For the second year, 21 youth from Wilton Baptist Church in Shelby Baptist Association served at the Give Kids the World Village in Kissimmee, Fla., in late June. The village is a nonprofit organization used by wish-granting organizations to provide tickets, lodging, food and events for children with life-threatening illnesses who have a wish related to the central Florida area.
Some of the students helped with transportation by driving the train, while others worked in the dining room as servers. They cleaned and helped with landscaping and assisted with horseback rides, face painting, cookie decorating and pillow making. They also played games with children and participated in special theme nights such as Double Dare and parent’s night out. Every Thursday is Christmas at the village, and the youth made snow cones, served snacks, dressed as characters in the parade and assisted in giving gifts with Santa Claus. Each night ended with a Bible study in the chapel where they read journals from the wish families and other volunteers. The students left their own messages for future wish families and volunteers to read.
“Many of our students have had life-changing experiences at the village,” Youth Pastor Kevin Peters said. “The students realize not being able to go out on a Friday or Saturday night is not the end of the world. The PlayStation game they wanted and did not get no longer [seems] so devastating. [This] impacted my kids more than anything else.”
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