Category: International Trips

Guatemala – Day 3 Update

Monday morning our team woke up with anticipation for our first treatment day here in Guatemala.  We were looking forward to discovering the ways that we can both bless and be blessed by our encounters with the workers at the coffee plantation, as well as at Keramion.  We were split into two groups, the first consisted of nursing, pharmacy, and nurse practitioners.  This group headed out to the coffee plantation.  Their mission was to focus on assessing and treating workers from multiple coffee plantations. Our group was given a tour that demonstrated the intense process involved in harvesting, processing and packaging each bag of coffee that is made.  It was extremely insightful at how much time, effort and physical work involved in getting one cup of coffee.  Afterward, stations were set up to monitor each individual’s blood pressure, blood sugar levels, height, and weight. Based on those findings, the workers were then directed to either the pharmacy or nurse practitioner students for further health assessments and possible medication administration and education.  The day was fast paced, and Belmont students and staff were able to see over 130 workers!  This is likely the highest number of workers seen by Belmont on Mission in Guatemala in a single day.

Highlights of the day include a nurse practitioner removing a significant ear wax impaction, which led to him reporting significantly improved hearing afterward.  Other workers needed compassion not only in terms of their health assessments, but also in terms of the significant traumas many have experienced in the area.  One woman, in particular, lost her son due to cancer approximately two months ago.  The emotional trauma of her son passing made it difficult for her to focus on her health.  She was overcome with emotion just relaying this story to one of our students and really needed someone to listen to her story.  The Belmont team was able to identify her high blood sugar level and recommend her to follow up with her doctor.  The end of this first day left each student feeling proud of the work they accomplished, but also humbled at how hospitable and genuinely happy the Guatemalan people are.

Occupational therapy, music therapy, and physical therapy students traveled to a day program dedicated to children up to 21 years of age who have disabilities. This facility is truly a miracle, and a blessing to experience.  Gricelda, and her husband Eric, along with their adult children run Keramion.  Gricelda was able to tell the students her story about how she was led to serve this population.  She experienced more than one serious health condition, and during that time she felt God gave her the vision of Keramion.  The interpreter, Betty, was so helpful during the day today to relay information between Gricelda, her family, the children and our students.  Everyone was involved in the success of this day, including Keramion’s teacher Elvis, and our driver, Jose.  The students were able to observe and assess each child today to determine their recommendations that they will educate the staff on and implement on Wednesday.  Highlights of this group’s day included one little boy who was mesmerized by Melia’s guitar playing.  This was a great opportunity for our music therapy student to shine.  Another was a little girl who loved to lead the therapists in exercise and gave each student a kiss on the cheek when it was time to leave.  Overall, today was a wonderful first day and we are all looking forward to seeing the blessings the rest of this week has in store for us.

Marissa, Caleb, & Micah

Guatemala – Days 1-2 Update

Mission to Guatemala, Day 1-2

Day 1:

We arrived early at the airport at 4:15am excited and ready for our trip to Guatemala! We got to our terminal and bonded while waiting for our flight. There was a delay in Nashville due to lightning in the area so we continued to chat and get to know each other while waiting. Our connecting flight was in Houston, TX and we had a quick bathroom break before boarding our flight to Guatemala. Once we arrived, we made our way through customs, picked up our team bags, and waited in line for our random immigration screening. Our vans were waiting for us, we piled suitcases into one van and we piled into the other two vans. We took in the sites of Guatemala City and the surrounding areas on our 1.5 hour ride to Antigua. About 15 minutes out of Antigua, we stopped at a grocery store where we split into teams of 4-5 people to pick up groceries and goodies for the week. This was an interesting experience because everything was in Spanish and cultural customs surrounding foods were very different. For example, eggs are not refrigerated and are kept on the shelves. We hopped back into our very full vans and heading to our lodging in Antigua.

