Sunday morning at Youth Quake ‘09, Alex Fitzpatrick of First Free Methodist Church in Moose Jaw placed an ecstatic call to his youth pastor in the middle of the church service: Their youth group had won the freefall. They were getting $6,000 to cover the cost of library resources for their August missions trip to Hopkins, Belize.

The group of youth and young adults are planning a humanitarian trip to the small village in Central America from August 12-21, 2009. There is no local evangelical church, so they are partnering with the local Hopkins Bay Resort to repair and restock a library at the local Catholic school that is in dire need of help. The resort is supplying the wood, the hammers, and they’re even putting the group members up for a fraction of the usual cost—they’re just “thrilled” to have the group come and contribute to the community, says Pastor Dyan Mouland, who is coordinating the trip.

They plan to use the money to buy laptop computers, the necessary software, and, of course, books—but they won’t just be buying literary works. They’d also like to leave Bibles and other Christian resources behind. “We’re planting seeds,” says Mouland. “You know how the Gideons leave Bibles behind? It’s like that.”

The group will also participate in some AIDS awareness training, work with some special needs children, and run a vacation Bible school.

Maclean Nelson, a high school student from Moose Jaw who was key in producing the video that showcased their entry, said, “It was truly a miracle—the whole experience [of winning].

“This money, for our youth group, takes so much stress off of everybody, especially our pastor and everybody going. It's one less thing we have to put our energy in to fundraising and stressing over. It lifted a huge weight off of all of our shoulders.”

Freefall began at YQ '07. In the past, event leadership had set aside a generous sum to fund a concert. That year, they decided to use the money differently—they gave it to "youth groups who were willing to step out and do new, exciting mission work at home or around the globe."

Read the Moose Jaw Times Herald's full article on Youth Quake '09.