ASB 2014 Village Mountain Mission Project in the Dominican Republic

DR with VMM

I had the privilege of being the LP of our awesome JMU crew to DR. This group gelled especially well due to the unfaltering enthusiasm of the trip leaders.  Each and every time I have been humbled by the people of South and Central America.  Some of these people have no possessions and yet are so at peace with their situation and thankful for what they do have. I realized that this service trip not only helped the family we built a house for and answered their prayer, but it also served a purpose to us as well, as we gained a whole new gratitude towards life and its simplistic pleasures.

Our task for the week was to contribute to the building of a house for a couple, Hilda and Ernesto, and their family.   From our arrival at the airport, we felt we were in good hands.   The people of the mission and the people of the village were so nice, they really went out of their way to check on how we were doing and that we were comfortable.

We began by going to breakfast at 7:30 a.m. to the cafeteria where Ms. Melanie, and Ms. Fran cooked our delicious meals.  We always said a prayer before meals, and included "bless this food and the hands that prepared it, and be with those without."

Our group split into groups:  Hammering, holding wood, cutting wood, measuring wood, cementing and passing cinder blocks. We were exhausted at the end of the day and hit the hay to prepare for the next day.   Our group took this house from halfway up on the blocks when we got there, and finished it.  The challenges included running out of supplies such as boards and nails.   We got around in a huge truck - we had to duck a lot of branches!    And at the beginning it rained making the road to our work site too muddy to drive the truck through it so we did a lot of walking.   We learned valuable lessons of patience and perseverance.

Our hard work was rewarded with two days of free fun time:  Tuesday at the beach, a motorcycle ride, and sightseeing.  Friday we went to a waterfall and a carnival for the children of the village.

What a great week of many happy memories and changed lives!  After a week spent building the house and making friendships, it was sad to see it come to an end.  In the car from the airport, a song played which was an appropriate conclusion to our trip: "...I want to go home...", as it was snowing hard on the road.

Then it was nice to get home just before we got snowed in.   The warm memories remain, though.

Culture Week in Ecuador

Please enjoy this beautifully written piece by Paula Polglase that perfectly describes the AWB experience I had in Guayaquil, Ecuador earlier this month with an amazing group of JMU students!
http://www.jmu.edu/news/2014/01/27-alternative-winter-break.shtml

2014 Alternative Winter Break in Guayaquil ~ Ecuador

A lagoon in Cajas National Park

Escuela Semillita is a K-12 school located near the Pacific coast of Ecuador in a suburban community of Guayaquil, the country’s largest and most populous city.  I recently returned from an Alternative Winter Break trip to serve the community of Escuela Semillita with a team of JMU students (Alyssa, Cassandra, Dana, Jake, Kelly, Laura, Lauren, Megan, and Shelby with student co-leaders Paige Ganger and Jackie Sams) in a wonderful cultural exchange and community service adventure.  We witnessed and experienced a community that was genuinely happy and full of life.  From their oldest to their youngest, they did all they could to make our stay as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.

We began our journey to Semillita in the morning with a car ride to the Dulles airport and with two connecting flights to Ecuador, arriving after midnight - it was a long day of traveling.  After being introduced to our tour guide, Don Jorge, we drove to Escuela Semillita, the place that would be our home base for the week, for a few hours of sleep.  Later that day we took a tour of the school and then of the city.  The people of Guayaquil refer to the city as the Pearl of the Pacific.  The beauty and warmth of its people and landscapes have been inspirational to many who have captured its essence in different artistic expressions.

Our days at Escuela Semillita were a combination of cultural immersion, service work, and touring.  On the first morning of school, we were introduced to the entire school in an assembly.  It was then that we presented the funds to inaugurate a scholarship in memory of one of the school's founders who passed away a couple of years ago.  The donated $600 is enough to fund one financially stressed and academically deserving student for a year of study.  We worked at the school, practiced Spanish, answered a lot of curious questions, and saw various cultural and historical sights in the city and surrounding area.  We even wore some participants out with walking.

