Danielle Lefebvre holds one of the needy children in Jamaica in the Teens On A Mission documentary.

Mike Santilli

Perfectly timed for seasonal inspiration on this Christmas Day, Channel 10 will present the documentary Teens on a Mission at 5 p.m. today.

The half-hour film — photographed, edited and produced by Jim Karpeichik for his Ocean State Video — follows the week-long church-sponsored trek 10 teenagers from Cranston and Johnston made last June to Jamaica, where they worked at Blessed Assurance, a charitable organization that focuses on children who have problems, both developmentally and emotionally.

Some of the children at the Blessed Assurance compound were abandoned by their parents, or have AIDs or mental or physical disabilities.

The teens raised $24,000 from bake sales, car washes and babysitting to go to Jamaica, giving up their cushy, gadget-filled American lives to make a commitment to help others less fortunate.

Although uneasy at first with the young children, some of whom could not walk or had no social experience, the Rhode Island teens quickly assimilated, bonding with the kids. They even helped one little boy walk for the first time. They did manual labor, too, clearing rocks to prevent flooding, using other rocks to build a wall and a patio.

Father Gregory Ramkissoon founded the Mustard Seed Communities, of which Blessed Assurance is an integral part, in order to provide a place for children who have been abandoned or have disabilities. His philosophy is, “We must exercise our faith as a mustard seed in which the smallest action can explode into a lifetime of love.”

Teens on a Mission shows how this is possible. The film is inspirational, with the only quibble being that although it will be shown without commercial interruptions tonight, one wishes it could have been longer.

mjanuson@projo.com