Belize, Thailand, and South Africa receive helping hands from students

Belize%2C+Thailand%2C+and+South+Africa+receive+helping+hands+from+students

Isaia Wilcoxen, Editor-in-Chief

On a mission to lend a helping hand to those in need, students have taken trips around the world in hope of changing lives.

Junior Jesse McCollum went on a mission trip to South Africa during the summer of 2014.

Having little experience with an out-of-country mission, McCollum said he didn’t know what to expect.

“We moved to different cities often, and at one location we had to stay in a hut because the city didn’t have houses with running water.”

Many families in South Africa are homeless and in need of necessities. Providing the families with food and water was one of the many ways McCollum and his church helped.

McCollum said learning the struggles the people of South Africa went through opened his eyes.

Last summer he attended another mission trip to Thailand, a communist country with little tolerance for outsiders.

“We had to sneak Bibles in to give to the kids there. Cars would follow us and it seemed very sketchy and risky, but it was worth the risk,” McCollum said.

McCollum said the main goal for the mission was to reach out to kids and share Jesus with them.

“We would spend time with the kids, cut grass with scissors and fix fences around houses,” McCollum said. “We tried to find every way to physically help them and share Jesus with them.”

Senior Malori Price attended a mission trip to Belize last May.

Her main objective in Belize was to serve the children and share love with them.

“We wanted to plant seeds to every child we encountered and show the love of Jesus to them,” Price said. “We would host vacation Bible schools with the local churches throughout the week and play games and spend time with the kids.”

She said just sharing love can really make a difference.

“There are so many ways to help other people,” Price said. “You can volunteer at homeless shelters, give money to charities, or even just pray for people around you.”