Children's ministry is one of students’ favorite service experiences on Global Engagement (GE) trips, and this summer, 10 Azusa Pacific University students visited the Dominican Republic where they worked with Kids Alive International, an organization working to break the cycle of poverty through education and showing the love of Jesus to children around the world. They currently have schools in multiple countries including the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Guatemala. Kinesiology and honors humanities double major Carter Mendes ’27 was part of the team and was deeply inspired by the joyful interactions he had on the trip and the role of mentorship he played for children.
Mendes previously competed on APU’s cross country and track and field team, but he chose not to compete this summer. Knowing that he would have some extra free time, he decided to look into signing up for a GE trip. Mendes was drawn to the Dominican Republic trip because the description included children’s ministry, particularly through sports.
Once the teams were set, the Dominican Republic team immediately started preparing and getting to know each other better. The team had biweekly meetings where they focused on relationship building and preparing their hearts and minds for the trip. “It was cool to see us grow as a group before the trip even started,” Mendes said. “When things got busy towards the end of the school year, having the meetings were nice reminders that we’re all going through things together, and we really enjoyed being with each other.”
The Office of Service and Discipleship also held a day-long orientation to help all students going on a GE trip to prepare for serving the Lord abroad. “They were framing our minds to be selfless and service oriented,” Mendes said. “It was about recognizing the need to rely on God, and I did that on the trip through prayer. Throughout my time there, I prayed to learn to rely on Him and surrender to Him each day.”
Kids Alive International has seven schools in the Dominican Republic, and the team served at a different school site each week. The schools provide safe spaces for children living in poverty and unsafe or unstable households to play with other children, receive free meals, and have the chance to break the cycle of poverty through education. “The teachers are all trained in trust-based relationship methods and have knowledge about what these kids are going through,” Mendes said. “They build relationships with kids and let them know that they have an adult that they can trust. They’re really showing Jesus’ love through their patience and kindness.”
An important part of the teacher-student relationship is showing the children that
there are people who want them to succeed, and APU students took on that same mission
with humility. “The kids realized that we were in college and got to see what it can
look like to stay in school, reach for their goals, and have a good role model,” Mendes
said.
The team had the chance to form connections with the children at recess and after
school, but they also assisted teachers with any necessary tasks such as test scoring.
One of Mendes’ favorite memories from the trip was interacting with a little boy named
Louise. “Even though my Spanish wasn’t great, we were still able to communicate, and
I built a close relationship with him during the trip.”
Since the team was so close before the trip started, they made good use of their free time together exploring and further bonding as a team. They went into town for ice cream, spent time at the pool at one of their houses, played volleyball, explored natural areas like waterfalls, played card games, and took a tour of the capitol, Santa Domingo, with the school leaders to learn more about the city’s history.
The team spent the last few days in the Dominican Republic at a resort for debriefing, sharing their experiences with the school leaders, Vick and Leslie. “They were accommodating, helpful, encouraging, and great mentors,” Mendes said. “Seeing how they’ve devoted their lives to serving God and how they’ve improved the lives of others is so encouraging and inspiring, so meeting them was a huge benefit of the trip.”
Mendes was moved by the amount of joy he saw in those he interacted with during his time on the trip. “So many people there have daily struggles living in extreme poverty, but they have so much joy,” he said. “Seeing how their joy comes from their love of God and their communities which positively impacts their lives and personal happiness was inspiring.” Building relationships based on encouragement and joy with others despite language barriers and cultural difference was an impactful experience for Mendes and the entire team.