While most students were enjoying their winter break,  the Calvary Chapel Church youth group traveled to Mexico to provide community service for the people of Ensenada.

  One student especially thought the work was very rewarding. Sophomore Garrett Esponda explained the work that was accomplished on a damaged church.

  “We did a lot of demolition, for instance, knocking down their old church, and moving a ton of dirt. It was just a lot of manual labor. We also reached out to the community for a half day to share the gospel and show the love of God through us,” said Esponda.

   The youth group helped rebuild the roofs of homes that were near the church. Since the coastal city of Ensenada has a high poverty rate of 16.7%, this act of service was much needed for their community.

   “We are there serving, not staying there for vacation. We

gave up our week of break to go do this,” said Esponda.

   They also fed the homeless and interacted with the less fortunate children living in the area. Alexandra Sheeks, a sophomore, also aided those in need of help, and expressed her emotions about the circumstances that affected everyone living there.

  “The area was really poor. The houses they had were just pieces of wood put together, and it was really sad. The experience was very humbling. They did not have much, only the bare necessities,” said Sheeks.

   Overall, the experience they had was great and they expressed gratitude to have been be able to change the lives of the people of Ensenada. The students’ service has created a better future for them.

   “It was something in our life we could be able to reflect back on and see what we did and how much change we were able to accomplish,” said Esponda.