Schools

Lovett Seniors Make Mission Trips

Students spend spring break in Guatemala, Dominican Republic

From Patch Reports

Lovett students following a school tradtion spent their spring break earlier this month on service and mission trips.

Two groups, a senior trip and a family trip, traveled to Guatemala while another group made a family journey to the Dominican Republic. A total of 15 students went to Guatemala, according to an announcement from the school. Including this year's travels, Lovett has taken more than 260 members on service and mission trips to developing countries.

Christian Young, director of Lovett's after school program and assistant director of the summer camps program, participated in the Guatemala trip and wrote about her experience:

"As everyone arrives back from spring break 2012, the question asked of 15 seniors was, 'What did you do in Guatemala?' A lot of that question remains difficult to answer as it can often be hard to fully explain a mission trip experience. We did not set out on a particular 'mission,' we were not there to 'fix Guatemala's problems,' instead we were invited into the lives of Guatemalan families and came to know a community through a combination of work and adventure.

"In the mornings, we squeezed into our bus, drove 30 minutes to the Compassion Center to pick up fellow workers, winded through the hills of Patzicia and finally arrived in Pahuit to find the community ready and waiting for us to come work. We worked together with a group of Guatemalan pastors and church leaders to build classrooms onto a small church, but it was far more than mixing cement and digging deep trenches for a new wall. It was about coming together as a team and going beyond what is comfortable, beyond what we are familiar with and seeing the world through a completely different lens.

"In the afternoons, we spent time at the Compassion Center, where 260 children are sponsored to go to school and receive one meal a day. Our time at the center was organized chaos. We helped with arts and crafts and played on the playground. There was laughter and community, which was a great way to end the day.

"We carried cinder blocks, mixed cement, built walls for classrooms, played games with the children, listened to their stories, made tissue-paper flowers, beaded necklaces, held hands, and slowly learned what it looks like to live life together. What an experience!"


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