Thursday, July 08, 1999
Teens cross cultures in church-building trip to Mexico
BY SUSAN VELA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
TAYLOR MILL — Under the heat of the Mexican sun, they mixed cement with shovels until their shoulders and chests went sore.
But the Northern Kentucky teens who ventured south of the border last month to help construct a church said the pain was worth the chance to help others.
“I liked helping them. It was a lot of fun,” said 17-year-old Jennifer Hagar of Ludlow, one of 11 teens who committed to missionary work in Cozumel, Mexico, June 16-23.
The Rev. Tom Eisentrout of Immanuel United Church of Christ in Bromley and Lar ry Spaulding of St. John United Church of Christ in Newport organized the adventure, which entailed 31/2 days of work and 31/2 days of visiting tourist attractions, including some Mayan ruins.
Most of the group reunited at Mr. Spaulding's home Wednesday evening to share pictures of the experience. They reminisced about being on the beaches, staying at the thatched-roof Hotel Flamingo and working at the construction site — all while immersed in a totally different culture.
One picture portrayed an intense blue sky over a gathering of trees. In the foreground was a sign that read “Aqui se construye la iglesia Antioquia.” It announced the future site of the church for which the teens laid the foundation.
By the end of their stay, the young people also had seen some of its walls go up. The church, which will serve about 100 families in an impoverished community, should be complete in a year.
Lisa Hitchcock, 16, of Newport laughed because her mother is still finding cement in the clothes that she wore while laboring in Mexico. She remembered how sore she felt after the first day of mixing cement.
Lisa said she would have had no problem sacrificing time at the beaches for more time at the work site. The reason? She was getting a “good feeling” from helping others who were so grateful for the aid.
“It was neat being down there. It was different,” she said, noting that she's already looking forward to going next year and drumming up fund-raising ideas for St. John's youth group.
This was the first joint teen mission organized by the Northern Kentucky churches, and Mr. Spaulding confirmed that another is likely for next summer.
“It's a total immersion course,” he said. “We talk about diversity so much but we never really see it. There's so much opportunity (for that) when you go to a different country.”
He said this year's group “came away with the idea of what poverty really is.”
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Teens cross cultures in church-building trip to Mexico
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