Once we arrived at our house, we excitedly ran in and explored our beautiful homes for the next week! There are amazing homes with stunning views from the rooftop terraces. We are surrounded by volcanoes and mountains with 360 degree views. The architecture is exquisite throughout our gated community. It looks like every home is different and unique in its own way. We walked straight to dinner on the cobblestone streets of Antigua. We ate at Monoloco and ate nachos as big as our head! With full bellies and newly made friends, we headed off to bed!

Sawyer & Mallory

Day 2:

We woke up on our own time and sat on our various porches located throughout the houses to sip on coffee. Some enjoyed the views of Agua, Fuego, Atitlán, and Acatenango volcanoes from the rooftop. At 10am, we met as a team for a devotion and information session. Pablo shared a heartfelt story about the recent volcano explosion in 2018 and told us about the people we will be serving this week. He discussed his personal story on how he wanted to serve others and how he began his relationship with Belmont University. A teammate shared a personal story with his intentions for the day and week. We prayed as a group and another student led us in worship. We made a plan to pick up items from the pharmacy and other students headed to sightsee and shop Antigua. The pharmacy students needed supplies that the storefront didn’t have and the pharmacy actually sent someone over from another location with the needed supplies. This goes to show how much they value hard work and hospitality! A group that visited the Templo y Convento de Capuchinas learned that at one time Central America was one country and Antigua was the capital. They enjoyed the vastness of the convent, even though it is considered ruins. Other groups explored the square and marketplace to do some souvenir shopping and exploring. Many groups ran into a procession for the Stations of the Cross. This is put on by a local church every Sunday leading up to Easter. They had a full band, costumes, purple robes and hoods, burned frankincense, and 30+ men carrying a large, heavy float that depicted Jesus carrying the cross.

We ate lunch on our own and made it back to the house to take a team picture before dinner. When walking to dinner, we met a random man that recognized our Belmont t-shirts and asked about Julia the golfer from Belmont – shout out to Julia, if you’re out there! We ate at San Martin and had pastas, pizzas, and sandwiches for dinner. One of our interpreters for the week, Betty, met us at dinner and we all bonded over our experiences from the day. After dinner, we walked back and discussed our plans for tomorrow. The OT/PT/MT team will be heading to Keramion tomorrow to see the school, assess the children, and educate the staff. The nursing and pharmacy team will be heading to a brand new coffee plantation to screen and educate the plantation workers. We all unpacked and organized our supplies needed for tomorrow and prepped for our busy day tomorrow. We finally crawled into bed with our hearts and minds ready to help and learn from the people we will meet tomorrow.

Sawyer & Mallory

 

Student Take: Hillary Barry

Today, Hillary is sharing about her anticipation in serving with the College of Health Sciences over spring break. We are excited for you to hear Hillary’s  take on preparing to go on Mission with Belmont!

“Over spring break, a multidisciplinary team full of faculty, undergraduate and graduate students from Belmont will be traveling to Antigua, Guatemala. I am getting the privilege to participate in the hopes of seeing the hearts and joy of the Guatemalan people and honing my own nursing skills through patient centered care.

Throughout our trip, we will immerse ourselves into the culture of the Central American country where we will spend 4 “work days” treating the Guatemalan people using our nursing, pharmacology, occupational therapy, music therapy, and interpreting skills. We will be promoting health, safety, and wholesome lifestyles by assessing and educating a wide population of the Guatemalan people.

Upon reflecting on my anticipatory feelings about the trip, I am looking forward to meeting the Guatemalan people and seeing the gifts and talents within my team. I am looking forward to seeing how each person’s specialty and love for Jesus will be utilized in a way that will truly bring value to patient health by enabling a wholistic approach.

This trip and this team is a gift from Jesus but the biggest gift of all is to simply be reminded that are lives are not about us, but about how we can best serve God’s people.”

If you have any questions for Hillary or about Belmont on Mission, CHS Missions or any of the upcoming trips, please reach out!

Trip Spotlight: CHS Guatemala and CoffeeMed

In addition to the immersion and international Belmont on Mission trips over spring break, many colleges within Belmont hold discipline specific trips. The College of Health Sciences routinely runs international trips to conduct health screenings for the people they serve. Over the past few springs, CHS has travelled to Guatemala to serve in this way.

