More than 20 years ago, Oscar Aguirre (a CSC and WIU alumnus) started Pan de Vida in Quito, Ecuador when the Lord moved him to compassion for one of His hungry children. Pan de Vida, which means bread of life, has never stopped feeding Ecuadorians, but their outreach and programs have expanded beyond it. They provide shelter, emergency relief, hunger relief, health programs, and entrepreneurship training so those they serve can be lifted up out of the cycle of poverty.
CSC’s collaboration and support of PDV
The students at CSC give from their tithes and offerings to support Pan de Vida on a regular basis, but the more exciting opportunity is to travel and serve. On March 8th of 2024, CSC will take a week long trip during spring break to serve the people of Ecuador alongside Pan de Vida. We will provide VBS for different groups of students, Sunday school lessons on the importance of children to Jesus, and we will work alongside some of those who have started life farms.
How you can be involved: Pray, Give, Go, Supply
Pray and fast: as we get ready to depart for Quito in just a few weeks, we will be fasting and praying as a ministry and we invite you to join us. Anyone can pray and our next group prayer and fasting day is March 1st, one week before we leave. If you would like to pray for the individuals attending the trip, here they are:
Luke Little – CSC resident and sports broadcasting major
Peyton Meloney – CSC resident and education major
Mary Hammond – CSC student leader and art student
Olivia Luzadder – CSC resident and education major
Hannah Stevenson – CSC student and engineering major in the Quad Cities
David Elschlager – CSC board member and Secretary, devoted member at Golden Point Christian Church
Dawn Doore – New Testament Christian Church (NTCC member) and PDV veteran
Jeff Doore – NTCC member and PDV veteran
Laura McDowell – NTCC member and mother of many goats (and human kids too)
Janet Geissler – NTCC member and 1st time mission trip attender
Give: your support of our mission trips and our students is always appreciated. Students have been required to self-raise $2,500 to go towards the overall cost, though CSC has offset those expenses with $2 dinners on Sunday nights and Trivia nights in the Fall and Spring. Collectively, we have raised over $1,500 to set back the cost. You can give on PayPal, by check, or by cash with PDV support in the memo line. All donations are charitable gifts as CSC is a registered not-for-profit in Illinois and under the IRS by virtue of being a religious center.
Go: While you have missed your opportunity to join us in March, I would love to invite you to join us in three years when we plan on going back to PDV! Not only that, but you can also join us for a build with Casas Por Cristo this next school year in December/January of 2024-2025. Cost will be around $1,200.
Supply: In the USA we have medical and school supplies for cheap. You can give from the following list of items that we can take to supply PDV with their needs: bubble wrap, catalog envelopes, colored clay, labels, colored paper, colored pencils, construction paper, copy paper, Elmer’s glue, erasers, file labels, glitter glue, glue sticks, highlighters, index dividers, letter envelopes, padded envelops, clothing markers, sharpie markers, washable markers, note pads and notebooks, paint brushes of all sizes, paper clips, pencil cases, pens, pencils, post-it notes, pushpins, rubber bands, rulers, sealing tape, stamp pads, staples, stationary, tabs, tape and dispensers, thumbtacks, and over the counter medicine and first aid supplies that are not expired.
Thank you for supporting CSC missions and students!
Campus Students for Christ 