Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 2015, Page 151

Description:	You go into a trip like that witha mindset that you will makea huge impact when the hugeimpact was actually madeon you.- senior Brenda PerezInlkkJMiWWhile some students were hitting the beaches, others were serving on mission trips in Costa Rica and Guatemala.They boarded the plane andbraced themselves for theweek. The challenges werelaid out for them - language,culture, and the hope ofmaking an impact.Like many BloomingtonHigh School South students,sophomore Rylee Glasscockand junior HarrisonStegemoller were headedsomewhere warmer for springbreak. Not exactly the Floridianbeach, Costa Rica was theirfinal destination with acommon goal of fulfilling themission Sherwood OaksChristian Church had chargedthem with.Glasscock andStegemoller were able to fit insome sightseeing in San Jose,but the reason for their triphad to do with the families.They visited three differentfamilies while in Costa Rica.The last three days of their tripwere spent in La Cumbre, arecreational camp in themountains. While they werethere, Glasscock andStegemoller mentored 70 sixthgraders through high ropescourses and ziplines throughthe forest.For Glasscock, one ofthe most memorable thingswas getting to formrelationships with the kids andloving on them while doingsome of the simplest things.The challenges she anticipatedwere entirely surmountable.Language was a little bit of abarrier, Glasscock said.However, it was amazing tosee all of the lives we had animpact on. Although thiswasnt his first time going on amission trip, Stegemoller saidit was the best group ofpeople I have been with onany of my trips.The week ended on abittersweet note. Stegemollerfound it especially difficult tosay goodbye to a young girlnamed Valentina. Shebecame like a sister to me,Stegemoller said. As the groupbegan to leave, Valentina criedas she ran to say goodbye. Igave her the hat I wore theentire trip to remember meby, Stegemoller said.Glasscock andStegemoller were not alone intheir mission-driven springbreak. Sophomore AvaVickers and senior BrendaPerez traveled to Guatemalawith another Sherwood Oaksgroup. While there, theycompleted some carpentryand repainted two houses.They also spent a significantamount of time withGuatemalan children. Wealways played soccer or someother games that I didntunderstand because they wereexplained in Spanish, Vickerssaid.For Vickers and Perez,the week altered both of theirlife perspectives. Thesechildren didnt have very manymaterial possessions, but wereall so happy and acted as ifthey were a family, Vickerssaid. Perez was caught off-guard by the impactfulexperience. You go into a triplike that with a mindset thatyou will make a huge impactwhen the huge impact wasactually made on you, Perezsaid. Its a sweet experience,and I wish everyone would beable to have this opportunity.- REBEKAH DORSETT■ISTUDENT LIFE 151
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/8984
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

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