“We met a lady who’s husband was a drunk and abused her, so she ran away. The husband had been chasing her and she couldn’t settle down. Her church was giving her refuge. We offered to build her a home just for some protection. Guatemala doesn’t have the tools we do in America. We had to use picks and shovels to make a trench; we even had to mix our own cement. Going through all that hard work and then seeing the final product made it all worth it. Seeing the family’s reaction to the house we built was great. It would be considered a hut in America, more like a shack really. Just seeing how little people there have, but how happy they are in those circumstances, really pulls you down to Earth. We don’t realize how much we have and we shouldn’t take it for granted. I could tell everyone left with more appreciation for their lives.” Jake Price, junior.

“Every morning when we woke up, village children would be standing outside of the gates, ready for us to play. In some mornings, we went and built stoves. It was interesting actually building the stove ourselves. We gave them rice as a gift. We told them the rice was free for them, but we had to sacrifice for it, just like they can live but Jesus had to lay down his life. We did this also at Vacation Bible School with the kids. We would do small crafts or games and then tie it all together in a story about God. We also helped teach English at a small school. Those kids just need love, and you never realize how many people don’t get love until you see it right in front of you. Mission trips show that you only have a short time to impact a life, so you have to make it count. Every mission trip is different, but it shows you that God can use you anywhere you go, but it also shows you how much you have.” Emily Stewart, junior.

“There was this little girl names Belinda. She is the sweetest girl I’ve ever met. Her hair is short because it fell out a year ago, due to malnutrition. She had surgery the week before we got there, so she couldn’t run and play with the other kids. So I decided to sit with her and talk to make sure she had fun. We became best friends. She gave me a bracelet, and I gave her mine. I promised people I would never take that bracelet off, so now, I will never take Belinda’s bracelet off my wrist. I’m not the best talking in Spanish, but by being immersed in the culture, I learned how to talk to her. She would make jokes and we would talk about our favorite colors. One day, we were watching Narnia in Spanish, and when two people kissed, she turned to my girlfriend, Emily, and I chanting ‘Besos! Besos!’, which means kiss. It was the funniest thing. Belinda was the nicest little girl. She cried when I left, so I promised her I would come back next year. This summer, I’m taking all my graduation money to Guatemala and see her again.” Jack Buck, senior.

“I went a week early with a group of girls, then stayed the next week with everyone else. The first week, I got to wash people’s feet and put shoes on them. In the Bible, Jesus washes people’s feet to show service to others. Lowering yourself to wash someone’s feet is humbling, but they all appreciated it. There were always kids around the village. They would write you notes and yell for you to come outside and play. I choose to do missions now because I’m going to do this with my life. I have a heart for giving back in missions. When you are overseas, you have an overwhelming urgency to help.” Mackenzie McEntire, senior.