Youth Group Reflection

When anticipating the youth group trip earlier this summer, I was definitely filled with excitement, but there was also a lingering sentiment of anxiety. I was nervous for many reasons, the main one being that I would have to enter a new environment where I could be sure to find nothing familiar but what I had packed in my suitcase. Leaving my family behind, I would be required to depend on the others in the youth group, who I knew by name, but would not really consider friends. I had only entered the Church a year previously, and I did not know the other members well enough to feel confident that I would have a good time.

I was excited though, and thus it was with mixed emotions that I entered the airport (forty five minutes late). As I waved my mother goodbye and settled down to wait the hour we had until the flight left, I remember thinking about how awkward the trip had the potential to be.

That was just about the only time that I felt at all worried about the social situation, however.

Almost as soon as the plane took off it became apparent that despite our lack of previous bonding, this group would be friends immediately. This was true especially among the four girls, who shared much more than a bedroom throughout that week. Whereas before the trip we had been acquaintances on good terms, now we were depending on each other for almost everything. "A" seemed to miraculously have brought the few small things "B" hadn't thought to bring in her monster suitcase. "C", at first distraught when she found out her luggage was drenched, was put at ease when "B" provided her with a new wardrobe, I gladly borrowed "C's" spare gloves when I found I had forgotten my own -- the list goes on. But we didn't just share material item; during 'downtime' we would play cards or just sit in our room, and talk, getting to know one another. By the end of the trip we were so comfortable together that we were able to laugh at each other with ease.

I can honestly say that the trip had a very large impact on the many relationships inside the youth group. We were given a week to get to know each other, and what we discovered is that we are all more compatible than we thought we were. Because we were in such a foreign environment, we recognized our similarities and used them to help us bond. And while the trip was very helpful to the people who will benefit from the manual work we did, we were really the lucky ones to have such an experience.

We did not build community exclusively inside the youth group, however, we also met many people in Puerto Rico. By the end of the week we as a group had met and worked with many natives, all of whom we had grown attached to. What was similar between all of them was the good nature that they all had and their willingness to help us in any situation. The first person that we met upon arrival was Cesar, the leader of the mission where we resided. He welcomed us into his home and offered us not only the bottom level of his house for our use, but he also sacrificed his personal bathroom for the boys. We depended on him for everything -- for food, for lodging, and most of all for direction. Because he was so vital to our trip, we saw him frequently, and he became a dear friend. Whenever there was a problem he would do everything in his power to provide for us. Paola was also a familiar face in Puerto Rico, as she was "D's" babysitter and would arrive daily to watch him. Despite not knowing any English, Paola did her best to entertain the young three year old as he wandered around the various work sites. However, Paola went above and beyond her own babysitting duties by allowing some group members to take showers in her house when those at the house where we were staying broke down. She let us into her home when we were in need without hesitation, and she barely even knew us.

However, I think the person who we got to know the most during our stay in Puerto Rico was Misiel. Fluent in English, Misiel was our anchor in the foreign country -- it was as familiar to him as it was strange to us. He was with us almost all of the time -- he even slept in our house a couple of doors down. His main function was to get us from worksite to worksite -- but this was harder than it seemed. Everything was "forty-five minutes" away -- that is if you go sixty miles an hour on narrow roads that twist left, right, up and down mountains (we learned early on not to sit in the back seats). We trusted him with our lives, and despite this daunting task, Misiel never once faltered, delivering us on time to every destination and then working alongside us when we arrived there. But Misiel was not only valuable as a driver; he also enriched the trip by bringing us to local entertainment spots when we had free time. He would lead us to rivers when we had a free afternoon and was always willing to accommodate us in every way possible. He even drove us to Old San Juan on our last night, despite his weariness at mixing cement all day. He taught us everything from card games to gymnastics, never once letting the smile on his face disappear.

Ultimately, as we did what we could, each of the people we met seemed to appreciate us and in exchange help us in any way possible. Personally, I feel that we found friends in Cesar, Paola, and Misiel, having encountered them daily. This is what made the trip extraordinary for me -- being able to connect with people whom I would never have gotten the chance to meet had I not gone on the trip. By stepping out of our comfort circle we were able to not only help through labor, but we were also able to introduce ourselves and grow attached to people that we would have previously thought we had nothing in common with.