Following Article and Pictures provided by the Crossing School in Frankfort:
FRANKFORT, Indiana — Crossing School of Business & Entrepreneurship teacher Zach Golden had two main things he wanted the eight students from the school’s Frankfort campus to bring back with them from their spring break trip to El Salvador in late March with The People Helping People Network.
No, not souvenirs, suntans or a few more Spanish words in their vocabularies — but an understanding of what joy is all about and a sense of gratitude for everything they have in their American communities.
“I think that goal was achieved,” Golden said of the trip that included visits to slums, new housing communities, medical facilities, a senior-care home, an orphanage, King’s Castle Ministries and more. It was a visit that presented third-world life in a way no book could illustrate.
“Even where we are, we see poverty, but our level of poverty is not the same as when you go to a third-world country,” he said. “Our worst days, our bad days, our storms, our struggles don’t compare to the struggles that people face in a third-world country.”
And, yet, everywhere they visited, there was joy.
“God provides in ways we take for granted here,” Golden said.
Campus Administrator Marissa Mills, who joined the trip, was impressed with the relational focus of The People Helping People Network and the human touch.
“Everything we did was about people,” she said. “We went from one location to the next where we could just hug people, talk to people and encourage people. For me, that was very impactful. Love is a language, and we were able to connect in that way. I really enjoyed being able to pray in different spots. I don’t feel like we do that in the United States very well.”
The third administrator on the trip, teacher Angel Dickerson, noted that the students were so moved during the trip that they are now using the campus’ student run snack bar — The Sweet Stop — to raise money for the senior home they visited, a church-run site with very few resources.
(Those resources have been greatly supplemented since the trip thanks to funding from The People Helping People Network. After the photo gallery at the end of this story, see the list of supplies that have now been delivered to the Giusseppe Angelucci en Zaragoza Home for the Elderly.)
Senior Kylie Field was particularly struck by the living conditions of some of the youth in El Salvador, including many much younger than her.
“Those were things that I’d never imagined seeing,” she said. “I can’t imagine my friends or family living like that. It was an awakening for me. It made me have a lot more gratitude and be more thankful.”
One of her most perspective-altering memories was at an orphanage when Mr. Golden used a English-to-Spanish translation app to talk to an 11-year-old boy. He asked the boy what he would want if he could have anything in the world. He replied that he would ask God to remove evil.
“When I was an 11-year-old girl, I never would have said that,” added Field, who said she is more determined than ever to share her faith.
“When I first got back, it was real hard on me because a lot of the people around here in Indiana, they didn’t understand what I saw, and trying to communicate it was really hard,” she said. “I just wanted to spread the word about God so much. It was hard because a lot of my family isn’t like me, and some of my friends don’t know who God is. So, any chance I get I’m talking about God, and the old me didn’t used to do that.”
Sophomore Kianna Golden was amazed by the love that was shown to them by the Salvadoran people.
“The lovingness from everybody is not like it is here in America,” she said. “I was surprised to see how many people believed in Jesus and had a relationship with Him. It was just nice to be with people there. It felt good.”
Like Field, she experienced a faith boost.
“The thing that has changed the most is my faith,” she said of the weeks since the trip. “I feel like I should be a lot more grateful for things, and I feel like I should be less selfish and love on people more.”
Senior Jaden Ball also was impressed with the joy and gratitude for every little thing.
“The one thing I remember the most is definitely how happy the people were to see us,” he said. “I don’t think I saw one person without a smile when we went someplace. They were just grateful we were there and really appreciative.”
His teacher’s hope that they would see the “needs” here in the U.S. was realized.
“It’s definitely made me a lot more of a humble and grateful person,” Ball said. “A lot of people here are guilty of thinking that they have it really bad when in reality they really don’t. I’ve seen the difference between what they think is really bad and what I saw.”
The Crossing School of Business & Entrepreneurship (Frankfort campus) team at King’s Castle Ministries.
“The hospitality down there was a foreign concept,” senior Matt McDaniel said. “I’ve never seen anything like it. They were just so nice. … They didn’t take things for granted.”
He came back with a determination to change the world … or at least parts of Indiana around him. For now, though, a few more weeks of school remain.
“I have made small changes,” he said. “It’s crazy how much we take for granted and the little things that we get upset over. I feel really out of place in Indiana. That’s the only way to put it. El Salvador was just so eye-opening. It gave me a whole new perspective on what I could be doing versus what I am doing in Indiana.”
“I’m a lot more grateful,” added senior Samuel Fearnow, who also now believes there are so many more ways for him to contribute to his community. “I just don’t feel like I’ve applied myself as well as I could. There is so much more we can do.”
(Note: Fellow students Andrew Prather, Abigayle Dickerson, Jazmine Hale also were on the trip but were unable to chat via Zoom … for good reason: They were at work.)