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Essays about philanthropy and volunteerism
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I did not want to leave. I had been here for ten days and I had established relationships and friendships with people from everywhere and all sorts of backgrounds. We all sat in the car preparing to leave. Every single one of us, my parents, brother and me, sitting in silence. Wanting to cry, waiting for someone to say the first word. Each of us had learned something that trip. For me, this experience had taught me what gratefulness was, the impact a good attitude has, what a servant looks like, and really how the relationships we make with our life is the most important aspect about life. It was the summer after my freshmen year of high school. Earlier in the year my parents had decided that they wanted to go on a mission trip as a family
One of the things I was put in charge of was translating. I was able to translate a sermon we put on for the kids at a vacation bible school type of camp. That was super challenging to know that people were dependent on me, but it is also where I began to see where God had blessed me in my life and where I could be used on this trip. How lucky was I to be given the capability to speak Spanish fluently? It was at this moment that I finally became thankful for the talents God had given me. The trip opened my eyes and I was grateful for the opportunity to share what God had given to me. Another task we had the privilege of helping them with was building them a new chicken coop. We built a new roof and cleaned it up so that the chickens wouldn’t get so hot. The tricky part was communicating that we built exactly what they wanted. Therefore I was there to both help construct, but also help get communication between us and the owners under control. I remember having to go on the road to pick up some supplies. I was with my dad and one of the workers at the orphanage. The actual supply run was not what made the event memorable, it was actually when we stopped for coffee. We were able to sit down and ask him questions. I remember asking why he did what he did, like I just didn’t understand why, he did not make much money and it was not easy what he did. He simply looked at me and said that he loved serving the
I have learned what it means to serve and what it means to be content and trust God. I have learned what it means to be grateful even through the hard times. My relationship with god really has improved since my experience in Tecate, and I will be forever grateful for that door that God opened in my life. Over the trip I had the pleasure of living among and working with the men and women of the orphanage. The boys and girls taught me much more than I ever expected, what it means to be positive, get through hard times. The relationships I made may not still be in tact today but the marks they left on me, and who I am as a person still remain. I am forever changed for good because of the people I met at small orphanage in Tecate
Although it was wonderful to see how happy the people were and how interesting it was to see another culture, this was not what impacted me the most. Every night, the three girls I shared a room with and I would have group devotions. We talked about some of the things we struggled with and it made me realize that I need to open up to people more more. I am very independent and I don’t like people knowing a lot about me, but how am I supposed to share God’s love if I don’t talk to people? I fell in love with the Lord again on this trip and I want to live in a way that makes it clear to everyone that I know that I am His
The activities that I have been involved with that has impacted me as a person today is my 2013 competition cheer team bible study. It was my freshman year on a varsity team and we had many setbacks throughout the season. People were getting hurt one after the other and we had to figure out a solution in order to win the state championship. This was all very frustrating and we just had to believe that God had a plan for us. We started a bible study with my coach, Barry every Friday before school. We would talk about our problems we faced that week/how we could overcome them. This bible study has changed my life completely and it continued to be every Friday of my next four years in high school. In this bible study I have learned what kind
Stories are a big part of the human race. From conceptualizing the birth of our race to nagging our parents to tell bedtime stories, our life is nothing but a series of stories. It is in human nature to narrate significant incidents of our lives to others. Storytelling as a method has been progressively used by various companies as a tool to connect with their employees and customers. It helps to build a bridge of loyalty, longevity, mutual trust and understanding and connection. Storytelling helps to get that instant personal connect. Stories are significant because they are inherent to human experience. By stories we pass on our accumulated wisdom, beliefs and values to the future generations.
Vacations aren't always perfect there is always something that goes wrong. At least in my experiences. A perfect vacation to me is when we are all together as a family,which honestly doesn't happen that much. Having a 20 year old brother an 18 year old in post secondary school can make things complicated. Or having a vacation with no,ILLNESS, which can be very,very hard to do!! And I know I’m not the only one who has experienced this on a vacation!
America, Almost every single person on earth has a dream of living in a country full of freedom, liberty, and opportunity. The United States has been providing these benefits ever since it was founded a few hundred years ago. So when I found out that my family would be coming to America, I had already started planning my future of growing up here. Just like any other person, I was feeling enthusiastic and a little nervous of leaving my native country and coming to America to start a better life. I was completely lost in my thoughts of happiness, that I became unaware of all the difficulties that my family and I would face once we step into our new lives. Among these difficulties were the change of language, change of system, and the variety of different cultures.
