Twenty students from the Colegio Adventista del Ecuador-CADE (Adventist School of Ecuador) recently donated their vacation time recently to evangelize in the cantons of Bolivar and Ibarra and the city of Atuntaqui in northern Ecuador. Their mission work in these communities resulted in four people deciding to give their lives to Christ through baptism.

It all began as part of a project that sought to positively influence CADE students, boarding students aged 12 and 16, who agreed to form a Caleb team. The Caleb teams volunteer in social service and also share the message of hope from the Bible. Teams left Santo Domingo and traveled to the three regions in northern Ecuador.

When they arrived, teams participated in the Week of Prayer titled The Last Victory, organized the Vacation Bible School program Children in the Kitchen, and conducted community service work in the community. The students’ positive impact also helped identify dozens of people who are interested in receiving Bible studies, which local Adventist church members will be able to provide.

The students’ participation was supervised by CADE’s student welfare coordinator, Alexander Chamorro, who highlighted the importance of including new generations in evangelistic projects. “Being able to involve our students in these projects is a beautiful opportunity, since it allows us to work with adolescents to train them not only academically but also for the good of others. What they have learned here, they will remember for the rest of their lives” Chamorro said.

CADE, as with all Adventist educational institutions, seeks to involve students in projects that encourage their physical, mental, and spiritual growth, going beyond teaching and elevating their missionary spirit.

The original version of this story appeared in the South American Division Spanish-language news site.