The Missing Headline

Nathan L. Krause

March 8, 2019

I scanned the newspaper headlines as I sat in the dining area of a beautiful resort in Cancun, Mexico. The front page featured articles about Super Bowl ads, military academies and heart disease rates. There was no headline about a plane crash somewhere between Lima and Cancun, carrying a group of American students returning from a mission trip. The reason for that is simple: it never happened. But it might have. Let me explain.

The reason I found myself at a brand new (third day open) luxurious resort in Cancun is because of a delayed flight from Lima, Peru. Our mission group, comprised mostly of students, staff and parents from Chisholm Trail Academy (CTA) in Keene, Texas, left El Alto, Bolivia, the night before. The next morning we flew to Lima, the first of three fights on our journey home. There, we boarded our next flight – and sat on the tarmac for hours. The captain was concerned about some mechanical problem with the plane. After several hours, he finally announced that he was unwilling to fly the plane we had boarded.

Travel delays are frustrating and although it would result in adding an extra 24 hours to our journey home, I was grateful for the news. I always pray for the aircraft, the crew and the passengers before each flight so I accepted this as God’s will. Of course, this caused us to miss our connecting flight in Cancun so the airline treated us to an overnight stay and meals in a beautiful resort. And, that’s how I found myself reading the newspaper headlines there at breakfast the next morning.

The newspaper also had no headlines about this small band of short-term missionaries. Not even a mention in an obscure article buried on another page. While it may not have made headlines, what this group did was life-changing and made the world a better place. Coordinated by CTA Spanish and Religion Instructor Rosa Briones, with assistance from CTA Vice Principal, History and Religion Instructor Patrick Shepherd and CTA Science Instructor Darlene “Tyke” Connell, twenty-one students, four staff members and six adult volunteers chose to spend their winter break serving on a Maranatha Volunteers International  project to build a church and provide a medical/vision clinic in El Alto, Bolivia.

At 13,615 feet, El Alto is the highest major metropolis in the world, meaning we would have to do our work with the added challenge of adjusting to the low oxygen levels at such a high altitude. With God’s blessings and daily servings of a regional herbal tea, we overcame our altitude sickness and powered through our daily assigned tasks. We divided our group into two teams, each of which served alternatively at the construction site of the new Panaromica Seventh-day Adventist Church and the medical clinic at the Shalom Seventh-day Adventist School, just a couple of miles away.

Construction on the new church began with pouring a concrete foundation. The concrete was mixed on site in small batches which required lots of manpower. Each day, 15-20 individuals sifted and shoveled sand, shoveled gravel, carried cement bags, loaded all materials in the cement mixer, poured wheelbarrows full of concrete and leveled out the surface of the newly forming floor. After several days, the foundation was completed and work on the steel frame structure began. Heavy steel columns were bolted into place at each anchor, followed by the installation of steel roof trusses. The end result of our work was a completed steel building frame ready for another volunteer group to come finish the roof and walls.

The daily medical clinic was headed by Louis Lee, a doctor who traveled form Georgia to join our group, a local Bolivian doctor, and Anna Galvan, a nurse who is also a CTA parent. The vision clinic was directed by Gina Parilla, another CTA parent. Students assisted with interpretation, patient registration and scheduling, testing vision, distributing eyeglasses and dispensing medications. Around 240 patients were treated in the medical clinic and approximately 260 patients were fitted with new eyeglasses. One day while patients waited to be seen, they heard a lecture about cooperating with our Creator to care for our health through wholesome lifestyle choices and natural remedies. On another day, they heard a grace-filled message about their loving Heavenly Father who sent Jesus as their savior because He longs to spend eternity with each one of them.

Some of the students from our team also assisted with a Vacation Bible School that was being conducted simultaneously at the Shalom School. The children, who attended, were treated to fun activities, arts and crafts, singing and, of course, interesting Bible stories to teach them the wonderful Gospel message.

One afternoon was spent visiting an institutional home where troubled youth are rehabilitated from a life of crime, alcohol and drug abuse. It was interesting for our group to interact with these young people and learn about their journey as they not only turn around their own lives, but then prepare to become soul-winners in reaching others for God’s kingdom. The students from our group especially enjoyed the free time to fellowship with the residents on the lawn in the courtyard after our tour.

All of our hard work and activities demanded that we be well-fed with nutritious meals. That need was met by Marisa Ruch, a CTA parent, who was responsible for feeding all of us. We were grateful to her and the teams of rotating student volunteers for providing three delicious meals daily to keep us fueled for all of our work.

No, none of this news about our mission made headlines in any newspaper. But, it is certainly noteworthy when young people choose to give up their winter break time and travel to a distant country to work in serving others – all at their own expense. This was not a tourist excursion, even though there were a couple of days for seeing some sights. Bolivia is a country full of natural beauty – grand Andes mountain peaks, peaceful Lake Titicaca, enchanting Moon Valley and more – but, what we will all remember most is the precious Bolivian people. The experience of giving ourselves to serve others is incomparable. And being received so warmly and appreciated with such genuine gratefulness left an impression on our hearts, reminding us that we find our greatest joy in serving others.

Gisella Puicon and Rachel Sousa agreed, “It felt great knowing that we helped others get closer to God.”

Vicky Yan reported, “It changed my life.”

Ashley McClatchie: “It helped me realize how blessed I am to live in the United States. We take so much for granted.”

Carlos Pasillas: “One of the memories that I have of our mission trip to Bolivia was when we arrived at the airport. Many of the people, who were working with us, who came the night we were leaving were also the same people who had been there to greet us. They showed so much love to us throughout the entire process, and that left me with such a great impression of the Bolivian people, and how grateful they were to have us there.”

Darlene “Tyke” Connell: “I was at the church building site each day and saw how everyone worked well together. The church members, the students, and the sponsors all worked really hard to get our part of the church done. I was impressed with the girls that had the activities for the children that came with their parents to the clinic. It was a blessing added to the clinic. The children really enjoyed those things.”

Patrick Shepherd: “What struck me the most was watching our students and the church family in El Alto come together and work for a common cause. That bond between us, working together not just to build a church but to spread the good news of Jesus together, will be one that has a far-reaching impact on the lives of all of us who were lucky enough to be part of it.”

Rosa Briones: “It’s a blessing to see my students working for the Lord and serving others. Mission trips have the potential to change the life of young boys and girls.”

Click here to view more photos from the trip

A condensed version of this article is featured in the Southwestern Union Record May/June 2019 issue. You can find the publication online at issuu.com/swurecord.