Many McIntosh students spent their Spring Breaks internationally, serving and giving back to others. Three different trips were taken to different areas of the world, but all students returned with the same joy and new outlook on life.

Members of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes organization, led by Ms. Hannah Beth Potter, served in Eluthera, Bahamas from Monday, April 7 to Sunday, April 13. Although they stayed in Spanish Wells, they traveled to Eluthera by ferry every morning to work with the refugees, to distribute food, to paint houses, to clean trash and to play sports and hangout with the children.

Students Kylie Bednarik, Simone Brown, Maddie Corley, Ally Cox,  Julia Dolak, Sammie Eskew, Brisa Salinas, Lauren Shelfo, Maddie Smith, Hannah Staples, Brooke Wilson and Lauren Wilson attended.

Of her time spent serving, senior Lauren Wilson said, “I love serving others, and I wouldn’t have wanted to go anywhere else for break. Knowing that I was impacting other people’s lives in a positive way is the best feeling.”

Sophomore Maddie Smith said, “The people we served are so grateful and happy for everything they have, which was really humbling for me because it made me realize that material things aren’t nearly as important as I often think they are.”

Junior Gabby Rousse served in Managua, Nicaragua. She and her group, students from East Coweta High School, laid a foundation for an elementary school to be able to have a cafeteria. Gabby said, “We also spent time loving on orphans; it was pure joy.”

Peachtree City United Methodist attendees and McIntosh students Emily Blum, Larry Dahl, Cal Davison, Kathryn Fladermeyer, Meghan Keirn, Sommer Kennedy, Emily Miller, Sophie Miller, Ben Naber, Naomi Sobel, Connor Whittle and Tori Windmiller served in Rio Dulce, Cuatro Cayos, Agua Caliente and Bocaroan, Guatemala.

During their week, they went to villages to play with kids, to help with the feeding programs that the church provided for the kids in the city and to dig a trench for the foundation of a wall. Besides doing manual labor and spreading the gospel to children, the team got to hike a volcano and roast marshmallows on top of it, as well as swim and explore the natural hot springs, rivers and sites that Guatemala has to offer.

Senior Emily Miller said, “We spent the mornings doing construction work and the afternoons doing outreach in different villages up in the rural areas. Each village was more different than the last, and we got to make friends, practice our Spanish and deliver chickens to the homes of the the people living in the villages.”

Junior Katie Close said, “I went to Guatemala to serve others, but in reality, I got served so much more than I could ever fathom. From the children in the villages painting my nails and painting my face to the women who cooked huge meals for us everyday, it was a life-changing experience, and I look forward to going back in the future.”

Senior Tori Windmiller said, “The people in Guatemala have so little but yet they are so happy. Seeing that made me appreciate everything I have.”

Bahama pictures by Sammie Eskew and Chandler Barber. Guatemala pictures by Tori Windmiller. Nicaragua pictures courtesy of Gabby Rousse.