April 28, 2017
Have you ever gone to a new friend’s house for the very first time and had absolutely no idea what to expect? Didn’t have any idea what type of food they would serve? Didn’t know if the family would hate you if you got up on the middle of the night to go to the bathroom? Didn’t want to interact with your friends dogs? Imagine being in that awkward zone, but instead of staying at a friend’s house, you are spending a week in a foreign country on a mission trip.
Plenty of people go on mission trips throughout the year. From across the world, people serve people, and they all explain how life changing the experience is.
Junior Emily Ciganik went on a mission trip to Barahona, Dominican Republic. There, she mainly hung out with the children at the school where they stayed.
“The main reason why we went was to lay foundation for a church next to the school,” said Ciganik.
Something Ciganik found most meaningful was that material objects are not as important as you think.
“I would definitely recommend this to others; it’s an experience you can’t get anywhere else. It is hard coming back and putting to use what we learned from the trip,” said Ciganik. “Just the past weekend I spent a lot of money on things I didn’t even need.”
Ciganik went, for her first time, on an out of country mission trip; she will be going again this summer to the same place.
The Dominican Republic is not the only place fellow students have gone; for example, sophomore Maddie Hunt has been to Tegucigalpa, Honduras a total of four times.
“Due to family things in the past year, we did not schedule to go this year, but I would love to go on any other trip,” said Hunt.
Anytime someone goes on a trip, the first thing they noticed was either the dirt or the strong, disgusting scent. Yet, once you look past all that, you will notice all the color with the buildings and how the people dress. Something Hunt found most heartwarming was how affectionate and happy the kids were.
“We played and showed love towards the kids at the orphanage down there,” said Hunt. “We also did a little contrustion to build a school.”
Not just students at have been on mission trips. Freshman biology teacher and FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) supervisor, Mr. Brumbaugh has been to Barahona, Dominican Republic with Emily Ciganik.
“I overwhelmingly recommend students to go on a mission trip,” said Mr. Brumbaugh. “First, it forces people out of their comfort zones. Second, everyone should see how fortunate he or she is. I also believe it will bring you close to realizing who is in control of your life, and hopefully they can find out its God.”
You do not need to get on a plane to make a difference. Serving can happen anywhere, from your backyard to you a city near you. Many churches do mission trips locally. It is so simple to sign up, and so worth your time!
New Life Christian Ministries has a youth group called Relevant, which does a one week trip called The Mission. There the kids do things locally from nursing homes to yard work. It is still an experience even while staying closer to home.
“There’s a huge difference between mission trips and vacations. The only way to find real satisfaction is to serve others,” said Mr. Brumbaugh.
