Lens Free (My Journey Through South Africa Without a Tourist’s Best Friend)
I lost my camera the moment we stepped foot in South Africa. This wasn’t an ideal start to my trip, especially since this was the Culver Academies 2012 Spring Break in Mission where our group...
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Getting Dirty in Costa Rica
This past summer, my high school took a group of students to volunteer in Sitio de Mata, Costa Rica, where we stayed in the homes of the local people. There are two major things that I realized during...
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Visiting the True Americans
From July 7th-13th, I had the privilege of meeting the true Americans. My church youth group went on our annual trip, and this year our destination was the Pine Ridge Reservation...
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There’s Something Missing
This summer I had the opportunity to travel with a choir group to a remote and desolate part of Africa. I saw a land of wild beauty and grace with a touch of devastation that seemed...
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An Atmosphere Change
As I walked out of the airport all I could feel was the overwhelming humidity in the air of New Orleans, Louisiana. I sighed in relief as we finally arrived at the cool, huge Hilton hotel. My church...
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Chicken, Rice, and Beans in the Dominican Republic
“Bienvenidos a la Republicana Dominican!”—Welcome to the Dominican Republic. I had been anticipating for over a year to hear those words and when I walked into the Puerto...
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Holding the Hands of the Broken Hearted
The planning of my summer vacation was a usual routine, but last year, I was a changed live changing lives around me. During the summer I go to the beach daily, help plan the family vacation to the...
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Empowering Women One Hospital at a Time
The taxi bounced down the side street over large rocks and dips in the road. Through the window I could feel the hot humid African sun beating down… I...
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A Light in the Darkness
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations...” is found in Matthew 28:19 and is the key reason for all mission work. This Spring Break I was fortunate enough to go half way across...
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Eight Days in Ecuador
As we drew closer to the city, the strange dots of light drew my attention away from the Spanish-speaking movie. Below us, life buzzed in the downtown business capital of Ecuador. From the air, it...
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Compassion in a Foreign Land
Night had fallen when 20 of us found ourselves in the middle of excited chaos
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The Week My Eyes Were Opened
July 15, 2012. 3:00 a.m., my alarm sounded. My tired body was quickly energized when I remembered that the day set before me was the beginning of a journey like nothing I had embarked upon before.
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A Volunteer At Home
My favorite and most meaningful trip started on June 9th, 2012, my first day of volunteering in Nicaragua. A few months back my friend proposed a plan that her, my father and I took a trip down to...
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The Week Abroad that Changed My Life
A year and two months ago, (yes I know the exact duration) 19 of us traveled to the beautiful country...
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Heating Up in the City of Hotpot
As I boarded the narrow puddle-jumper that would take me to my final destination of Chengdu, China, I couldn’t help but feel a bit queasy. Now this kind of queasiness wasn’t from the...
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Mission Israel
Scared, nervous, excited, and a little fearful. Everything was so surreal and I couldn't wrap my head around it all. It was actually happening, I was finally going to Israel on my very first...
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Heart to Heart in China
This trip has not been so thrilling or heart-warming as it was spontaneously educational. I have learned more about myself and about the world around me through the experiences of thirteen distinctive...
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My Time in Tanzania
The last day of seventh grade came to an end, and my classmates talked about summer plans—tanning, swimming, beach trips, etc. Meanwhile,...
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Alaska is Sexy
In June I traveled to Alaska, expecting to only build houses, but I got much more than that. From atop mountains I relished in magnificent views of the Gulf of Alaska, ate delicious...
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My Costa Rica Experience
Hiking in Vibrams and a bathing suit felt equivalent to hiking barefoot in a girdle. Vibrams are a pair of 5-fingered shoes designed with 5 individual slots to eat of your toes. The other...
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Assisting the Needy Ones
This June, I traveled with my youth group from Calvary Baptist Church on June 23, 2012, to Baltimore, Maryland, to share God’s love by being a presence in the downtown area and assisting where...
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Ruined.
It was my very first time. I had never been out of the country before this, and I had no idea what to expect. I had seen TV commercials of slums in third world countries, but...
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A Glance Through El Salvador-Tinted Glasses
This summer I entered a world different than me, where the distractions that I am so conveniently accustomed to did not exist. I have gained a new perspective of the world and a passion for missions...
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A Superpower I Didn’t Know I Had: Mission Trip to Ensenada, Mexico
Last Spring Break, I had the opportunity to go on a mission trip with my church youth group. Our team had two goals for our stay in Ensenada, Mexico: to build a house for a family in the area and...
