This past summer, during the week of July 3 through July 10, 67 students and adults from Shelter Rock Church visited the city of La Vega in the Dominican Republic to participate in four days of community service. Their work included helping to put a new roof over a local church and also building additional classrooms for a local community center.

Later, in August of 2006, a team of 16 men and women from Shelter Rock Church went to Kenya, Africa to build two homes for two widows in the AIDS-plagued region of Mfangano. The situation there is particularly heartbreaking because Kenyan society has, for the most part, turned its back on these widows due to the still prevalent cultural stigma of AIDS in Africa.

During the year of 2007, Shelter Rock Church has planned several additional trips to perform community service for people in areas of need. The first trip, to Nassau, Bahamas, will take place during the week of July 1 through July 7, 2007, and is open to students going into the 10th grade and older (55 spots reserved). The next trip, to Clarkesdale, Mississippi, to assist in the Mississippi Katrina Relief efforts, is scheduled for the week of July 16 through July 21, 2007, and is open to students going into the 9th grade and older (30 spots open). Lastly, another trip to Kenya, Africa, scheduled for 10 days from Aug. 2 through Aug. 12, 2007, is open to students going into college and adults (15 spots reserved).

Pastor Jerry O'Sullivan says that in 2007 Shelter Rock Church will take over 100 people on these short-term missions to serve people all around the world. As Pastor O'Sullivan notes, "The greatest way any of us can express our love is in service to others in need."

Pastor O'Sullivan says that anyone interested in participating in these short-term mission trips should contact him at: Shelter Rock Church, 626 Plandome Road, Manhasset, NY 11030, phone 627-2270, ext. 15. The first informational meetings regarding these trips will be held at the Manhasset campus of Shelter Rock Church on: (Kenya, Africa) Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2007, at 7:30 p.m., and (Nassau, Bahamas/Mississippi) Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2007, at 7:30 p.m.