MEI students give spring break service

The Mexico team with (l–r) Kim Unrau, Robert Siemens, Brittany Willems

Students and staff from Mennonite Educational Institute in Abbotsford spent their spring break in service projects in various parts of the world. Groups went to southeast Asia, Mexico, Argentina, Costa Rica, Montreal, Germany and Ukraine to engage in a variety of service-learning projects.

In Thailand, 14 students helped MBMS International rebuild homes for widows in Phuket. They were hosted by Karen and Ricky Huebert Sanchez. (Karen is a former MEI student council president.)

The Mexico team was also involved in house construction in Baja, as was the team in Costa Rica.

In Argentina, Montreal and Ukraine, the teams helped in orphanages, senior citizens’ homes, drop-in centres and soup kitchens.

In each locale, the students also related directly with the people. They engaged in sports activities with local youth, participated in Bible study, singing and prayer with students, played with kids and shared their faith through drime.

“The best part of visiting these orphanages was being able to just love these kids, play with them, hold them, laugh and cry with them,” they recounted.

Argentina host Leana Janzen wrote, “I wanted to remind you what an impact you guys had on Carlos’s life. He couldn’t believe that a bunch of teenagers could have good clean fun and be genuinely nice good kids. The thing that stuck out the most was just how you guys lived day to day.”

The Thailand team doing house construction

For the most part, the students were billeted in local homes.

This is the tenth year of MEI’s Missions & Service program. Approximately 600 students have travelled to 19 different destinations, to engage in acts of service and learning. One student wrote, “I have learned to give all of my fears to God and to trust Him in everything. I have learned what it means to have a servant’s heart.

—MEI news release