A Sneaky Service Project

Jarrod Chang

“Mercy is falling, is falling, is falling. Mercy is falling like a sweet spring rain.” Believe it or not, this was the song that was stuck in the heads of fifty-six seniors and hundreds of Thai students for an entire week. The senior class of 2017 started their Senior Sneak in Koh Samui, Thailand by participating in a service project at the Koh Samui School; and the above song was just one of many highlights.

            On the 14th of September, the seniors woke up at 7am and hopped onto the back of five pickup trucks with no idea what the day had in store for them. Crammed with ten seniors in each cargo bed, the pickup trucks rolled into the local school. The seniors were met with curious looks from hundreds of Thai teenagers. As the guide escorted the seniors to a large hall, where the first group of sixty local students were already waiting for the arrival of the strangers from Malaysia, both parties grew anxious. And when the seniors were informed that the icebreaker was singing and dancing to an unknown Christian song, a palpable tension rose between them. Even so, all of the seniors approached the activity with a positive, open mind and learned the lyrics and dance moves of “Mercy is Falling” in an instant. After ten minutes, each senior partnered up with a Thai student, and everyone sang and danced their hearts out. It was truly a memorable experience. Ask any senior today about the song, and chances are that they still remember every word and action.

            Christy Chow, one of the seniors who led the activity, said, “The song became an extraordinary part of our Sneak as it had a good message coupled with a catchy tune.”

            After the unforgettable song, the seniors’ service project progressed to a more intimate but educational level as each senior received the opportunity to teach the Thai students English in a one-on-one role-playing activity. The most interesting aspect of the activity was definitely when the guide called up groups to step onto the stage and act out the scenes. Everyone, including the seniors, dreaded the intimidating microphone; but once the groups reached the front, they settled down and had a fun time. The entire room would erupt in cheers and laughter when the seniors or the students acted as props or played their characters with great charisma. The seniors then played interesting group games, such as Amoeba, with the students; and again, screams of joy and intense laughter permeated the large meeting hall.

However, before the session ended with the first group of students, a completely unexpected phenomenon occurred. The seniors got their fifteen minutes of fame. Most of the Thai students grabbed their phones and wanted to take selfies with the seniors to capture this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Lines of girls formed around the seniors whom they found the cutest, snapping numerous photos and added the seniors on Facebook. Jerald Lim, Ben Finlay, and David Unruh were the most popular as they were basically treated like celebrities.

Reflecting on this bizarre experience, Finlay said, “It was a bit shocking that so many people wanted to take pictures with me, but it was really fun to be treated like a celebrity for the day.”

The service project was certainly exhausting, but the seniors definitely enjoyed the experience as they kicked off their Senior Sneak on the right note by serving the local community with passionate hearts.