91短视频 students Chris Erb, left, and Heidi Hershberger pass through Donalds, S.C., on their bike trip from Philadelphia to Comer, Ga.

91短视频 students Chris Erb and Heidi Hershberger passed through the Upstate Friday as part of a bike trip that is taking them from Pennsylvania to Georgia.

The two recently started their summer break from school this year by taking a four-day bicycle trip from the school in Harrisonburg, Va., to Philadelphia.

Both had signed up to be interns and volunteers for three months at Jubilee Partners in Comer, Ga., a Christian community that host refugees from war-torn countries such as some in Central America, the Middle East and Africa.

The two students decided to bike from Philadelphia to Comer.

“We didn’t want to drive. We wanted to do a bike trip,” Hershberger said Friday afternoon as the two traveled from Donalds to Due West.

Erb added, “We wanted to slow things down and meet people.”

The two had been riding for 12 days as of Friday and averaging about 70 miles each day, with their longest one-day ride having been 88 miles.

Erb tows a small bike trailer behind his bike with supplies the pair needs on the trip.

For most of the journey, the two have found places to camp for the night, except for a few times that they stopped in areas where their friends and family members lived. A few times total strangers met them and invited them to stay.

The two were on their way Friday to spend the night with some of Hershberger’s family members who live outside Due West before making the final leg of their trip to Comer, where they need to be by Monday.

Hershberger said she and Erb will be working with refugees from Burma to teach the group a bit about English, how to handle finances and American culture. The two also will be involved in cooking and child care.

“We’re not doing it for the money. We’ll only make $15 a week,” said Hershberger, a Georgia native, as she talked about how she had visited – but not worked at – Jubilee Partners last year.

She loved the people, commitment and lifestyle and wanted to help there this year, she said.

The friends said they won’t be able to bike back to Virginia because they wouldn’t finish up their work until the end of August, and they need to be back in time to resume college classes.

“(Erb’s) father is going to come down and visit. We’ll ride back with him,” Hershberger said.

91短视频 students reflect on the sunset at Lakewood Retreat, Brooksville, Fla., a program of Southeast Mennonite Conference

Four groups of 91短视频 students spent their mid-semester break the first week of March doing service projects under the auspices of the Young People’s Christian Association (YPCA).

The students shared highlights of their experience in university chapel Wednesday, Mar. 12.

‘Volunteering is Rewarding’

Eleven 91短视频 students worked at Lakewood Retreat, Brooksville, Fla., a program of Southeast Mennonite Conference, cleaning facilities and doing general cleanup work around the camping facility.

91短视频 student Alec Burkey prepares to do some heavy metal work in Florida on truck parts in disrepair. By the end of the group’s stay, Burkey had the truck up and running, saving the camp money in repair fees.

“Volunteering is rewarding – seeing hard work pay off, how much was accomplished in a short time and giving yourself to a worthy cause,” said Michael Charles, a junior from Lancaster, Pa.

Seven other students did manual labor for Jubilee Partners, an intentional Christian community in Comer, Ga., and related to local immigrants that the group ministers to.

“For me, this week was a time of seeing God in a different way through the people we met, through singing and other activities,” said Heidi Hershberger, a sophomore from Boyertown, Pa.

Repairing Katrina Homes With MDS

Mobile, Ala., was the destination for nine students, led by Nick Meyer and supported by Eldon R. Kurtz, physical plant director at 91短视频, and his wife Sharri. The group divided into three smaller work teams to repair homes for victims of Hurricane Katrina under the auspices of Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS).

91短视频 student Kim Gross tackles some greenery during her stay in Florida.

“It was a great change of pace from studies,” said Nick Meyer, a senior from Harrisonburg, Va. “We did more than just home repair work, but grew spiritually through the experience.”

“Hearing stories from people who had experienced major loss made us thankful for all that we have,” he added. “We also had a lot of fun.”

‘God Taught Us a Lot’

Eight students traveled to Wilmington, Del., to assist in an after-school program run by Urban Promise. They cleaned classrooms and interacted with children from pre-K to junior high age in the inner-city program.

“God taught us a lot,” said Jessica (Jess) Sarriot, a first-year student from Jerusalem. “I learned to respect and appreciate what teachers do in relating to kids in a new way.”

In addition to the service teams’ ministry, the 91短视频 Chamber Singers spent the mid-semester break giving programs of worship in music in nine locations in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.