La Sierra University Pre-Medical Society usually plans a mission trip that takes place in Guatemala the first week of Winter break. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, these plans were cancelled earlier this year. In efforts to continue helping those in need, the club officers decided in early November to step into unprecedented territory and plan a trip to Guatemala, virtually. The planning began with a meeting in December with the club’s President, Vice President, faculty advisor, Dr. Eugene Joseph, and two advisors in Guatemala who are in charge of the mission trip’s usual itinerary. During winter break, the club’s officers worked diligently to collect applications from students and further plan activities that can be done safely via Zoom with churches and a children’s AIDS hospice that are usually visited under normal circumstances. In addition, the club is collecting donations from the University’s faculty, staff, alumni, and students to be sent and used for purchasing common necessities for families in Guatemala.
The following was written by Kay Kim, the current President of the Pre-Medical Society, explaining her personal thoughts regarding the planning of this virtual trip.
Before COVID-19 impacted all of us at school at the end of Winter quarter in 2020, our club was in the process of collecting applications for the Guatemala Mission Trip that would have taken place in December of 2020. Unfortunately, after receiving feedback from the school that it would be unsafe to have our mission trip, we delivered the news to our applicants and cancelled our trip. As President of the Pre-Medical Society, I was saddened by the news as this annual trip is what I look forward to at the end of Fall quarter. Precious memories were created last year when I attended this trip as a club officer and I felt it unfortunate that our club was not able to provide this opportunity this year.
While I was planning the club’s online events for Fall quarter, I focused on providing informational powerpoints to the pre-med students as I felt nervous for the incoming Freshmen who were just starting to figure out what being a pre-med entailed. Although there was positive feedback that our club was providing helpful information, I still felt that our club was lacking in a spiritual aspect. It was then Dr. Joseph, our club’s faculty advisor, proposed the idea for a virtual trip to Guatemala. When I first heard this idea, truthfully, I felt unmotivated and unhopeful as I could predict how difficult it would be to communicate consistently with our advisors in Guatemala. However, as I kept brainstorming on what we can provide for those at La Sierra and in Guatemala, I began to feel the same passion for mission work that I experienced as a student missionary in Guatemala. I felt grateful to our club officers who provided their hand whenever I needed help.
Over winter break, Uylae Kim–the club Vice President–and I worked together to collect ideas on what we could do in Guatemala from the students who filled out our application. Some ideas include performing praise in Spanish, telling children’s stories, and providing a video showing our local neighborhoods to provide them with a piece of the environment in California as well as the ambience that could be different from Guatemala. After assigning our officers as leaders of various sub-groups with our 25 participants, we are looking forward to additional ideas that may come forth during our planning in this upcoming Winter quarter.
- Kay Kim (Class of 2021), Biomedical Sciences