The team helped to serve the people of Semillita by sweeping and scrubbing the classrooms. We also took supplies to the children, helped them with their art projects, played tag and other games, and prepared for "Jornadas Culturales", an event put on by the school where students were tasked with creating visual aids and giving presentations on specific topics to people who come around to their "stand."  We also enjoyed group presentations such as plays and dances.  On Friday our group contributed by chanting the JMU fight song for the entire school!  We also joined the teachers' dance, folkloric style complete with period dress.  It was such a fun event and we were overjoyed to have participated.

Although the majority of our time was spent in service with the children, we also enjoyed many of the cultural and environmental wonders of Ecuador.  We spent the first day sightseeing in Guayaquil, we ended our week visiting the beautiful beaches of the Pacific Ocean, and on Tuesday we drove into the spectacularly scenic Ecuadorian Andes mountains to Cuenca where we got to experience "La Sierra," Ecuador's mountainous region.  On Thursday afternoon, after school, we did some sight-seeing in the city and went shopping in Guayaquil as well.

The student leaders were responsible for the trip logistics, team development, communicating with the partner service agency "Semillita," and facilitating group reflection sessions.  I accompanied as the Learning Partner, to lend support to the trip as a "mature influence" to encourage students to make wise decisions and in this case as one who can communicate easily with the native population.  I participated in all team activities and took lots of photos each day of our eventful adventures to help in documenting our service in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

It's not every day we go into a poverty-ridden nation and experience a community like Semillita.  It reminds us to appreciate our abundances.  The people there were surprisingly happy despite their relative poverty, and were exceedingly grateful for the little help we provided.  The students all agreed this was a life-changing experience that taught them more than they would ever learn in a college classroom.  I always love hearing the students come to that conclusion unanimously.  To the students, these trips are once in a lifetime.  To me, I find each year and each trip I am able to be a part of more rewarding than the last.  I'm so thankful that we had such a great trip.  The good people of Escuela Semillita were very welcoming and warm and we easily became friends with the community that surrounded us.  While it was hard to say goodbye to our new friends, it was good to come back home to our family and friends.

With thankfulness and appreciation for this opportunity to witness the love of God and His mercy through His people, I am,

~Rosie McArthur, AWB Learning Partner

Photos:
Day One:  We traveled to Guayaquil in Ecuador
https://www.facebook.com/mcarthrc/media_set?set=a.10101510287488639.1073741838.7824851&type=3

Day Two:
In the morning, we visited the Iguana Park for a real unique South American experience.  Also Malecón 2000, and Las Peñas & Cerro Santa Ana.  In the afternoon, we visited Malecón del Estero Salado.
https://www.facebook.com/mcarthrc/media_set?set=a.10101510315567369.1073741839.7824851&type=3

Day Three:  
In the morning we worked with the children in the school of Semillita, and in the afternoon we visited Hormiga farm the land of plentiful fruits.
https://www.facebook.com/mcarthrc/media_set?set=a.10101510387872469.1073741840.7824851&type=3

Day Four:
We went to The sierra.  Cuenca, Ecuador’s third-largest city and the economic center of the southern sierra, has long been known for a rich intellectual, artistic, and philosophical tradition that matches its colonial architecture.
https://www.facebook.com/mcarthrc/media_set?set=a.10101510479588669.1073741841.7824851&type=3

Day Five:
Cultural week at Escuela Semillita!  In the morning we worked with the children
https://www.facebook.com/mcarthrc/media_set?set=a.10101510515032639.1073741842.7824851&type=3

Video:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10101523663762479&set=vb.7824851&type=2&theater

Day Six:
Cultural week at Escuela Semillita!  In the morning we worked with the children
https://www.facebook.com/mcarthrc/media_set?set=a.10101510533031569.1073741843.7824851&type=3

Day Seven:
Cultural week at Escuela Semillita!  In the morning we worked with the children
https://www.facebook.com/mcarthrc/media_set?set=a.10101510570830819.1073741844.7824851&type=3

Videos:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10101509415790529&set=vb.7824851&type=2&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=496170403820801&set=vb.100002835385003&type=2&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=695208753853219&set=p.695208753853219&type=2&theater

Last Day:
Going home!
https://www.facebook.com/mcarthrc/media_set?set=a.10101510595072239.1073741845.7824851&type=3