After months of preparations it was finally time to leave! The final week of Term 3 and the first week of the School holidays saw a group of 17 Year 11’s and 5 Staff embark on our 7th annual Service Learning Trip to Indonesia. After a long day of travel, including 3 separate flights and […]

After months of preparations it was finally time to leave!

The final week of Term 3 and the first week of the School holidays saw a group of 17 Year 11’s and 5 Staff embark on our 7th annual Service Learning Trip to Indonesia.

After a long day of travel, including 3 separate flights and a bus ride, we arrived safely in Medan, North Sumatra.  From there it was a ‘full on’ 2 weeks, filled with teaching English at our partner School SMA GKPS (Senior High School), embracing Indonesian and Simalugun culture, visiting the GKPS Church-run Orphanage and Church (through which the partnership happens) and a little bit of shopping and sight-seeing thrown in for good measure!

Students experienced food, hygiene, weather and economy of a majority-world country, and were treated like family by the school and the wider church community.

Whilst the 2 weeks were extremely hard work, it was an amazing opportunity to continue to build the partnership with SMA GKPS and Navigator College – a partnership that was started in 2013 with help and direction from LCA (Lutheran Church of Australia) International Mission, the National Committee for Lutheran World Federation in Indonesia and GKPS Church in North Sumatra.

The partnership has given our students an opportunity to serve (and learn about serving) in a global context, and has assisted in growing SMA GKPS from a school of 118 students in 2013, to nearly 700 this year.

We wish to thank all those who helped make this trip possible – staff, students, parents and our college and wider community.

If your school would like to know more about how they can connect to the mission of God through a LCA International Mission service-learning and ministry partnership, you are invited to phone Erin on (08) 8267 7300 or email erin.kerber@lca.org.au. For more information, go to www.lcamission.org.au/join-gods-mission/service-learning/

Read more stories about school partnerships and school service-learning at www.lcamission.org.au/category/stories/local-partners/schools/