A little over one year ago, several students and other members of the UVa-Wise community attended the institution’s very first medical mission trip to Roaring Creek Village in central Belize. This trip in spring 2009 was the first of its kind. It wasn’t the first trip to Belize by members of the UVa-Wise community, but it was the first medical trip involving some of our very own nursing students.

Fast forward a year later – sring beak in March 2010. Students, staff, and friends of the university returned to Belize for a second time in as many years. The trip was again led by local pastor Layton Bentley and pulmonologist Dr. Joe Frank Smiddy, son of chancellor emeritus “Papa Joe” Smiddy. It was Bentley who began making mission trips to Belize back before 2006. The focus of these trips has evolved over the years, from the construction of buildings to the treatment of its people. And, now, UVa-Wise students play a key role in the success of the mission trips.

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The medical mission trip to Belize exists as one of several alternative spring break opportunities for UVa-Wise students to participate in. Although it was open to any student, this trip was targeted at nursing and pre-med students, as well as students involved with the university’s Baptist Collegiate Ministries (BCM). This year, three UVa-Wise Resident Advisors and other residents were among those students who attended, not to mention Provost Gil Blackburn and Jim Collie, director of the BCM. Twenty-nine students, professionals, and community leaders attended this year’s medical mission trip.

Meetings were held in November to begin talking about the itinerary for the trip. Students who came on board for the trip were required to make regular payments until the $1,100 cost was paid for. The trip involved flying from Atlanta to Belize on Saturday, March 6th and spending the next five days working and volunteering in Roaring Creek. While some sightseeing was scheduled into the itinerary, a vast majority of the time was spent volunteering in one way or another.

The group of volunteers spent five days providing free medical care to the poverty-stricken residents of Roaring Creek. According to Leah Arthur, an RA who attended the trip, over 500 individuals were seen and treated by Dr. Smiddy and the volunteers. In addition to tending to the town’s medical needs, a large amount of time was spent tending to the spiritual needs of these same people. Students, including Leah, led devotionals and worship services on a nightly basis.

Some students on the trip, including Dru Morgan, a pre-med student at UVa-Wise, chronicled their volunteer work in Belize through online blogs and public forums. Dru’s blog in particular was so emotional and engaging. Many of his family members and friends here in southwestern Virginia were able to follow along as the medical mission group worked in Belize

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There were so many goals to this mission trip. First and foremost, the trip aimed to assist a poverty-stricken population by improving the overall, long-term health of its residents. There were also an abundance of tertiary goals. Not only did this trip provide an opportunity for college students to develop practical skills and to help others, but it gave them the chance to spend spring break in a most productive and helpful way. The trip, in a lot of ways, taught students and other volunteers the importance of our global responsibility, as well as compassion for others.

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Only those who attended this trip to Belize can truly explain the positive and lasting effects. As I discussed the trip with Leah Arthur, she explained to me her deeper appreciation for the liberties we have in the United States. “We are so blessed. We take so much for granted,” she told me, as she noted that there is no such thing as a “free” education in Belize.

When I stumbled upon Dru Morgan’s online blog that was dedicated to detailing each day’s events in Belize, I was absolutely blown away. In his very last blog post, Dru wrote: “Each of us will return to our routine lives but none of us will ever be the same. As I arrived home and began to unpack my bags, I broke down one last time in tears as I pulled out my stethoscope. This week, I listened to the very essence of life, the heartbeat, of hundreds of Belizean people.”

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As someone who did not participate in the trip and has only heard about it from those folks who did attend, I can tell you that this particular community service opportunity has the potential to make such an impact on so many different people and in so many different ways.

From the collaboration between campus leaders and local community leaders to the impact the trip had on our students, the trip was fabulous all-around. Of course, a trip to Belize involves a hefty ticket price of $1,100; but as I discovered, many of the students who attended received financial support from local churches, families, and friends.

Finally, I think it’s important to point out the practical experience this trip gives to our nursing students. Not too many students entering the professional work world can boast of such an enriching experience like this.

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First and foremost, any campus looking to embark on such a trip should have a few people who are interested in serving as the key contact people. It would be helpful to consult with others who have taken such mission trips in the past, as there are a lot of details that someone like me would never think about because of my lack of experience with planning such trips.

Alternative spring break trips are done all across the country. Mission trips are done locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. Any campus or residence life program can adopt a trip with some careful planning and expertise.

Fund-raising will play a key role in making any trip possible. Therefore, your campus will need to embrace some fund-raising so that it is financially feasible for any student to attend.

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