Servant the world has ever known.
