Every spring break, a local church, Edmond Church of Christ, and their college ministry host a mission trip in McAllen, Texas. This trip lasts one week and those who attend spend time doing work projects in the community as well as hosting a children’s Vacation Bible School. The Talon sat down with two students from Oklahoma Christian University and interviewed them about their experiences from the mission trip.
Lani Saylor, a freshman studying biochemistry, attended the mission trip for the first time this year. She heard about the trip through her older sister, who had previously attended and was planning to return.
“My sister is really involved with [Edmond Church of Christ], and so she said that it was going to be really impactful. She was like, ‘Lani, if you go on this mission trip, you will get closer to so many people, and you’re gonna learn a lot about God and the culture down there and things like that,’” Saylor said.
Although the trip has many components and activities, the main focus is repairing or adding onto homes for the local congregation. There can be over 10 projects worked on and completed by students and volunteers on the trip. Painting by far is the most common activity, and volunteers are told to pack accordingly.
“Well, I painted a yellow house. There was lots of painting,” Saylor said.
Haley Dacus, a sophomore studying mechanical engineering, has attended the trip for the past three years. The experience only gets better, she explained.
“You always look forward to it more. You know what to expect, and so you know kind of what the plan is. You’re not just lost the whole time. You know, I need to spend this amount of time with these people and this time with those people and stuff like that,” Dacus said.
Some of her favorite highlights from the trip were kitchen duty.
“During the day we have our work projects, and in the past I’ve done VBS, and I’ve helped out in the kitchen back at the camp, and I have to say that helping out in the kitchen is probably my favorite. It’s just such a fun environment with all the ladies there, just hilarious, and they’re always having a good time,” Dacus said.
A holding tradition on the trip is for college students to host an acapella performance of their Spring Sing shows from earlier in the semester. The result is usually full of laughter, because there is often only one student from a club to represent the show.
“I enjoy Spring Sing on the trip because we do it completely acapella and you just have to hope enough of your club is there,” Dacus said.
Every day on the McAllen mission trip ends in worship. For Saylor, she said it was one of the sweetest ways to see God throughout the whole week.
“Community is the word I would describe it with, because every night we sat in a circle, and then we did our worship, singing songs, and then a senior would get up and do his little Devo…then we went around, like popcorn, and whoever wanted to could share something about how they saw God through that day or shout out someone who did something really awesome. So I feel like that was a really good way to include people and bring them together,” Saylor said.
“I already have been one to see God in like the little things, but even the shout-outs and things like that have made me realize even more and notice other things too. They’ll say, ‘Oh, I saw God through this,’ and I hadn’t thought about that before, God working in that way and things like that,” Saylor said.
Although the mission trip is mainly intended for college students, members of all ages from Edmond Church of Christ are welcome to participate; members of the youth group attend, as well as some families. A surprise for Saylor came on the trip in the form of an old friend from over a decade ago.
“I actually got to reconnect with my friend who I haven’t seen in eleven years. She’s going to Harding next year, and she’s a senior in high school. She used to go to my church when we were like six, and so we used to hang out and have fun at church. They moved away to Edmond, and I literally never saw her again until this last week,” Saylor said.
Deciding how to spend spring break can be a competitive choice for college students. For Saylor and Dacus, the mission trip was a wonderful opportunity and experience all students should experience at least once, they explained.
“Definitely go, because I even got to connect with a few people from the youth group. And maybe some of it is because I’m their age, but they’re also just really sweet and just like random good people to have. And then you can also get super close with the fellow college people… I didn’t even know this girl Reagan, but she is so sweet. I just felt so welcomed by her,” Saylor said.
“It’s worth at least going once to see if you like it, because it’s better to go and decide maybe you don’t want to go the next year than not go and regret it later on,” Dacus said.
Some short pieces of advice from Saylor and Dacus:
“If you sign up for the spades tournament, be prepared to stay up until 3 a.m. Yeah, it’s going to be a long time if you join the spades tournament,” Dacus said.
“Definitely make sure you pack enough shirts,” Saylor said.
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