Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 2016, Page 148

Description:	~ft JM«E__^_______l V- ■■ k» •_■A_t l__, !;■ s t IOver spring break, many South students traveled to Costa Rica with Sherwood Oaks ChristianChurch and served as mentors to the local children of the La Cumbre community.Stepping off the plane in San Jose,Costa Rica, sophomore Kyle Janiswas left feeling excited and anxiousfor his first mission trip to thiscountry. Janis and his team fromSherwood Oaks Christian Churchspent five days in a camp called LaCumbre, working as campcounselors for 50 sixth graders. LaCumbre is stationed in themountains 8,000 feet above theground and boasts of rope courses,obstacle courses, and large fieldsfor soccer.Members of the team alsospent time teaching the childrenEnglish through biblical stories.Although there was a languagebarrier for Janis, he did not let it getin his way. Janis described hisconnections with the kids as, a lifechanging experience that [he] willnever forget. Senior HarrisonStegemoller joined the teamEvolve148onhis fifth mission trip, hissecond time to Costa Rica.Stegemoller also noted thelanguage barrier as a difficultybetween the visitors and nativeCosta Ricans but he, like Janis, wasable to make strong connectionswith the children through sportsand music. Stegemoller grew closeto his team members whoaccompanied him on the trip andmade several new friends.Freshman Seth Glasscockfollowed in his sisters footstepswhen making the decision to travelto Costa Rica. On the trip, hespecifically enjoyed discovering themany ways of communicating withthe kids by working together toovercome adversity andencouraging one another in groupgames such as volleyball andoctoball. Glasscock appreciatedexperiencing this bond throughcompetition with the childrenregardless of the language barrier.Janis, Stegemoller and Glasscockfaced the most difficulties duringthe trip when saying goodbye to thechildren.The intense relationshipsformed in the short amount of timemade the students hearts ache atthe moment of departure.Stegemoller remembered the tearstained faces of the groupmembers as well as the kids. [Ihad] experienced sad goodbyes,but none like that, Stegemollersaid. Janis and Stegemoller wereable to stay in contact with thechildren through Facebook andGlasscock exchanged his cellphone number with the children.Glasscock said that even if [he]cant communicate with them, theywill always be with [him]. The closeattachments South students madewith the children of La Cumbreadded to the experience of theirmission trip, one they willremember forever.-SHAHZADI UPADHYAY
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/9784
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

Further information on this record can be found at its source.