A senior trip with purpose

Bridget Martin and Meagan Lemons graduated from McMichael High School on June 11. On June 25, the two lifelong friends were on an airplane headed for Jamaica.

Unlike many of their fellow graduates, however, Bridget and Meagan were headed to the tropical island for a purpose more meaningful than a final senior fling. They were fulfilling a joint dream to turn their senior trip into a missionary journey.

“We actually started talking about it one day during biology class in 10th grade,” said Bridget.

“But back then it was just an idea,” Meagan said. “At that time we had no idea it would ever be put into action.”

The idea began to take shape as reality last November. As the duo began the planning process, the first order of business was deciding where they would go on their mission trip.

“We had Jamaica, Bermuda, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas on the list,” said Meagan. “Guess we were trending more toward the islands.”

“After all, it was our senior trip,” said Bridget.

Bridget said the original plan was for six or seven seniors to join forces for a mission trip after graduation.

“But we were the only two that eventually followed through on the plan,” said Meagan.

While working on their senior projects, Meagan and Bridget researched several different missionary organizations offering assistance with short-term mission projects. When they found Good News Missions, they realized it was the perfect fit.

“We e-mailed their director back in March, and things started moving quickly after that,” said Bridget.

Meagan said Good News Missions offered as many as 15 different options for ministries while in Jamaica.

“We chose working in an orphanage,” she said. “We’d both had some experience working with children in other mission projects, and we knew we didn’t want construction work.”

“Yeah, we knew we couldn’t really build anything,” Bridget said.

Both Meagan and Bridget had gone on summer mission trips with their youth group at First Baptist Church of Mayodan. Heading to beaches in South Carolina and Georgia, the youths organized Bible school events at campgrounds and hold prayer walks along the local beaches.

Both girls also attended Passport – a youth camp focusing on community interaction and missions – several years as part of First Baptist’s youth group.

With a location, mission organization and project identified, the next step was convincing their parents to let them go and finding acceptable adult chaperons for the trip.

“My parents were sort of iffy at first, but they finally realized this was what I really wanted to do,” Meagan said.

Bridget’s mother, Marla Martin, eventually ended up traveling with the girls to Jamaica. But that was not the original plan. The first two people scheduled to join the girls were Wendy Crow, the minister of education at FBC Mayodan, and Laura Easter, wife of First Baptist’s associate pastor, T.J. Easter.

“My mom wasn’t going with us at first,” Bridget said. “But when Laura found out she was expecting in August, Mom stepped up and decided to join us.”

The foursome left for May Pen, Jamaica, on June 25 and returned to Mayodan on July 3. During their stay on the island, they worked with Fabian Bronstroph, founder and operator of Merciful Shepherd Ministries. They were able to stay at the ministry’s group home and work through Bronstoph’s connections with local orphanages, public schools, hospitals and churches.

“It was definitely the most humbling experience I have had in my 48 years of life,” said Marla Martin.

Marla said the most heartbreaking part of the trip was working with the children at the orphanage.

“The children in that situation are so helpless,” she said. “I just kept telling myself, ‘just show God’s love and let them know you care.’”

Bridget agreed with her mother’s assessment of the work in Jamaica, stating it was “unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”

“The people are great and so is the culture, but it is completely different compared to America,” said Bridget.

The experience made her realize how blessed she was to live in America after experiencing the poverty in Jamaica.

“The children at the orphanage are starving for attention, and it can be a little overwhelming,” Bridget said. “It was the hardest mission work I’ve ever done. It was truly heartbreaking.”

Meagan said she thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would love to go back and help Merciful Shepherd Ministries build the new orphanage planned for the future.

“I’m glad I got to experience the real Jamaica,” Meagan said. “It opened my eyes and made me thankful for the life I have here in America.”

The group packed an extra suitcase filled with gifts for the children they encountered on the trip. Meagan and Bridget created handmade bracelets to distribute and brought as many Bibles, T-shirts and Frisbees imprinted with gospel messages as they could stuff into one suitcase.

The scariest part of the trip – at least according to Marla – was getting used to the way people drove in Jamaica.

“I think I spent more time lying in the back of the van than I did looking out,” she said. “There were huge holes in the roads, and the cars share a road about the size of one of our lanes. Another note of thankfulness – our roads.”