They Came Home Changed: The Impact of Central Region Youth Missions 

For the last four summers, Central Region has offered an international mission trip opportunity for students ages fifteen to eighteen, each trip led by Skyler Sanford, Central Region’s next generation director. Our church, Cornerstone Community Church in Albia, Iowa, has sent students every year this opportunity has been available. 

Cornerstone sent one student to Trinidad in 2023, five to Tijuana in 2024, seven to Costa Rica in 2025, and nine to Nogales in 2026. We already have seven signed up for the trip to Trinidad next year. 

Each year, we have watched our students come home with a greater desire for the Lord to be involved in every aspect of their lives, a deeper sensitivity for those around them, and increased boldness in their witness. Our students testify to being challenged to live with gratitude as they realize how much they take for granted. These experiences have deeply affected their walks with the Lord, from the way they serve to what they receive during worship and debrief times. The bonds they have built have also impacted our youth group, with several students becoming leaders both in the group and in their schools. 

Throughout my life, I have loved the Lord and wanted to serve Him and His people. I have been blessed with many opportunities to do just that through short-term missionary work. 

Each trip has impacted my life in ways that I am so grateful for. Mission trips require you to learn to be flexible, and this trip was no exception. Originally, the trip was planned for France, but God had different plans, and we ended up in Nogales, Mexico. We were supposed to be working with children at an orphanage, but just two weeks before our group left, the orphanage ran into some issues with the state, and over half of their children were removed.

Instead of working directly with the children, we had the opportunity to work alongside the orphanage leaders, helping them accomplish tasks in a matter of days that would have otherwise taken weeks. Despite our original concern and disappointment over the changes, God showed that His timelines and plans are perfect. To me and many of the other members on the trip, this was an amazing example of God’s hand being over the trip, the people of Nogales, and each person who was a part of this mission. 

Nogales Trip

One of the things I love most about the trips is that even when we are not going out and doing our daily tasks and outreach, God is still present and active. During our time in Nogales, much of our “resting time” back at our hotel was spent with each other, worshiping, praying, sharing testimonies, and rejoicing over the works the Lord was doing in each of us and in those we ministered to. In these moments, many of the other kids and I found ourselves freed from chains that some of us did not even realize we had. 

Costa Rica Trip

Something I always say is that I expect to go into missions to bless others, but I return home more blessed than I ever could have imagined. Each student who attends these trips witnesses lives being changed, broken hearts becoming whole, and revival through Jesus Christ. These experiences have made my relationship with Jesus grow even stronger, and they continue to be a reminder of His goodness and the freedom found in Him alone. I am so blessed to be a part of a community and a body of Christ that loves every one of His children and is willing to step out in faith to boldly proclaim the gospel.  

Tijuana Trip

That transformation does not stay on the mission field. Because Cornerstone Community Church is located in a smaller community, our students’ witness is noticed by many in our city and especially within our church body. We see the fruit as students return home bolder in their witness at school, with their peers, on the sports fields, and through serving in the church. Ninety percent of our Costa Rica team returned home and became involved in serving during our Sunday morning services. Through their example, our youth group has grown both spiritually and numerically. 

Perhaps the greatest evidence of that fruit comes from the students preparing to go for the first time. When we ask why they want to participate, we often hear the same response: 

About the Author

Danielle Smith loves doing life and serving in ministry with her husband, Ryan, and their four children. She has served alongside Ryan in youth ministry in Riddle, Oregon; spent fourteen years pastoring in Gold Bar, Washington; participated in several short-term mission trips; and currently pastors with him in Albia, Iowa. Danielle loves to laugh, get real with people quickly, travel, encourage others, call out God’s heart for people, and pray for what others say is impossible.