A Place to Meet Jesus: Students Serve During Mission Trip to Arizona

After dust storms, construction, and more than 40 hoursof driving, a group from Pacific Union College can say that they experienced aunique, service-focused spring break. Eschewing the typical college studenttrips home or to the beach, this group of students spent ten days, March 21-31, working with a small church in the Navajo heartland.

Sixteen students and one staff member from Pacific UnionCollege spent their spring break in Chinle, Ariz., in the center of a Navajoreservation. The group was invited to by Pastor Dale Wolcott of the ChinleSeventh-day Adventist Church, and focused their efforts on installing a new roofon the church. The group’s efforts, declared a blessing by Pastor Wolcott, helpthe church keep its long-term commitment to the local community.

Along with providing laborers, PUC was also able todonate $3,000 to the project. With the help of Al, a roofer from Michigan whosupervised the project, a large portion of the work on the church wascompleted. Despite high winds and a heavy dust storm in Chinle, the group wasable to remove the old, damaged roof and begin installing a new metal roof thatwill last for years to come and give many people a place to become acquaintedwith Jesus.

In addition to working on the roof of the church, thegroup also assisted the local school, located on the church property, withclasses and a week of prayer program. The school has only eight students and isstaffed by one teacher and one volunteer. The PUC students helped out at theschool by preparing hot lunch, providing day care services for the teacher, leadingphysical education classes, and coordinating a week of prayer program.Additionally, the students at the Chinle Seventh-day Adventist School were ableto learn about the countries of South Korea, Haiti, Ecuador, and Colombia from theculturally diverse group of PUC students, which had members who grew up in eachof these countries.

Long hours of work and even longer hours of travelingleft the group exhausted but happy at the close of the trip. A concludinghighlight was a detour the group made to the Grand Canyon on the drive back to PUC’sAngwin, Calif., campus. After a tough week of working in the sun, sleeping onthe ground, and interacting with those they had come to serve, the groupreflected on the ways they had been blessed by their unconventional spring breakwhile overlooking the majestic formation of rocks around the Colorado River.