La Sierra University

The La Sierra University Pre-Medical Society under biology professor Dr. Eugene Jospeh (center, back) during the society's 16th annual outreach trip to Guatemala.

Students Step Outside Comfort Zones to Lift up Guatemala’s Poor

By Darla Martin Tucker

The La Sierra University students began planning several months in advance for their 2,720-mile mission trip to Guatemala, collecting dozens of pairs of shoes, hundreds of stuffed toys, and other items for distribution to orphans, seniors, hospital patients, and families in need. Their eight-day trek around the country to aid others through donations, health care assistance, and other outreach activities would require sleeping bags as beds each night and big steps outside of their comfort zones.

On the evening of Dec. 12, 2019, a group of 18 La Sierra students, two biology faculty members, and a faculty member’s spouse departed Los Angeles International Airport for Guatemala City as participants in the Pre-Medical Society’s annual humanitarian outreach to the Central American country. The society, a student club for those studying various health sciences, has been traveling to Guatemala each Christmas break since 2004, led by Eugene Joseph, associate professor of anatomical sciences in La Sierra’s Department of Biology. The objective of the mission trips is multi-faceted, Joseph said. It involves offering humanitarian aid to the children and families of Guatemala, including assisting local Adventist doctors, dentists, and heath care providers in the delivery of medical and dental care. It also encompasses “[providing] our pre-medical, predental, and pre-allied health students with the opportunity to serve and appreciate the value of helping others in an altruistic humanitarian context, [and inspiring] our students to return to Guatemala or other mission fields,” he said. Their work in Guatemala also provides an opportunity to “identify and encourage promising Adventist Guatemalan youth to receive college and professional degrees so that they can help their country to rise above some of the existing situations of poverty,” he said.

This year’s student group was the second largest in the 16 years the society has been making aid pilgrimages south of the U.S. border. The students took along 12 suitcases filled with 60 pairs of donated shoes, 100 handmade Christmas cards, candy, and 540 stuffed animal toys, which long-time La Sierra supporter

and former academic advising director Iris Landa helped collect. Landa has secured donations of stuffed toys for the club’s annual outreach for more than a decade. Approximately 60 more stuffed toys were donated by La Sierra alum Ariel Lynch and her family. The La Sierra group’s journeys involved visits to various towns and churches, an orphanage, two hospitals, and a community medical clinic. Their activities ranged from distributing the donated shoes and stuffed animals, leading out in kids’ crafts and games, assisting medical and dental personnel, and volunteering at a Ronald McDonald House to painting houses, building chicken coops, and vaccinating livestock.

“Everyone was blessed by the impact we made on the people,” said Jaymie Gacula, a senior biomedical sciences/pre-medicine major with plans for medical school. She serves as the society’s vice president and activities coordinator. Her many responsibilities included ensuring the students had enough supplies on hand for crafts, games, and other

functions, and coordinating with the society leadership in overseeing care of the group and its funds. “I was worried about things being prepared for each day, having to go out and buy supplies,” Gacula said. “Once I asked God to help me realize that I was there to serve and show people His love, I felt joyful. The tiredness at the end of every day could not compare to the happiness in serving others.”

The December mission trek was the third for Pre-medical Society President Taryn Batin, a senior neuroscience major who plans to enter a medical career. Her broad responsibilities included communicating with trip supervisors and Guatemalan hosts in

La Sierra student Rhiannon Abrahams helps vaccinate a farmer's cow and holds a chick during aid work in Guatemala.

executing activity plans, organizing shopping lists, cooking and cleaning tasks, and itineraries.

She was personally impacted by her interaction with the people of Guatemala and through witnessing their deep appreciation for the group’s efforts at bringing some comfort into their lives. “Seeing the gratitude of the people, despite their poor living conditions, allowed my faith to grow on a humanitarian level,” Batin said. “Being Jesus' hands and feet might require stepping outside of your comfort zone, but seemingly little acts of service can mean everything to the people there.”

For more on this story, visit www. lasierra.edu. To learn more about La Sierra University’s biology programs, visit https://lasierra.edu/biology/.

La Sierra Pre-Medical Society students lead children in games in San Vicente Pacaya and assist with a medical clinic in Zacualpa, Guatemala.