Trip offers a new perspective

People of all ages find themselves called to become active participants in their faith, adopting its teachings as part of their personal understanding of the world. Woodland High School senior Luke McDonald, fresh from a trip to the streets of Philadelphia with a local church, is one such person, and his experience has given him new perspective on the drug crisis in Washington County.
McDonald was one of nine members on the trip to Kensington, Pa. Joining him were six members of the Calais branch of Cavalry Chapel and two members of the church's Orrington branch. While there, they stayed at the Rock Ministries.
"It's like right on the street," McDonald says. "They're awesome. They work with the families that are on the streets and the children of the addicted people." Rock Ministries invites those struggling with drug addiction, either personally or in their families, to learn how to box or to participate in other focused activities that offer a mental and physical reprieve from the pressures associated with addiction. "They're getting kids hooked on boxing and Jesus instead of drugs," McDonald says.
McDonald and his companions stayed on the third floor on top of the Rock Ministries building. "There's homeless people as soon as you step outside," he says.
It wasn't how McDonald anticipated spending his February break. He'd been looking forward to it as usual, believing he'd be with his friends at the basketball tournaments. His plans changed dramatically when the trip arose. "Even on the way down, I still wanted to go to Bangor," he recalls. "But as soon as I got there, I saw the need for ministry. My eyes really got opened. There's hundreds of homeless people wandering the streets. Trash as tall as I am, lining the streets. Needles. You're stepping on urine, feces and needles all the time. My heart was definitely changed by the situation."
They handed out food and drink to homeless people, including plenty of coffee and sweets. "A lot of them would take anything we'd give them, and that opened up a great opportunity to tell them about what we went down there for," McDonald says. "The gospel -- you know, God loves you and has a plan for your life. And this is not part of his plan."
The reaction the group received wasn't always accepting. In one case, a man became hostile. "We started praying for this one guy, who was very angry, and we just prayed for God to remove the anger from his heart. He started freaking out, like, 'What are you talking about? God put this anger in my heart.' And he started swearing. He had some harsh feelings toward this."
Seeing so many people in difficult situations brought on by drug addiction and mental health issues, McDonald found his disposition softening toward those facing similar problems. "I know a lot of people say, 'Addiction is a choice, and it's their fault.' It opened my eyes down there -- that it was one bad choice that they made, and now they're suffering for it. And how the chains of addiction are hard to break. Jesus can break the chains of addiction for you. That's what we're telling these people."
More than just theory, McDonald speaks from sharing the example of one of his companions on the trip, Ryan Kizitaff, who himself recovered from addiction through faith. The message McDonald and Kizitaff were sharing did have an impact. At least one individual committed to a nine‑month recovery program in Maine after hearing what the Calvary Chapel group had to say.
McDonald found himself encouraged by the experience, and he feels a profound passion for performing similar outreach as he explores his personal faith and how that relates to the example he sets as he walks in the world -- including potentially becoming a military chaplain.
"It was more than fun. It was joyful. To be a part of that and know you're being used by God in that situation. It was the most joy I've had in a long time."