Since 2010, I have embarked on three international missionary trips – two one-week trips to the Dominican Republic and one three-month internship in Costa Rica. I have found that I love using art and photography as a teaching tool and working within Spanish-speaking communities. As my fourth trip nears, I am thinking a lot about the students and friends I have had along the way. The students I had in Costa Rica are still always on my mind and in my heart. They taught me so much about life. I am also thinking about what camera equipment I want to use when I go to Honduras this June with my church. This week, I ordered 35mm color negative film to use in my Canon AE-1 Program on this trip. I am really excited to be teaching kids and working with my peers, but I am also really looking forward to what images I will come away with.

Let’s take a look back on my previous trips….

Dominican Republic 2010

On this trip, I joined a team from college and we traveled to a base outside of Jarabacoa. We joined other teams at the base and split off to different work sites. I worked with the art group. We painted murals in a community called El Callejon and taught an art lesson at a school in Mata Gorda.

Dominican Republic 2011

This trip was similar to my one in 2010 – my team went to the same city to work with the same staff. The art group from the base worked at a new location this year – we painted a mural at a church and played with the kids who were on recess from school.

Costa Rica 2011

I traveled alone to Costa Rica and joined staff there that is focusing on mentoring kids and adults in the San Jose communities. I worked with the Los Guido community through a small photography program and also partly through a woodshop program. I taught Tican and American students how to use film cameras and develop their own film in our little darkroom. It was a challenging and rewarding three months. I’ll never forget the relationships I forged with my students.

Honduras will bring a whole new adventure – new friends, new experiences, new places – and I greatly look forward to going there with my team. We will be working with middle school and high school aged students. This trip will be led through a different organization than I have previously traveled with, so I do not really know what to expect. I am sure I will have lots to tell!

Thank you for stopping by and reading today’s post!