Cedars, March 2018

March 2018 9 COVER STORY return, which led to the principal finding hers. “I could see her thinking a lot, so with fear, I asked her if she believed in Jesus,” Shemelia said. “She got tears in her eyes and said with certainty: ‘Yes.’ This moment was so humbling to see God using the team to share Christ not only with children, but those who care for them.” Besides seeing God work through the VBS, the students also helped the local church they were partnering with. For two of the days, the group split up to reach out to more people, with half dedicated to working at a local middle school, and the other re- painting a church. The students also volunteered with the church to hand out over 200 Christmas box- es at daycares and community centers. One day of the trip included outreach at a local teen jail. Students performed a skit to Casting Crowns’ “Set Me Free” in front of over 40 residents. The skit symbolized sin’s ability to bind us in chains that can only be broken by Jesus. Then, Gonzalez’s father shared his tes- timony. Students said the men seemed very receptive to both the skit and the message. “[Visiting the jail] was different than what we planned for,” Gonzalez said. “But God still used it in big ways. ” Not only did the students see God at work in what they were doing in the com- munity, but they had the privilege of being reminded of God’s work in themselves. “My host’s testimony stuck out to me because she said, ‘God will teach you how to love again,’” Wade said. “I had a pretty rough year with death in the family, and I was encouraged to have hope in the Lord. It doesn’t mean [my struggles] can hold me back from the future God has for me.” When their plane was delayed at aMiami airport, the students didn’t stop their ministry even though they had already left Ecuador. “We began to sing worship songs [while we waited] and could feel all the stress melting away from the oth- er passengers. We had a bunch even come up and thank us. They had also been irritated, and it showed we were able to impact people even when our trip was over.” Though the team agreed the trip was beneficial, the one regret Gonzalez had was time. “I wish it was longer,” Gonzalez said. “There is always a chance to do more, al- though we did do a lot, but you always leave wanting to do more or spend more time with the people, go to a place more than once and build relationships.” Even so, Gonzalez said she was still ex- cited with how the trip turned out. “I had a great team that worked very well together,” she said. “Although we didn’t know each other beforehand, we learned to serve together, which was a huge blessing.” In the span of just nine days, the stu- dents were able to impact others and them- selves through spreading the gospel. Advice received prior to the trip from Southgate Baptist pastor Bobby Hile stayed with Casaletto, shaping her experience. “He said don’t go to learn something or get something out of it because that will happen regardless,” Casaletto said. “In- stead, he said that we need to go down there to impact people and be a blessing to them ... being able to keep that in mind really changed a lot of my reasons and attitudes for doing stuff.” Casaletto said that what she did not expect was to impact her own host through answering a prayer by both student and host, that neither knew was made. “When we were finishing our first morning run, [the pastor’s wife] told me that before our team had come she had been praying that there would be someone athlet- ic on our team that she could run with,” Ca- saletto said. “I was an answer to that prayer ... and she was an answer to mine.” Whether it was the gift of a running partner, or the salvation of a principal, the work of God was visible through the rela- tionships formed during the trip. “It was a huge reminder of God’s faith- fulness,” Shemelia said. “To be able to wit- ness God moving in lives of so many was humbling. I am honored that God chose our team to impact others ... and grateful he al- lowed be to see just how much He can work through us if we are willing to serve.” Brianna Saucier is a freshman English ma- jor and Campus reporter for Cedars. She en- joys soccer, photography, and Army ROTC. Photo provided by Alyssa Cody Evangeline Wismer delivers Operation Christmas Child boxes. During their trip to Ecuador, the students partnered with Samaritan’s Purse to hand out OCC boxes at local daycares and community centers.