Megaphone
Some college students venture off to exciting places like Florida for Mid-term Break. Others head home to spend time with their families. However, one group of Culver-Stockton College studentes decided to spend their break performing work for a community on the East Coast instead.
Sixteen students and two faculty sponsors from the Christian Fellowship Group spent their break in Hayesville, N.C., working with the Hinton Rural Life Center performing repair work on houses for the less fortunate.
At the first work site, some students performed tasks such as repairing the foundation of a rotted floor and putting in a free-standing floor with its own foundation in two seperate rooms. Another group did things such as laying linoleum floors, painting a room and diggin a drainage ditch.
Both of the faculty sponsors were glad to be part of the trip. Steve Monhollen, chaplain of the college, greatly enjoyed his role as a sponsor.
"I thought the trip was well-organized, and the students' responses were so good that it was a joy to be a sponsor," Monhollen said. "I valued seeing the way students were open to learning things about themselves and others in such a place."
The other faculty sponsor was Kim Bogust, assistant director of residence life. her experience as a sponsor was also rewarding.
"I really enjoyed it. The best thing was that I got a chance to get to know a larger group of students who I don't usually interact with and had the opportunity to work with them," Bogust said.
The student organizer of the trip was senor Emily See. See was pleaseed with the group of students who went on the trip.
"I was happy with our group of people. We had a fantastic group of students and sponsors. We had many opportunities to let our different talents show through," See said.
Several of the students also gained positive experiences from the trip.
"For me, the trip was everything I expected it to be. The break from school was very valuable, but it felt great to know we were helping to make life easier for those we helped," sophomore Jared Hathaway said.
A few students also developed a real sense of closeness with others in the group.
"It was a diverse group, so it was a wonderful bonding experience among all who went," senior Teresa Clark said.
One of the main components of a mission trip is to be able to give of yourself to those in need. Junior Andre Spear said that he was glad he was able to contribute to a community in need.
"Overall, the experience was positive. I was able to help the less fortunate and to be able to use my abilities for something more than myself," Spear said.
Even though members of the group worked hard, they were also able to have some free time. This included riding the Chattanooga Choo-Choo in Chattanooga, Tenn., during a brief stop. They were also able to see some of the country's largets trees, visit a beautiful waterfall and go folk dancing. This break was welcome after days of work.
The CFG Mid-term Break mission trip was a huge success and a life chaning experience for those involved.
