Lessons From International Trips
For the past month, our students have been out across the globe! Half of them did disaster relief work in South Texas, building a home for an immigrant family, while the other half spent time learning from locals in El Salvadorean towns and communities.
Throughout January, they mudded, painted, and drywalled; lost many soccer games, saw dolphins, danced in the street, practiced their Spanish, and enjoyed much nicer weather than the rest of us back in Canada!
As we all transition back into life at Blake Street, the students are beginning to look back on their trip experiences with new perspectives. Here are some of their thoughts and reflections about what the international trips sparked in them.
RACHEL – EL SALVADOR
What is one thing you learned about yourself on your trip?
“I am learning more and more God gives us an open invitation to fully trust in Him. I’ve seen this through my experiences and conversation with El Salvadoreans!”
What is one way you experienced God on your trip?
“Throughout the entire trip, I saw God in how alive everyone was for Christ. But it wasn’t just the ‘one-hour-after-worship’ kind of alive. They were living their lives for Jesus. It was their foundation, and I think we’re lacking that a lot in our part of the world. In El Salvador, you could just feel it everywhere you went. People weren’t ashamed to talk about Christianity. They really live into it, into God’s calling.”
What is a favourite memory from your trip?
“Meeting this lady named Yuri. Going into the trip, I didn’t know much Spanish, so there was a big language barrier, but Yuri and I still really connected! I also learned through my friendship with her that the language barrier didn’t have to be a big deal because there are so many other ways to communicate. For example, whenever there was music where we were, we would just break out dancing together and that was our way of communicating.
“Towards the end of the trip, she gave me a friendship ring. She had a lot of rings on her hands and she used her phone to translate and tell me that she wanted me to take one so we could remember each other. And we’ve been messaging even after I got back to Canada!”
What will you take forward with you as a result of your trip experience?
“I want to remember the contrast; the difference between living in Canada versus El Salvador. In El Salvador, cities are really set up for community with tons of markets and street vendors everywhere. You could also tell that everyone was really comfortable with inviting people into their homes because everyone’s doors were wide open. One day we were invited into this woman’s house and just sat in her living room watching TV. She showed us her chickens and gave us Coke, and there were other community members walking in and out. It was a really good way to show hospitality.
“On our trip, I also noticed how friendly and joyful people were even though they had been through so much suffering. I found that very encouraging and inspiring.”
HAILEY – SOUTH TEXAS
What is one thing you learned about yourself on your trip?
“I learned that it’s okay to trust people and let people in. Talking with Dean and Amber really helped me with that.”
What is one way you experienced God on your trip?
“On the last day, we sang the doxology with two of the sisters with the family that we built the house for, and I just really saw God in that. We were done our work and packing up to leave, and they were so thankful for everything. But I think the trip blessed me more than it blessed them.”
What is a favourite memory from your trip?
“One night, me, Barak, Josh, Amber, Maddi, and Dean stayed up talking by the pool at our beach house. That was one of my favourite nights! Nothing deep, just things like ‘which movie character would you be’ and other stuff, but it was really nice.”
What will you take forward with you as a result of your trip experience?
“I want to be able to help out where I can, because I have so much and other people don’t have a lot of the same resources or opportunities that I get to experience. So I want to help others who have less.”
MADDI – SOUTH TEXAS
What is one thing you learned about yourself on your trip?
“In Texas, I learned that I can be independent and live life on my own. I’m thinking of moving out to Texas on my own!”
What is one way you experienced God on your trip?
“I experienced God through His creation when we went dolphin watching! We saw a ton of dolphins and it was great to be in nature.”
What is a favourite memory from your trip?
“We went swimming, and it was my first time swimming in the ocean! I knew there would be a pretty strong undertow but it was a lot stronger than I thought it would be, which was kind of fun.”
What will you take forward with you as a result of your trip experience?
“I think being able to help that family was pretty awesome, especially in their situation. So I’m hoping to find other situations like that where I can be excited to help others and to be a good help to people around me.”
LUKE – EL SALVADOR
What is one thing you learned about yourself on your trip?
“One day, we learned how to make fertilizer and chicken feed when we visited a community. I learned that I like working with my hands and being out in nature. I also really like socializing with other people while I work.”
What is one way you experienced God on your trip?
“I experienced God through our translator, Daniel, and the way he was always there. Every day he would show up with a smile on his face and always helped translate for us no matter what. He just really put himself out there. He had a really good attitude and I found it very inspiring. It’s something that I’d like to take with me and remember back here in Canada.”
What is a favourite memory from your trip?
“I really enjoyed visiting all the different communities and just saying hi to everyone that we passed along the streets. Everyone there is so friendly! It was also really great to see all the greenery and nature when we were driving or walking around. We also went to this lagoon that was an inverted volcano, so being able to tour around there and see all the different caves was really cool.”
What will you take forward with you as a result of your trip experience?
“After the El Salvador trip, I want to dive into getting to know my neighbours. I want to invest in the community and the neighbourhood more. I really want to be able to shine my light here.”
We are so proud of our students for all that they have learned from their trips and all that they are taking with them into this second term. As they start work at their placements, they are learning to engage more with the world around them, and are beginning to understand what it truly means to participate in God’s Kingdom. Join us in prayer for them as our community continues to flourish!
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