Ponce Heads West for Mission Trip
August 30, 2017 | Softball
A native of San Pedro, Calif., junior Alexa Ponce spent a portion of this past summer in Hawaii on a mission trip. Below are her words on the moving experience and photos from her time there.
Sixteen of us from my home church visited a small church in the town of Pahala on the Big Island of Hawaii. It's one of the most isolated and remote towns in Hawaii with very little money and resources or support. We hosted a youth camp there, but our goal was to reach out to their community and the kids of the town, so we can show them that they're loved and noticed by the rest of this world and that God loves them. We met so many young kids who come from broken families and really harsh backgrounds and no one to turn to.
We would walk around to talk to the kids playing at the town park and just befriend them or join in activities like basketball. Since it's such a small town, all the kids walk around wherever at whatever time because they all know each other. We came across around 20 different kids each time.
What really touched me was that when we would ask them about their interests, or school or things they liked, they were so shocked, as if no one asked them things like that before. So to be able to open up to us and let us pray with them or just hang out was a huge deal.
The first Friday we were there, we held a Youth Night and about 15 kids showed up. But one week later, we had another one, and there were approximately 80 people all together. It was awesome to see them come to church but even better to know they felt like it was a place where they could feel safe, have fun and even feel loved and appreciated. After just a few days of being there, 13, 14 and 15 year-old girls trusted me enough to tell me about their home life or what they've been through and even cry with me and kind of let me talk to them about it or give encouragement through all of those things. So just the littlest things like that, relationships building, was the most amazing thing ever to see!
Sixteen of us from my home church visited a small church in the town of Pahala on the Big Island of Hawaii. It's one of the most isolated and remote towns in Hawaii with very little money and resources or support. We hosted a youth camp there, but our goal was to reach out to their community and the kids of the town, so we can show them that they're loved and noticed by the rest of this world and that God loves them. We met so many young kids who come from broken families and really harsh backgrounds and no one to turn to.
We would walk around to talk to the kids playing at the town park and just befriend them or join in activities like basketball. Since it's such a small town, all the kids walk around wherever at whatever time because they all know each other. We came across around 20 different kids each time.
What really touched me was that when we would ask them about their interests, or school or things they liked, they were so shocked, as if no one asked them things like that before. So to be able to open up to us and let us pray with them or just hang out was a huge deal.
The first Friday we were there, we held a Youth Night and about 15 kids showed up. But one week later, we had another one, and there were approximately 80 people all together. It was awesome to see them come to church but even better to know they felt like it was a place where they could feel safe, have fun and even feel loved and appreciated. After just a few days of being there, 13, 14 and 15 year-old girls trusted me enough to tell me about their home life or what they've been through and even cry with me and kind of let me talk to them about it or give encouragement through all of those things. So just the littlest things like that, relationships building, was the most amazing thing ever to see!
Players Mentioned
C/INF
/ SoftballTerrier Twelve #4 - Softball
Monday, August 04
BU Terriers Unleashed - Season 6 - Episode 5
Thursday, June 05
BU Athletics: 2024-25 Highlights
Monday, May 19
Highlights: Softball vs. Lafayette (5/4/25)
Sunday, May 04
