It’s almost hard to imagine how we kept track of all of these students on the annual senior mission trip to Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic, but we did! We were the largest group the Student International Base had ever hosted, and it was noticeable! We filled the chapel, covered the property during morning devos, packed the dining hall, ate a lot of eggs (See Day 3 for the stat!), and had quite the impact on the community!

With so many groups, we were able to experience fourteen different sites during the week including:

Physical Therapy | Health Care | Women’s Social Work | Education | Special Education | Media & Communications | Baseball | Volleyball | Microfinance | Appropriate Technology | Facilities & Maintenance

Each group of students served alongside a long-term missionary through occupational missions. The goal of the week is simple: Legacy seniors can put their Biblically-grounded faith into action as disciples of Christ in a very direct and tangible way. Ultimately, it is a week for our Legacy seniors to be faithful and courageous by leading through Christ-centered service. 

Check out our overview video of the week! Keep scrolling for more pictures and more details about every day of the trip!

“We thought we knew what to expect going into this trip, but we didn’t know just how impactful it was going to be. -Jenna Kane ’25”

Day 1:

We’ve Arrived at Our Home Base in Jarabacoa!

We’ve arrived at the Student International base in Jarabacoa, and believe it or not, a student just shouted, “It’s bedtime! Yay!” at the end of our evening meeting. It’s likely the sentiment of most, but I have to admit, there is an excitement and energy in this group that’s been palpable the whole day despite an early morning and long travel day.

We arrived in Miami with just enough time to grab lunch. Your kid is well fed! We trekked across the Dominican with four buses and all our luggage, lugged our way up the mountains, and pulled into the base right on schedule – 9:00pm (DR time). 

It sounded like each bus had its own character–blaring music, chatty students, a bus full of boys, but our bus was pretty quiet. Students fell asleep as the sun dipped, and conversations were mostly hushed, save a few practice Spanish phrases with each other. 

I saw and heard two things though during the ride:

What I heard: One student shared that the trip didn’t feel real. That she thought if someone pinched her she’d wake up. I am so excited that this isn’t true and that she gets to wake up in the mountains tomorrow and see all that God has for her here in Jarabacoa. 

What I saw: Under the flashlight of a phone, another student was scrambling to journal these precious moments on the bus ride. There is an eagerness with this class of seniors. I am so excited that these students get to hear all that God has for them this week.

May you sleep as well as our students tonight.

Thankful that we are safe and have arrived.

Day 2:

What We are Learning

You’d think these kids didn’t spend the whole day moving and walking, chasing kids and playing volleyball, lifting weights, trying to teach children math (in Spanish), and so much more with how long they have been dancing in the chapel tonight! 

Tonight was Culture Night where our students got a crash course in Jarabacoan culture, ate la bandera (a Jarabacoa staple—rice, beans, and chicken), learned to dance the bachata and merengue, and practiced Jarabacoa non-verbal communication and words.    

There’s been a ton of learning today: the microfinance team made bread at a woman’s home, the maintenance team landscaped what felt like the entire Student International base, physical therapy helped a woman practice walking today, the volleyball team played with the Jarabacoa Varsity team, the community health team was trained in on taking someone’s blood pressure, the appropriate technology team mixed concrete and poured an entire water filter mold, and the list goes on.

As I said, it’s incredible they’ve been dancing for so long. But I think it’s an indication of a key component of this trip. Our seniors are without their phones for a week, and they are completely dialed in. They’re playing cards, exploring the base, doing the Cha-Cha Slide, kicking a soccer ball around, getting a basketball practice in, sitting around a meal and talking with one another, playing Apples to Apples (a group of boys, as I type this), and way more. 

These students are completely present, completely available for one another, and it shows. Sometimes, this is really hard to learn back in the States, but here, it’s easy to learn and see how important it is to be undistracted. 

I promise you, there is more joy because of this. There is more laughter here. And for some crazy reason, there is a whole lot more energy too. 

Buenos noches, parents! Time to watch a passionate–and hilarious—game of Apples to Apples. 

Day 3:

Living in the Big and Small

At breakfast this morning, the Student International cooking staff, led by Rosie, cracked 400 eggs. Our group is actually breaking a record with Student International: we are the largest group that has ever been accommodated at any Student International base. And that’s why we need so many eggs!

We had our first morning chapel, led by Pastor Benjamin (pronounced Ben-ha-MEEN). He spoke about God’s story—the story God has prepared for each student—and Benjamin asked the students to consider if they are living in God’s purpose. Sometimes it feels really big to think like this—overwhelming even. 

But while we spent the morning thinking about the big, I kept noticing the small while visiting the sites. I teared up at Genesis, the special education site (and only special education school in Jarabacoa), when a student with Down Syndrome grabbed the hand of one of our kids and begged to be picked up. I teared up again at a rural education site when one of our boys so carefully helped an elementary student thread a hole with a shoelace because they were practicing fine motor skills as a class. 

What if living in God’s purpose—His story for us—is just a whole bunch of small moments? 

Tonight was an organized worship night where the whole class had the opportunity to paint, journal, pray, sit at a cross, and wash each others’ feet. It was an incredible hour, but twice as sweet were all the small moments afterward. Small groups peeled off. Manske sat with a small group of boys. Klauser prayed with a group of girls. A group of ten stayed behind to worship in a circle with a guitar and the acoustics of the chapel. And a group of senior boys sat quietly in the gazebo with a Bible open and listening ears. 

God is calling our students to live in His purpose through the small moments, and it is so sweet, and so good, and I’m sure if you were me you’d be tearing up too.

P.S. Keep praying for continued energy. So many of our sites are so physical—baseball, volleyball, the maintenance crew, and every education site is running circles around children all day.

