The Talon staff sat down with senior Kali Scholle to discuss her mission work in the Dominican Republic, as well as an upcoming internship opportunity through Stitch Ministries.
Q. What inspired you to take your first mission trip to the Dominican Republic?
“I had always wanted to go on a mission trip, and my church back home does family mission trips every year. That year, they had gone to the Dominican, and my mom was like, ‘We’re going to go,’ so I went.”
Q. Describe how you felt the first time you visited the Dominican. How was your heart stirred to service?
“That was my first time out of the country, so I didn’t really know what to expect. It’s very much like a third-world country. It was just amazing to see how much joy these people had, but they had so little. That really moved my heart, seeing how it’s not the things in your life that make you happy, but the people around you.”
Q. What is the main focus of your work over there?
“The organization we partner with down there has a ministry that works with orphanages and schools. Each group is different. If they are really into evangelism, they’ll take them down to communities and evangelize around, or one time we went to a school and taught English. One time, we went to the orphanage and just played with the kids. It’s just a whole focus on kids and how if you shape the kids, they’ll grow into the future, so we pour into them.”
Q. What first piqued your interest in international mission work in general?
“At my church back home, we did outreach. We’d go door to door and evangelize. I got really into that, and they were talking about the importance of taking it internationally, and I did that [during] the first trip. I really saw how people are so receptive out of the country, too.”
Q. What led to you getting the internship this summer and what all will the internship involve?
“The last time I went to the Dominican was in December over Christmas break. I didn’t go with my family then, it was just me and a couple of friends. It was a lot more focused on ministry, and without my family there, it was cool to see how it becomes your own thing instead of your family’s thing. I got really close with a lot of the staff down there and the college students. At the end of the trip, they were like, ‘Hey, we have an internship program. You should totally do it.’ My first reaction of course, was ‘no, I’m about to graduate, that’s not what I do after graduation but thank you.’ After, I just kept praying about it, and that’s where God wants me.”
Q. How have the skills learned at OC prepared you for this internship?
“A couple different ways. First off, being on my own and not at home. That independence, but also going to chapel. The spiritual life here equips you to take it internationally.”
Q. What’s your favorite part about working in the Dominican Republic?
“I love the kids. Playing with them, it’s amazing. I don’t know much Spanish, but they still love you, and they’ll laugh at your mistakes in Spanish. It’s just so cute and fun.”
Q. What is an unexpected challenge you’ve faced with missions?
“The challenge we faced as an American group going down was we planned out the week, how this was going to go, and they don’t do plans. They’re like, ‘If it happens, it’ll happen.’ We went down with our list of what we’re going to do this day at this time, and it rains. So plans completely change.”
Q. What advice would you give someone who is about to go on their first mission trip?
“To go into it completely open and trusting God that he’s going to do huge things on the trip.”
Q. What role will mission work play in your life once you graduate?
“I’m still figuring that out. I’m majoring in accounting right now. After I graduate in May, I’ll go on this two-month internship and then start my accounting job, so we’ll see. I really want to incorporate missions into that and eventually do more nonprofit ministry/accounting-related work.”
Q. Why did you feel called to work specifically in the Dominican Republic?
“Two years ago, when I started thinking about international missions, I was set on Africa. I planned a summer trip there, and that fell through. At the same time was when my mom was like, ‘Oh, I think we’re going to go to the Dominican.’ I was like, ‘Okay, that’s more of like our family trip. Africa’s going to be my thing.’ When the Africa thing fell through, it was like, ‘Okay, Dominican.’ I went into it a little skeptical, like ‘Dominican’s cool, but Africa.’ Then after going, I fell in love with the country so much, and every time, more and more.”
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