The United Campus Ministry (UCM) at Shippensburg University plans to take its seventh mission trip to Vietnam during the upcoming winter break to build a school and to serve, learn and build relationships in the process.
An estimated 13 people are committed to participating in the coming trip, in the hopes of improving educational opportunities of children in the Tuy Hoa region of Vietnam. In this village, located about 400 miles north of Ho Chi Minh City, the group plans to build a school and teach English to local students.
The group has set forth a few common goals that they wish to accomplish through this trip, which includes creating relationships with students from Vietnamese universities. They also want to learn and understand different cultures, volunteer their time for humanitarian reasons to assist other world neighbors and grow in faith.
The trip is estimated to cost about $3,500 per person. To raise funds, the participants are looking to serve residents in the Shippensburg area, such as raking leaves, cleaning and grocery shopping.
During last year’s winter break trip, UCM served a village in the Ben Tre province in the Mekong Delta. The group worked with Vietnamese university students, through the YMCA of Vietnam, which said its purpose is “to serve the sustainable development of the poor, youth, women, children, ethnic minorities and communities in our country.” The participants worked together to build two school classrooms and teach English to Vietnamese students. In other, previous trips, the group has built three homes and even built a clinic for areas in need.
“It depends sometimes on what the community needs, but helping to improve the educational standards is one of our priorities,” said the Rev. Janice Bye, SU campus minister. “It has been an experience that has changed us forever and provided us a way to share with and love as the extended family of God.”
“In just one short trip I was able to learn more about people, more about God and more about myself than any other single event in my entire life,” said Zach Metz, an SU alumnus who attended a past trip. “The cherry on top, [is] you get to bring smiles to complete strangers. Not much else can top that.”
For more information, contact Rev. Janice Bye at (717) 477-1672 or at jmbye@ship.edu.
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