What People Say about CSM

Following are comments we've received from students who have served with CSM in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Toronto, or Washington D.C. Some were written as part of the evaluations we have every CSM participant fill out; some were sent to us after the person had returned home. If you have been on a trip and would like to add comments, please email us and we will post your stories on the CSM Urban Update Blog as well.

COMMENTS FROM STUDENTS
"I have been a Christian since I was a little girl, but it was on a Chicago CSM Missions Trip that it all became real to me--I understood that my life has been bought at a price. I want to serve Him and glorify Him in all that I do for all of my days!"

"This trip will change the way I live. I am determined to be more bold and radical in my witness for God."

"The children we worked with touched my heart. It was special to share God's love with them. I will always remember the little girl who gave me a good-bye hug and told me she loved me."

"I was really touched by the prayer tour the first night. It was awesome to have heard about the damage from the Los Angeles riots, then to actually go to those sites and pray for the people in the neighborhood."

"I believe that CSM gives ordinary people the opportunity to do extraordinary things in the lives of others. From the early hours of the morning well into the hours of the evening you are serving, serving, and serving."

"During a week with CSM, one is not just thrown into a nonprofit organization without first being educated on the needs and purposes of the organization; nor does one simply volunteer and forget about what they did."

"Our CSM host really has a heart for the Lord. I'd like to model my Christian walk after hers."

"Before I came, my friends said I was crazy to go on an inner-city mission trip when I could be at the beach drinking margaritas. Now that I've gone, I can say it's been a real blessing. I saw what life in the city is really like and how God provides for everyone."

"Being from a very small, rural area I was able to view the world through a completely different window than the one I did everyday in my own community."

"My favorite experience was the street walk. I'd never "seen" the inner-city people I've heard about (prostitutes, drug addicts, etc.). They have become real people to me now, and I've learned to see them as children of God whom He loves just as much as He loves me."

"I've learned that I have a long way to go in my spiritual life because the homeless people we met this week showed more faith and knowledge of the Bible than any of us."

"Now that we're back home, life here has gotten hectic. Some of us now volunteer at the local Salvation Army soup kitchen. We have also adopted a park in the Latino section of town. We've raked the lawns, cut down the weeds, painted the basketball court, and built a swing set. After our youth meetings on Wednesday nights, several of us head to the park and talk to the local kids. Our CSM trip opened our hearts to what Jesus wants us to do--and we're doing it!"

"I think God might be calling me to the inner-city."