Alternative Spring Break
Finding the Face of Christ in Lima, Peru
Sarah Crotty
Issue date: 4/4/07 Section: News
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Instead of hanging out at the beach or catching up on sleep during spring break, 21 UD students and staff embarked on a different kind of journey. Through the Alternative Spring Break program sponsored by Campus Ministry, these students made a pilgrimage to Lima, Peru, where they helped local families.
In the beginning of the week the group stayed in Chorrillos in the northern part of Lima. Focusing on manual work, they helped reconstruct a Baptist church, built classrooms and cleaned up landscape areas. They also spent a day playing games with children from Chorrillos at a local park.
During the second part of the trip, the group visited the Ermelind Carrera Home, an orphanage for girls ages 5 to 18. Before they left Dallas, the students collected toys, clothes, school supplies and other miscellaneous gifts to bring to the children of the orphanage.
"We received a lot of gift donations from the community," said junior Gonzalo Diaz. "The kids were so excited to receive all these gifts. They were happy to have things of their own."
The trip was centered on prayer and reflection. The group gathered daily for morning and evening prayer as well as mass. "The theme of the trip was two-fold. For the first part, we focused on serving the joyful Christ. For the last part, we reflected on serving the suffering Christ," said Diaz.
Before arriving in Lima, Father Phillip gave Jerusalem crosses to each member of the group. "He asked that we give our cross to someone in the Peruvian community," said junior Andrea Chapa. "It was a really good idea."
The last night of the pilgrimage concluded with an ice cream party given by the people of the community.
In order to make this trip a success, the students and staff began planning last year. "We started getting ready in November, focused on fundraising projects in December, attended three spiritual formation meetings, and had a retreat in January," said Diaz.
The applications for this year's trip doubled last year's response. "We had 40 applications for only 18 seats, so it was a tough decision," said Father Phillip.
In the beginning of the week the group stayed in Chorrillos in the northern part of Lima. Focusing on manual work, they helped reconstruct a Baptist church, built classrooms and cleaned up landscape areas. They also spent a day playing games with children from Chorrillos at a local park.
During the second part of the trip, the group visited the Ermelind Carrera Home, an orphanage for girls ages 5 to 18. Before they left Dallas, the students collected toys, clothes, school supplies and other miscellaneous gifts to bring to the children of the orphanage.
"We received a lot of gift donations from the community," said junior Gonzalo Diaz. "The kids were so excited to receive all these gifts. They were happy to have things of their own."
The trip was centered on prayer and reflection. The group gathered daily for morning and evening prayer as well as mass. "The theme of the trip was two-fold. For the first part, we focused on serving the joyful Christ. For the last part, we reflected on serving the suffering Christ," said Diaz.
Before arriving in Lima, Father Phillip gave Jerusalem crosses to each member of the group. "He asked that we give our cross to someone in the Peruvian community," said junior Andrea Chapa. "It was a really good idea."
The last night of the pilgrimage concluded with an ice cream party given by the people of the community.
In order to make this trip a success, the students and staff began planning last year. "We started getting ready in November, focused on fundraising projects in December, attended three spiritual formation meetings, and had a retreat in January," said Diaz.
The applications for this year's trip doubled last year's response. "We had 40 applications for only 18 seats, so it was a tough decision," said Father Phillip.
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