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The Mountain’s Message of Hope
Every time my phone rings I hear the sound of crickets chirping. This ringtone has special meaning to me. When those crickets start to sing their sweet melody, memories of Guatemala come to my mind....
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The Lives That Were Touched In the City of New Orleans
I view traveling as a privilege, not a right. People travel for many different reasons such as: relaxation or luxury. I like to use traveling to learn about different cultures, people, and history....
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Kenya 2012
As I boarded Emirates Flight 222 from Dallas to Dubai, a million things were rushing through my mind. Worries as big as living in an utterly foreign culture for seventeen days and as small as wondering...
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Disability Taught me Love
I stood in front of that small fence that was only keeping the children and me apart. Shocking. No, a word that means much more than shocking. Horrifying? Terrifying? What happened to these children?...
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On a Mission: A Week of Service and Fellowship in Bridgton, Maine
From 16 to 23 June, I went on a mission trip to Bridgton, Maine with the Hurlburt Chapel Youth Group. Donning our blue group T-shirts, we flew out of Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport,...
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Serving the Joplin Community
On May 22, 2011 the town of Joplin, Missouri was struck by an EF-5 tornado. The tornado in Joplin was approximately three-quarters of a mile wide and left behind a path of destruction that was 13 miles...
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Desperation, Warm Welcomes, and Smiles
I desperately read the signs posted around the Newark Liberty International Airport as I tried to navigate to the gate I was supposed...
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Touching History
In the summer of 2010, I traveled with my high school symphony to a small town in the south of France to play in the international music festival, Le Festival Des Anches D’Azur. We performed...
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My Trip at the Indian Head Camp, in Honesdale, Pennsylvannia
From May 20th to May 25th of the year 2012, I attended a trip sponsored by the Rotary International, District 7490, along with over a hundred other high school juniors to, The...
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Impressions and Reflections
As I slowly opened my eyes, my vision became clear as light faded and my eyes focused, and then I remembered that I was on a field trip with the MESA organization to the Griffith Observatory. The...
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The Art of Giving
Stepping off the bus, I was hit hard with the hot August air and the smell of burning forests miles away. I looked around this small, forgotten village in the Russian countryside and sensed the sharp...
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Life in Sandwiches
My first morning on the Cherokee reservation was spent being sardined between hundreds of ecstatic teens from all over of the country on groaning bleachers in a dimly lit auditorium in beautiful...
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Passions found in Santo Domingo
I have been told my entire life that it is important to find something you are passionate about. Fortunately, for me, I was able to figure out that passion at the age of 8. That marks my first...
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My Trip to South Africa
Last winter I had an amazing experience in Johannesburg, South Africa. My father and I traveled with a group called Swamp Corps to help set up a church camp. Swamp Corps is a group from...
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Far Yet Close in Nicaragua
“Buenas tardes,” A dark-skinned middle aged man said. “H-hola,” I stuttered,...
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Service Trip in Mississippi
From July 15 to July 21, 2012 I, along with other students from Saint Ignatius went to Mississippi for a service trip. We stayed in Walls, Mississippi, which is the poorest County in the United States....
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The True Meaning of Wealth
Going to Nicaragua this past Febraury was a life-changing experience. I went with my temple, Temple Shaaray Tefila, and Bedford Presbyterian Church, on a trip sponsored by Bridges to Community. The...
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Haiti=love=LIFE CHANGE
Chaos had flooded the already poor, small island country of Haiti, and they needed (as they do now) America’s help. At age 15, I went to Haiti naïve and ready to do “a good deed”...
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???? ? ?????? Children of the World: A Thai Kid Adventure
I was exhausted - mentally and physically worn out. I’d spent the entire morning taking a load off of the Thai teachers at a village school: entertaining and teaching some...
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The World of Hong Kong
My family and I moved to Hong Kong in 2010. We lived there for two years, up until this June (2012). Living there showed us how beautiful the world is. I have included a few things...
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Seoulful
The summer after my freshman year, I traveled to Seoul, South Korea, home to many, but not to me, not anymore. Seventeen years ago I had been adopted from Seoul, and brought to America, into the...
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The Road to Change
Spring break of 2012, my life was changed. Instead of going on a vacation to a swanky resort I spent my time in the Dominican Republic with Global Leadership Adventures doing volunteer work. Our group...
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Helping Hands in New Orleans
During the summer of 2009, just before...
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Smile
Who ever knew a line drawn in the sand could really separate night and day? The border between the United States and Mexico does just that. I went to Mexico on a missions trip through an organization...
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