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Making an IMPACT

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By Gabriella Uzzle

Clad in Green and Purple IMPACT shirts, nine students shared about their experiences on IMPACT Far trips at last Friday's chapel. As most of the Dalat community knows, every Fall and Spring breaks about 40 kids and 9 adults go on short term service projects known as IMPACT trips. This semester there were three trips, one to ECHO Asia in Chiang Mai, Yayasan Boas Orphanage in Central Java and to Outreach programs in Phnom Penh. 

These trips allow students to step out of their comfort zones to serve others. I personally went to IMPACT Chiang Mai, and it was an amazing trip. The farm work we did while challenging at times was extremely fulfilling seeing our projects done and the workers happy with our progress. The knowledge that we were helping was enough to push us through each day. Each trip has its own challenges and highlights. 

Olive Berends (10), who spoke for the Cambodia team during Chapel said “The highlight of the impact trip was definitely getting to serve Cambodian kids. In chapel we talked a lot about getting to know yourself and bond with your team, which was important, but the core reason we were there was to serve. All our other experiences seem really small in comparison to showing the children God’s love.” 

Every IMPACT trip is the chance for a Dalat student to affect the life of someone outside of their community and a chance for a complete change of pace (if only for one week) to change their point of view. Each year some trips are repeated and some are new so if one of the trips piqued your interest during chapel last week look out for the IMPACT Far sign up form and see where the trip takes you. Take it from a senior, you never do anything else like it in high school in the best way possible. 

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