In March, students and faculty in nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, and social work will be travelling to Antigua, Guatemala to provide some basic health care to the workers on Guatemalan coffee plantations. Students and leaders will provide health screenings, patient teaching programs, and medicines and vitamins to the citizens in Antigua. In providing this vitally important aid, the plantation workers are reminded of their humanity in the midst of less than ideal working conditions.

Students are expected to raise the funds to pay for this trip via the CoffeeMed program. The CoffeeMed program is a really important interdisciplinary partnership that enables interaction between the commercial coffee industry and the healthcare industry. Students sell coffee from Kafes Guatemals in their local communities to fund the trip, which covers the cost of medical supplies and more. Here is a video of Belmont student’s involvement with CoffeeMed from March 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OePGDG4wZA

If you have any questions about upcoming mission trips, or the CHS Guatemala mission, please reach out!

Student Take: Tiffanie Bohrer

The author Marianne Wilson once said, “Success means we go to sleep ay might knowing that our talents and abilities were used in a way that served others.”  Today, Tiffanie Bohrer shares with us her experience serving, and how her talents and abilities have been used and can be used on the mission field.  Tiffanie has great insight into the power that a short term mission has to pull you a little further out of your comfort zone, which ultimately stretches and grows your threshold for service, understanding, and empathy.  We are so excited for you to read Tiffanie’s take on serving the Kingdom!

“I am so very excited to serve with Belmont and Praying Pelican Missions this spring break! This past October, I went with Belmont to Memphis, TN for a weekend service trip called Plunge, and I am so ready to take my experience serving with Belmont  on Mission outside of the country. This trip is going to be different for me, being a freshman, because I am one of the younger participants. This gives me the opportunity to learn from older students. I also don’t know anyone on the trip very well so it is going to be a great experience with a brand-new community of people. Praying Pelican Missions does an amazing job of setting up short-term mission trips for teams just like ours. They work with a church and ask them what they need help with. That is where we come in. We get to be the hands and feet of Jesus by serving those in need in the Dominican Republic.

I have been on two other international mission trips to El Salvador and Jamaica, and I am excited to see how this one will differ from those two. Each of those trips were different in the sense that what we were doing for the community was vastly different because of how the communities operated. In El Salvador, we helped build two houses for two families. In Jamaica, we ran a Vacation Bible School and did more outreach-based activities with the local church in addition to doing various small labor projects. In Jamaica, I was stretched more than ever as I gave my testimony on the street to passersby’s.  I, then, was pushed even more as I was asked to give a message during the church service on Sunday morning. I learned about the country and the culture, but I also learned more about myself and the gifts the Lord has given. Going on a mission trip is a great way to put those gifts to use. The Lord calls us to be a light to those who need light and to spread the good news. I am so excited to do this in a place where I have never been to before.

I chose to go on this trip because I haven’t done an international serving trip in a few years, and I missed learning about different cultures. The Dominican Republic is a country where I have never been.  I am very excited to experience their ways of doing life and to serve them in any way they need possible. Mission trips are a great way to go out of your comfort zone and step into a place that is unknown while you act as an example of Jesus to those around you. You can serve in any capacity and anywhere in the world, but I am so excited to take it a step further and travel a bit farther to spread love and bring my own gifts to a place where I can effectively help.”

If you have any questions about the Dominican Republic mission with Praying Pelican Missions or any upcoming mission trips in general, please reach out!

Host Partner Spotlight: Praying Pelican Missions

Each spring, Belmont students travel with Belmont on Mission all over the world to serve the Kingdom of God. While some teams stay in the United States to serve more locally, many teams travel abroad. In doing this, it is really important that groups partner with organizations that are well established in that area because those organizations know the context that students will be stepping into. In doing this, Belmont students are able to effectively serve and have a lasting impact.

This march, a group of students will be traveling to the Dominican Republic to serve with Praying Pelican Missions. Praying Pelican Missions connects the local church on a global level through short-term mission trips. Praying Pelican Missions acts as a catalyst for groups who wish to serve. They organize groups to work directly alongside local ministries where they can work to meet the real needs of the community. Praying Pelican Missions has the goals of genuine, long-term impact in healthy short-term mission trips. This is achieved through genuine partnerships, long-term relationships, and sustainable ministry.