Day 4:

There are No Words!

Today, the Media team joined Appropriate Technology to install a water filter at a woman’s home in the Los Higos community. Jarabacoa does not have clean drinking water, but Student International has designed a cement and sand filter. They describe their filters with three words: bueno, bonito, y barato—good, beautiful, and cheap. 

It’s hard to sum up our experience here in words. Today I chased students around during free time (usually from 4:00-6:00 pm when groups return from their sites) asking them to share a word that summarizes their experience thus far or a word that God is showing them. I will let their words speak for themselves:

Acceptance • A reset • Awesome • Beautiful • Bien • Blessed • Community • Confidence • Excitement • Exhilaration • Escuchar • Exceeding expectations • Fellowship • Feliz • Freedom • Genuine • Gratitude • Heartwarming • Humbling • Inspiration • Kindness • Love • Moving • Peaceful • Patience • Prayer • Powerful • Pure joy • Relax • Security • Surrender • Trust

Their words, not mine.

As a note, some students were able to respond to my question immediately. Others paused and looked off in the distance before responding slowly. A few said, “I have to think about it. Can you come back to me?”

Anticipate something similar upon our return. Some might jump at the words they want to share, and others not so much. Reflecting during and after a profound experience is hard work. Be ready to listen—escuchar—as I did today.

¡Buenas noches, padres! Te extrañamos más allá de las palabras.

Day 5:

A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity

We have definitively hit a wall of tiredness here in Jarabacoa! This morning when we spread out for morning devotionals on the base (it’s beautiful—the sun is rising, and it is so peaceful), I noticed that all four pots of coffee were drained by the time I arrived in the Dining Hall!

But this morning time is so important. It recharges our students before they head to their sites. Doing these devotionals on the side of a tropical mountain as the sun rises is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and we feel blessed! Our hope is also for students to see the value of dedicating their tired-self to the Lord in the morning even after this trip is done!

In between tutoring, chasing kids, taking blood pressure readings, painting musical note pipes, building shelves, helping the elderly stretch, playing basketball with the baseball team, playing with kids at recess, editing a video, and more, sites also dedicate some of their time to a few other fun activities: hiking up a mountain, getting nails done in town, stopping for churros and ice cream, spending lunch at La Confluencia (the river), spending time at a Dominican barber shop (our boys are looking very stylish!), and even—the most unique yet—a game of nine-hole golf at a course. These are all once in a lifetime opportunities, and we are feeling blessed. 

Tonight, our students also experienced Student International’s Poverty Simulation that started around the dinner table. Students ate a simplified Dominican meal to simulate a typical meal for a family experiencing poverty (the money saved at Student International because of the simplified meal is donated to feed another family in the community). Then students played a life size game that was akin to Monopoly and the game of Life, but with typical barriers that a family in Jarabacoa might face. It was wild and incredibly memorable!

But most important was the debrief afterwards. Families struggling with poverty are challenged every day to make ends meet, and Student International focuses not only on occupational missions to meet the basic needs of the community, but they focus on spiritual poverty, too. Broken relationships are at the center of poverty, and Jesus is the solution. 

So, we are tired, but we are also feeling quite blessed because of this once in a lifetime opportunity. And for that, we are thankful.  

P.S. As the week winds down, our students are starting to say good-bye to the people from their sites. This is incredibly emotional. I watched several students tear up today while talking about the emotional good-byes. Please pray for energy, deep sleep, and comfort for our sad hearts!

Blessings.

Day 6:

The People that have Led Us

Tonight we said adios to our site leaders, the missionaries that will return to work on Monday as a doctor, a nurse, a coach, a teacher, in Jarabacoa. I am not exaggerating when I share that I watched one of our boys crying (sobbing even) in the arms of his site leader. So many of our girls did, too.

And let me tell you why. 

These missionaries have poured their heart and soul into our kids (not to mention the people of Jarabacoa). Your child was mentored by a missionary for a week—let that sit with you for a second. They came for breakfast, led at their site, and stayed for dinner back at Base. They helped facilitate Worship Night, Culture Night, and the Poverty Simulation. They invited us into their homes and their lives during Dinner in the Community. Nothing compares to the intentional relationships they built during the week with your child. It was so powerful to witness. 

Today, most of our sites had an excursion of some sort. Many groups hiked to the Dominican’s largest waterfall and swam in the river with their leader. The Media team was one of many Legacy groups at a local pizza joint for lunch. It was a wonderful day of debriefing with our leaders and reflecting on the week. 

But my favorite moment of the day came in an overheard conversation with Profe (Erin Lindberg). The student asked quietly, “Profe, how do you say, Can I pray for you in Spanish?” 

Profe responded, and the student carefully repeated the phrase—¿Puedo orar por ti? I couldn’t help but smile. She wanted to pray for her site leader before saying good-bye.

Our students loved their site leaders this week. They are people that we will never forget.

Nos vemos pronto.

Day 7:

See You Soon!

Today was a full day—hiking to a waterfall, whitewater rafting, shopping in town, dinner at Bon Sabor, a final chapel session from Jake, and then a night for our students to take time as a class. 

Time this week has flown by! Despite the slow pace of Dominican culture, this week has been so full, but I promise our students are so excited to see you all! 

Our travel day tomorrow is going to be long, so please pray for energy, grace for one another, and safety. We will leave the Base at 9:00 am, travel across the country on a four hour bus ride to Santo Domingo airport, fly to Miami, have a layover, and then we board our final flight!

We are flying American Airlines again, and our flight from Miami is AA0458. We are landing at 12:12 am!

We’ll be the big group at baggage claim with big smiles, sleepy faces, and a whole lot of stories to tell in the coming days.

We cannot wait to see you!