Bears on a mission
0Written By Ashley Norman
At the beginning of every year, the UPIKE mission team, under the direction of chaplain Rob Musick, ventures to Haiti. Senior Maleena Little expressed that every year is a blessing. Students see and learn new things about the Haiti culture when you are there. This year, while in Haiti, the Bears went to a mountainous place they have never been before. They started work on a new school. The UPIKE team also holds a vacation bible school study while they are in Haiti. Collan McCoy, a member of the team, said that this year was different from the past years because they had fewer kids for vacation bible school due to the remoteness of the church. Because of this, they spent a lot more time working on the school. McCoy also mentioned the work days were long, and included everything from digging ditches to carrying rocks through the woods. McCoy also said there was a 35-minute hike to work every day. The Bears worked closely with a pastor who was over many churches in the area and also got to meet the principals of the school that they were building. Little also gave some insight on her trip. She said that seeing the principals and teachers working for little to no pay and watching fathers do back breaking work to put food on the table gave her a whole new meaning to the word selflessness. Also the women worked day in and day out to make sure the UPIKE team had safe food to eat. If you are interested on going on a mission trip to Haiti in January 2018, please contact Rob Musick.