MOVE

BY GEORGE GOLDSWORTHY ’93, MANAGER, PRINT AND MAILING SERVICES

Idecided early in 2022 that I was going to apply to be the staff advisor for the MOVE service trip to Immokalee, Florida, again in 2023. One of the students from the previous trip told me that there was no chance I could possibly have as rewarding a trip as we had experienced in January 2022. Despite traveling in the midst of the pandemic and having lots of uncertainty surrounding us, during that trip we made the best of every situation we encountered, and a truly strong bond developed among all in our group. We learned much about ourselves and the community we were serving.

As this year’s trip drew closer, I began to have apprehensions. We had previously stayed in the bunkrooms of a church, but that space was unavailable. The MOVE staff was unable to find us any similar accommodations and instead of staying in the community, we were going to have to rent a house in North Naples, 24 miles away. I was concerned that this was turning into more of a vacation than a service trip for our students and thus I was lacking in enthusiasm as we were ready to depart. Living on a “food stamps” budget and being immersed in the community are key elements in the experience that is provided to our students through these trips. The director of MOVE, Lara Scott, and the assistant director, Vicky Castillo, made a point to remind us the night before we departed that the missionaries from Selma, Alabama, speaking to all service trip participants this year had, emphasized that it was our duty to be humble and open to the culture of the people we were serving. I wasn’t sure our five-bedroom house was a good launching point.