College+Essay

Shelby Dorsett 9/22/11 1B Bulliet William Edward Hartpole once said, “ [|One of the most important lessons that experience teaches is that, on the whole, success depends more upon character than upon either intellect or fortune] .” Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua is one of the poorest cities in Nicaragua. I had the amazing opportunity to accompany Kempsville Baptist Church in traveling to Puerto Cabezas in July of 2010. Our mission was to go and help young adults and kids in an orphanage where we stayed and to share the love of Christ with as many people as we could. Through this experience I witnessed the character of a group of Virginia Beach teens be exposed, developed and tested.

The long journey to Nicaragua was extremely overwhelming. It all started with getting on a plane, then off, then on a plane, then off, then on a bus to a little airport, on another plane, then finally landing in Puerto Cabezas. Having a language barrier was a constant struggle for our group. Enormous amounts of pressure were on the three of us that could speak Spanish or better yet understand it. We never lost hope in the fact that these people needed us, language barrier or not, and we weren’t going to give up. The first test of our character was emerging and for some it was not pleasant.

Some may think that the people of the United Sates and those in a third world country would not have a lot in common. To be honest, I used to be one of those people. I learned that regardless of what race the people were or where they were from, as long as the people were working together the job would be completed however big or small. It could be as little as sorting clothes by size and gender for the kid’s clothing closet. It didn’t matter if the task was making cement in a hole in the ground so that we could lay flooring in the new transition house. The work was a discovery in which we realized that character knows no language barrier. There were no barriers when it came to putting in hard work and sweat to reach our goals. The people of Nicaragua were so grateful and appreciative of the things that we did to help their community.

Preparing and delivering over 300 bags of food in a 100 degree environment is not an easy task. Teamwork and communication were keys to succeeding in this mission. Out of our element and in extreme conditions our team’s true character was exposed. During this task new leaders emerged and the group really began to function as a team. Selfish ambition was put aside and every member pushed on to complete the task. The bags consisted of rice, canola oil, sugar, beans, and lollipops for the children. The Nicaraguan people were extremely thankful for the food bags that we prepared and delivered to them. We were shown a lesson in humility when one family would reject the food because they didn’t need it as much as the family at the end of the trail did. Our character was developed on this day. We did not set out in the morning with this in mind but through the experience of the day’s events we were changed for the better.

Visiting Nicaragua was an experience that will stay in my memories forever. The people I met, and how we impacted each other’s lives has left a mark on my heart and greatly affected my own character. A quote from the movie Ferris Beuller’s Day Off states; "Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it”. This quote describes my week from a very sobering perspective. The city of Puerto Cabezas is filled with such humble, grateful people that don’t take anything in their life for granted. If I wouldn’t have just stopped, and let God do his thing through me in Nicaragua, then I would have missed something beautiful. At the end of each day we took time to stop and reflect. No matter what preconceived notions we had about the trip or each other before coming, they were all overshadowed by our new found reality. Our true character had been forced out. It had been tested. It had been developed. It had been found sufficient for the success of the mission.