Last summer, I was given the amazing opportunity to go on my first mission trip. My church, Berlin Baptist is a very small church, with a congregation of thirty people and only around seven youth, including myself. Despite our small numbers, we wanted to do something of significance. Our youth minister Micah wanted us to go on a mission trip, but because we were such a tiny group we would have to accompany another church in order to go. In a stroke of luck, Spring Arbor from Fairview invited us to help minister to a few apartment complexes filled with Nepalese refugees in Fort Worth, Texas.
At the age of seven, my life changed forever. I was no longer living in my native country; I was now a fragment of the millions of immigrants who come to the United States in search of the American Dream. At the time, my father had recently lost his job and my mother was unemployed, which caused incredible financial stress for my family. My father decided to risk his life crossing the Rio Grande River for our family to have a better life and greater rewards.
In July 2000, I went to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for a mission trip. One of the days, we visited the kids of Compassion International. Compassion International is a program in which people from the U.S. can send money, letters and other gifts to underprivileged children in different countries. The place I visited was a school/church where the kids went if they were the ones receiving the sponsorship. This was the best place I visited the whole time I was in Brazil. We did so many awesome things during our trip, but this small three or four hour visit changed my entire life.
My semester of study abroad is best described as an intense learning experience, without which I feel that my education would have been incomplete. The lessons learned were far different from those I encountered in high school, but of equal or greater importance. I gained new perspective about international affairs and also found I was challenged as an individual to grow intellectually, socially, and emotionally. There is no doubt that this experience has changed me, and I am certainly better for it.
...ng student council at my school. We never had a productive student council until I came. When I came the first thing I wanted to do was to give back to the community like my idol, the person I look up to. I started a toy drive and wanted to raise five hundred toys for the needy children so they have a selection. I reached my goal and more, I received 786 brand new toys, and $100 dollars in donations to buy more toys. I had so much Triumph in my heart from my accomplishments because I know I did this in the likeness of God and followed in the footsteps of a righteous man.
This journey taught me so much that I wouldn’t have ever imagined. I grew from this experience mentally and I saw my parents becoming closer and regaining that bond they held with one another. This event taught me to be more appreciative with all the little things I have and made me realize that life isn’t going to go the way you want it to; you have to fight for the path to lead you in the right direction. I was brought closer to both my parents and my brothers. This event started new beginnings for this family, a new start to get things right because when I found out I would be moving to San Diego, I never would have realized the struggles I went through; especially when I was a silent voice in the decision.
I came with high hopes and aspirations. My hometown is not near Arizona, it is Lake Tahoe, Nevada, so going home for the weekend was simply out of the question. I had a great time for the first month, enjoying freedom. However, I was sitting in my room one night writing a paper with my roommate, and one of my friends from home called me. She said that one of her good friends from high school had just committed suicide earlier that day.
Going on a road trip with my family means the world to me. We drove to another state during summer vacation, and it was by far the best road trip I have ever been on. My family and I were able to go to many fun places. We ate so many exotic and delicious foods as well. Yet most importantly, I spent time with my family and their friends. It was the day when my family and I went to California for our summer vacation.
I awoke to the sun piercing through the screen of my tent while stretching my arms out wide to nudge my friend Alicia to wake up. “Finally!” I said to Alicia, the countdown is over. As I unzip the screen door and we climb out of our tent, I’m embraced with the aroma of campfire burritos that Alicia’s mom Nancy was preparing for us on her gargantuan skillet. While we wait for our breakfast to be finished, me and Alicia, as we do every morning, head to the front convenient store for our morning french vanilla cappuccino. On our walk back to the campsite we always take a short stroll along the lake shore to admire the incandescent sun as it shines over the gleaming dark blue water. This has become a tradition that we do every morning together
I was so ecstatic to go on this field trip and so was everyone else. Of course I knew why, everyone loves field trips. Everyone that had seen the one man show reported that it was impeccable performance. Furthermore, I was adrenalized because I didn’t have to do any work. Before the show, all I thought was that it would be a normal bus ride. One that would be loud, but everyone minded their own business.