Spirituality
www.SanTanSun.com
March 15 - April 4, 2014
67
Teens to volunteer in Haiti BY TRACY HOUSE
For some kids, Spring Break is a time to relax, get in some extra sleep, play video games and hang out with friends. But for two Chandler-area boys, Spring Break will be spent helping Haitians. Part of Boy Scout Troop 172, Matthew Bade and Trung Nguyen are heading to Haiti as part of an 11-person group from St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Chandler. Their mission is to build bunk beds for children at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Orphanage in Jeremie, Haiti. Matthew, 16, attends Brophy High School and will be working on his Eagle Scout Project while in Haiti. “My project is kind of a subset of the church mission as a whole,” Matthew says. “The church was going to go build bunk beds anyway, so my project is raise the funds for and supervise building two of those beds directly.” He explains the requirement for the Eagle Scout project is a leadership demonstration. “Take a leading role in building and assembling these bunk beds.” The group will build 14 bunks. Matthew’s been involved in scouts for 10 years. This is his first trip to Haiti. To prepare for the trip, he says, “There have been a lot of vaccinations, but not as many as my father.” Matthew’s dad, Tom Bade, is serving as a volunteer for the 10-day trip. The bunk beds will be assembled for the girls’ dormitory on this trip. The last group that went built bunk beds for the boys’ dorm. The church group will install mosquito netting in the dormitories as well.
Matthew says he’s looking forward to “helping people in general. It’s not a sightseeing trip; we’re going to help people improve their lives.” His choice to build bunk beds as his Eagle Scout project involved several factors. “One of them was that I didn’t want to do something that was simple and had been done before, like build a garden or clear rocks for the forest service. I wanted to do something that would make a difference, a big difference and was kind of new.” Matthew is building the beds from the ground up—literally and figuratively. He was also responsible for raising the funds necessary for the beds. Also volunteering during his Spring Break is 15-year-old Trung, a a sophomore at Hamilton High School. The Eagle Scout says he’s heading to Haiti “so I can help out. It just feels nice to help others out.” Trung says he’ll be working with everyone else building the beds and keeping the children entertained. To prepare for the trip, Trung says he had to get just one shot, for typhoid, and some medicines. He chose to travel on the mission because Matthew and his father were attending. “It’s a coincidence that Matt and I are both in the same troop and we both go here (St. Andrew).” Trung explained there are 70 to 80 children at the orphanage from 3 to 16 years old. The group is taking coloring books, toothbrushes and toothpaste and other personal items, as well as the
SUNDAY WORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES Sunday Mornings Traditional Worship
7:30 & 11:30 A.M.
Contemporary Worship 8:50 & 10:10 A.M. Sunday School
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6:00 P.M.
High School Youth Group 6:00 P.M.
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RISEN SAVIOR LUTHERAN CHURCH & SCHOOL 23914 S. Alma School Road, Chandler, AZ 85248 SW CORNER OF ALMA SCHOOL & CHANDLER HEIGHTS ROADS
Phone: 480-895-6782 • Email: info@RSLCS.org • Website: www.RSLCS.org
HEADING TO HAITI: Matthew Bade and Trung Nguyen will spend their Spring Break in Jeremie, Haiti, helping put together bunk beds for the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Orphanage. STSN photo by Tracy House mosquito nets. The group of volunteers recently had a packing party at the parish to assemble and pack the donations and make sure all was in order before the journey. In anticipation of the trip, Trung says he received a list and pictures of the children. “They also told us they were easily excited and we should be prepared for them to smile and give us handshakes and hugs. They also told us what they like to do, because they like to play a lot of different games, especially sports.” This missionary opportunity is sponsored by St. Andrew the Apostle Church through the Haiti Outreach
ministry. The parish made a commitment in 2010 to support the orphanage. Matthew and Trung’s mission will be the parish’s fifth trip to Jeremie, Haiti. As a parish, St. Andrew counts more than 1,000 donors who have helped in this cause. St. Andrew the Apostle Church is located at 3450 W. Ray Rd., Chandler. To find out more about the parish or the Haiti Outreach program, visit www.standrewcfc.org or view a video at www.standrewcfc.org/haiti-outreach.php. Tracy House is the news editor for the SanTan Sun News. She can be reached at tracy@santansun.com.