Senior social work major Jordan Parsons works on a facilities improvement project. Sophomore Communication major Ashlyn Helm and senior Social Work major McKenna Kaneversky help with painting for a facilities improvement project at Dace Piedres. Fultz 's team went to Mazatlan, Mexico, for a week-long mission trip . looking back at me and laughing because I haven't gotten on the bicycle yet. "Muy rapido!" I exclaim, pedaling faster to catch up with the little girl on my one-speed bicycle. As she continues to giggle and pedal harder to remain ahead of me, I close my eyes momentarily and take a deep breath, wanting to remember everything about this moment - the gentle breeze, the warm sun, the shade from trees far ahead, the sound of laughter as children play nearby. I think about God's faithfulness and redemption in mending what has been broken. I think about the Spring 2023 true cause of joy - not material possessions but renewed life in Him. Compared with American children I know, these children have nothing. They can't live at home with their families and have most likely experienced abuse, neglect and trauma. Before coming here, they have not had much of a future to look forward to and even afterward, their lives will be harder than most Americans. Yet they are smiling, they greet visitors without judgment, they don't constantly whine and complain like American children I know, they are present and focused on the moment, and they have shown me and my team true and genuine love. "Change me," I pray as I catch up with the little girl on the bicycle. "And show me your will, God ." Before this trip, I never thought about leaving the United States as a possibility. The thought never even crossed my mind . But today I can see it. My future is still wide open . I don't know where the Lord will call me. But today, I realize that I could see myself here forever. Esther Fultz is a junior Social Work major and the Off-Campus Editor for Cedars She enjoys thrifting, writing music, hiking and hanging out with friends. Photographs by Esther Fultz I ()
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