By Michael Travis
Editor in Chief
While most students relaxed during Spring Break, some chose to make a mission out of the time off. The mission was focused on making a difference, and it was called Project Serve.
Volunteers in the program built houses, planted trees, ministered to the poor, fed the needy, promoted peace in at-risk neighborhoods and worked with the homeless. Every participant agreed they made a difference in the lives of people all over the world.
Mission trips ranged far and wide, from the Dominican Republic to Detroit, with 14 groups and more than 270 students in all.
“Most people who went on the trip this year had their hearts opened to service,” said Michael Sprague, student leader of the La Noria, Mexico, mission trip. “They saw a different side of things and realized the blessing that we have, and what we take for granted every day.”
Sprague’s group of 11 students worked with Camp La Noria, the largest developing Christian camp in Mexico. Together they built a foundation for a shower house, fed people living in a local dump, traveled to an impoverished island and helped build social consciousness among future leaders of Mexico.
“ ‘What didn’t we do’ is a common quote for our group,” Sprague said. “We did so many different things.”
Volunteers in every trip kept busy, often during both day and night.
“Our days were packed with activities,” junior Cynthia Wallingford said. She was part of the Appalachia group that went to Radford, Va. “We worked with people that needed help. And at night, we took care of all the things that needed to be done around the community.”
Wallingford and 12 other students worked with Beans and Rice, an organization which focuses on community development in low class neighborhoods. Most of the Pepperdine volunteers worked with children on homework and other academic activities, while some worked with the organization’s English as a Second Language centers.
“I taught three Ethiopian women how to read,” Wallingford said. “It was an amazing experience. I think we showed everyone there that people care about them, and there are people in the world who honestly want to help them out.”
Children were the focus of other missions as well, including the one sent to the Dominican Republic.
Twenty-five students traveled to a small orphanage where they taught the children English, reading, math and science skills.
“We spent about half our time in one-on-one sessions with the kids,” Mer Carson, student director of the trip said. “The orphanage does a good job providing food and clothing, but the kids don’t get the needed one-on-one time they would get if they had parents. It made a real difference to them.”
Other students on the trip were fascinated by the differences in the way people lived their lives.
“It was really interesting to see how these kids could be so happy when they don’t have anything,” junior Esmerelda Cano said. “Any one of us would be extremely miserable because they live in such poverty.”
The volunteers were also in for a surprise – some of the orphans taught the Pepperdine students how to read in Spanish.
“The role reversal worked out really well,” Cano said. “The little kids responded really well to it.”
The group of students that traveled to Detroit were also surprised by what they found. The seven students worked with inner-city kids to promote peace in their neighborhoods. They visited a juvenile detention center where they simply spent time with some of the inmates there, getting to know the inmates and their stories.
“It was a life-changing experience to see how those kids lived,” freshman Robert Jacobo said.
“I realized that all it would take is for my parents to be poor and for me to be raised in a neighborhood where drugs are prevalent to be in their shoes.”
The group also went to recreation centers and a private Catholic school, where they ministered and delivered a message of peace to the children.
“I thought it was a great experience,” Jacobo said. “It’s a great way to spend Spring Break, and anyone wherever they went had a good time.”
That feeling extended among participants across the board, and beyond.
“It seemed intimidating and not fun at all to go serve for a week,” Wallingford said. “But I wouldn’t have done anything else. What I learned in that week is probably far more than what I’ve learned in any one semester at Pepperdine.”
Others agreed.
“I think it was an awesome experience and worth it overall,” Carson said. “I can’t think of a better way to spend Spring Break and would recommend it to anybody.”
All of those interviewed stressed that the real-world experience was invaluable. Some said they learned life lessons they will never forget.
“I took away a lot about empowering people,” Sprague said. “I learned how to be a servant leader, and how leadership doesn’t necessarily lead from the front, but from behind where it can empower people to serve.”
Some said what they learned will extend beyond a week. It may be that Project Serve has changed the direction of the participants’ lives.
“Its easy to get caught up in the mentality that after I graduate I want to make a lot of money,” Carson said. “After this experience, though, I don’t really see that as something that is going to impact my job decisions.”
March 13, 2003