In July, Director of Campus Ministry Kelly Golbuff and School Chaplain Rick Stansberry along with six students had the opportunity to travel to Peru for the school’s annual mission trip. 

The school has been sponsoring families in Peru since the mission trip first began over 20 years ago. The trip took months of preparation during the school year. Teachers encouraged students to go and serve the community to display integrity—the school’s gospel value for 2024-2025.

“I was worried at first because it was the smallest group we had ever taken,” Golbuff said. 

Golbuff, who was drawn to the cultural differences in Peru, has led the mission trip since she joined the school staff in 2015. 

“My daughter went to Peru for the first time while my son went a few years later having a similar experience of how incredible and cheerful their community was,” Golbuff said. 

The trip was a week long during which students traveled together as a group where they were dedicated to building houses, distributing food, visiting orphanages and playing with younger kids at schools. On one of the days, students built houses out of mud bricks for single mothers who were struggling in poverty. Throughout the trip the students worked hard on a different task each day.

Each student took a different lesson from the trip.

“This trip personally showed me how different places are around the world and how the people there are really inspiring and optimistic since they are in different circumstances than us,” senior Joseph Zacharias said. 

Traveling to Peru impacted not only the people in Peru, but also the lives of the students who went on the trip.

“I actually went because I wanted to thank God for helping me out but also to share God’s love because I think that’s something we should all do,” senior Britney Gamez said. 

They visited many remote towns and villages interacting with the villagers as well as having mass in the chapel where they bonded as a community. 

“My favorite part was being able to celebrate mass in Spanish, in a room no bigger than a classroom and seeing the joy and unity of the villagers coming together,” Stansberry said.  

Despite the language barrier, students and villagers connected through their actions. Kids ran up to the students wanting to hug and play with them. The students displayed community spirit and openness to adapting to their culture through activities, food, and entertainment while also creating bonds with every person in the village.                                      

“I was able to easily communicate since I was the only one that was translating, but it was still really great even if you don’t speak Spanish,” Gamez said.