College Hills Lutheran Church in Cedar Falls

The students of College Hill Lutheran Church, campus ministry of the University of Northern Iowa, spent their Spring Break this year sharing Christ’s grace to their neighbors at the Lutheran camp on Petit Jean Mountain in Arkansas. Their service projects included clearing leaves and branches from a cemetery near the camp, painting camp signs and posts, cutting and splitting firewood, power washing the exterior of several cabins, and cleaning the historic Trinity Lutheran Church built in 1886.

In their free time, students enjoyed exploring the beauty of the Petit Jean Mountain and its trails, along with several attractions in Little Rock. They also enjoyed sharing the Divine Service and Wednesday Lenten service with the congregation of Peace Lutheran Church in Conway, Arkansas, and daily Vespers and Bible studies at the camp. Overall, the trip brought the students the joy of sharing Christ’s grace through service and fellowship, as well as the blessing of warm and sunny weather for most of the trip.

The students would like to thank Thrivent, the College Hill congregation, and all of the individuals that provided the financial means for this trip. They would also like to extend their thanks to Lauren Petri of the student leadership at College Hill for planning and organizing the trip, and a special thanks to Chuck Johnson, the camp director at Petit Jean Lutheran Camp, and his wife Lauren Johnson for their immeasurable kindness and generosity to the students during the trip.