While many of us spent our spring break lying on the beach, enjoying our vacation, Junior Chris Koester spent his time hard at work on a mission trip to Biloxi, Mississippi.

Chris was apart of an organization called Plymouth Fellowship, which is associated with the First Congregation of Western Springs. Chris and his fellow Plymouth Fellowship volunteers met every Sunday before the big trip to bond and do other volunteer work with nearby associations. They decided on a work trip to Biloxi, Mississippi because it was greatly affected by hurricane Katrina, and hurricane Sandy.

Chris started off his trip with a two-day car ride to the deep south with 60 other Lyons Township friends. While in Mississippi, Chris and the other high school volunteers worked on several different sites with two different organizations, Black Bay Mission, and CDA Cure for Hope. Chris was assigned to the CDA Cure for Hope site. He was on the demolition site where he had to physically take down a house that had become uninhabitable. Chris said, “It was amazing to see a normal house be taken down in just three days by high school students!” The homeowner was a woman living alone, and not only did the volunteers help take down the destroyed home, but they also helped the owner of the house design her new home.

The town of Biloxi is a friendly neighborhood. Koester said, “We would just be walking down the street and people would come out and thank us for what we were doing.” He worked very hard helping the people of Biloxi while in Mississippi and the help of all the volunteers benefited many people in need. Chris Koester most definitely reflects the pillars of Nazareth, evident in his service.