Monthly Archives: April 2023

Justice Providence Trip, March 2023

The Providence Justice program was a wonderful experience provided by Middlebury Intervarsity Christian Fellowship that will stick with me forever. Its main goal was for us to see justice through the lens of Jesus Christ.

The trip started with seven of us from the Middlebury Christian Fellowship group heading to Providence, Rhode Island before the start of spring break, in which our car broke down 20 minutes in! Thankfully we got back on the road the following morning after the program’s director Jeremy Ogunba came to pick us up all the way from Providence. On the way Jeremy asked us what we thought our definition of justice was.  We all answered one by one, then he asked us why we were here and what we wanted to get out of the trip. I honestly didn’t know, and this made me wonder why I was truly there.  What did I really want to get out of this?

We arrived at our Airbnb which was in the heart of Providence on Federal Hill, and met with our leaders Petek and Hannah. We began the evening and all the evenings afterward with biblical teachings of justice, learning the different ways Jesus showed justice in the bible, visiting different times he taught us about what it means to show justice.

The following days were the most impactful as they were when we actually started to see what this trip was all for. We began our week by visiting Mestizo Church which is a multicultural church that aims to unite cultures through the message of Jesus Christ. It was amazing to see this and worship together in both English and Spanish. We then went to the grocery store and were given a $30 dinner meal challenge which was meant to reflect the struggles that some families face in regard to the ability to buy food. This challenge was no ordinary one as we had to feed the 10 people that were with us on the trip.  

The day after the trip from the grocery store, we began to do some work at the Providence Rescue Mission, a homeless shelter which aims to better the lives of many people who need a home or a warm meal. It also helps people who are recovering from a drug addiction with a year-long program that helps them reach sobriety. It was moving to hear stories of how God saved many of these people. We also helped at the D.R.E.A.M Center, which was a center that supports immigrants from many countries to find work, seek legal help, learn English, etc. We saw the hand of God at work in this organization.

I thank God for the opportunity to experience this trip and get to know these organizations that are trying to make the world a much better place.

Neftali S. Gomez ’26