In just over a month students will be in the Dominican Republic beginning their ministry. Students will do a variety of service projects with many different organizations in the community. If you have any questions about Praying Pelican Missions, or any upcoming International trips, please reach out!

Student Take: Elania Trimble

Today on the blog, we asked Elania to write about her experience in serving with Casas por Cristo, and how her time serving in the past has influenced her decision to serve with Belmont on Mission!  Here is Elania’s take on serving God by building the Kingdom!

“I have had the fortunate opportunity to not only work with Casas Por Cristo once but twice. I traveled to Acuña, Mexico in July 2016 and again in March 2017. My first time going, I was very nervous because I had no idea what to expect, and I had never gone out of the country for a mission trip before.

The first thing I noticed about Acuña was how small and brightly colored everything is. We met with Scott Dewitt, who was our trip leader and the Acuña field director. He told us a little bit about what to expect in the coming week. I honestly had no idea how a high school youth group was going to successfully build a house in only four days, but we were reassured that it could be done, and we were going to do it.

Our job site was in the middle of town and there was barely any room to move around, much less freely build a house. We had to build a lot of the parts in the middle of the street. It was the hardest work I’ve ever done in my life. Scott and his intern Alyssa took us step by step and by the end of day four we had a completely brand-new house. The most rewarding part of the trip was all the wonderful people I got to meet. The family we were building the house for had been living in one tiny house together. There were at least 10 people living there, and they were the nicest people I’ve ever met. I got to meet so many children from around town because they would all come visit us on the job site. They were so sweet and loved to help us out. We ended the trip with a little ceremony, during which we presented the house to the family.

Working with Casas Por Cristo was the most humbling and rewarding experience I’ve ever had. It made me realize how much we all take for granted in our comfortable and safe lives. The people who live there work so hard and get the bare minimum in return. They are so grateful for every little blessing in their lives and are the most kind-hearted people. The language barrier was not even an issue and didn’t stop me or anyone from connecting with the wonderful people of Acuña. When I saw that Belmont had a mission with Casas Por Cristo is was the easiest and fastest decision I’ve ever made. I am so excited to be going back to Acuña and can’t wait to make more lasting memories with Belmont on Mission over spring break!”

If you have any questions about Elania’s experience, Belmont on Mission, or upcoming Immersion, International, or Plunge trips, please reach out!

Host Partner Spotlight: Casas por Cristo

Over spring break, many Belmont students spend a week serving with Belmont on Mission. Groups of Belmont students travel to numerous locations both in the United States and abroad. International trips are a chance to be immersed in a local culture outside the U.S., grow in understanding of the cares and concerns of those communities, and promote fellowship and mutuality in your interactions with others. In other words, while there are opportunities to serve and complete projects, the emphasis is on learning and relationship.

This spring, a group of students will travel to Acuña, MX to partner with Casas por Cristo in the mission of building a house for a family who needs to be reminded of God’s love for them. For over 25 years, Casas por Cristo has been fulfilling their mission of building and serving the kingdom of God; there are now over 5,000 CPC homes in the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, and soon Nicaragua.

During their time in Acuña, students will be building the Kingdom of God in more ways than one. Casas por Cristo seeks to build homes, relationships, and opportunities for growth. In striving to build the Kingdom, CPC cultivates opportunities for growth in structured experiences. Through these structured experiences, CPC builds relationships between people who, otherwise, would never have met.

The service that Casas por Cristo provides to so many communities is amazing. Through the building process, there are unique opportunities presented to us by God to serve each other. CPC’s guiding statement is as follows: “We are dedicated to meeting the physical need of better housing as a ways of also meeting the spiritual need for Jesus Christ.”

Belmont on Mission is so excited to be partnering with such a wonderful organization. If you have any questions about upcoming mission trips or Belmont on Mission in general, please reach out!