by Jada Rounds
About four years ago, God placed a passion for missions in my heart when I took a Christian Discipleship class through my homeschool co-op, PATH; we read a book called Kisses from Katie, the story of a young woman who moved to Uganda at 18 years old and adopted 13 girls who stole her heart. However, the one who stole her heart first was Jesus, and this love for the Lord allowed her to love these girls as she did – as He did.
Fast forward about two years, I went with the Calvary youth team to the Dominican Republic for the first time, and I got the sense that someday I would spend a lot of time there. However, I didn’t know exactly how that would pan out until much later.
In spring of 2024, I found out about an opportunity to go serve in Guatemala with Students International (SI) through my school, University of Northwestern – St. Paul. I prayed about the opportunity and talked with students who had gone before, and I really felt God was calling me to go. So, in spring of 2025, I spent two months in Guatemala working at the women’s social work site in the community of San Miguel. My site leader, Sheny, and I spent our days with both women and children, helping the women with sewing projects and the children with bracelets and other crafts. We also did a Bible study with them every day. Through this experience, the Lord taught me so much about prayer, the importance of community, His character and love for His children, and missions in general. I was filled with a love for my host family, SI staff members, and the women and children at my site that I couldn’t explain and didn’t expect.
This summer, I went with the Calvary team again to the DR to serve with Rick and Becky Mackey and, once again, it was an absolute joy. Our large team split into three smaller teams, and I was placed in the same church as last time, La Vid; this time, I got to be a leader and lead with my parents, which was very cool.
In the beginning, we learned a little about the history and culture of the DR from Rick, which reiterated for me the importance of knowing the context in which you are serving. We also went on house visits to tell people about the VBS we put on our second week and fellowship with people. This is always fascinating for me because culturally, if you go up to people in the US like this, it is avoided and seen as motivated by something selfish; however, more often than not, it was not seen that way in Jarabacoa, which was both confusing and encouraging to me.
Our first Saturday, we went to a secluded area, called Los Calabazos, and spent time on the rock, studying God’s Word and spending time with Him in His creation. This was a great opportunity for our cups to be filled before we go out the following week to pour into others.
The second week, we spent our mornings painting at La Vid (we painted the inside walls and some of the outside), and we spent our afternoons putting on VBS. We planned worship, a message, crafts, and games for the kids. It was a joy to get to know the kids and see them worship and receive the Word and enjoy the activities we planned for them. The kids who came ranged from about 3 or 4 to about 15 or 16 years old, and it was encouraging that even the older kids were participating in the activities.
I was also super proud of how the students stepped up and out of their comfort zones. From interacting with strangers during house visits and sacrificing their own backs to give the kids piggy back rides to sharing their testimonies, even in front of the congregations at the churches we were serving. Learning how to set an example by working hard myself and knowing when to step back to let the kids do the work was a personal challenge for me, but seeing the growth throughout the two weeks was so rewarding!
During the trip to the DR, my parents and I were able to visit SI’s base in Jarabacoa, and I was able to visit three of the four education sites, plus the women’s social work site that primarily works with pre-teen and teen girls. After the visit, my plan to go back to Guatemala next summer changed, and I am now pursuing a plan to go back to the DR this spring to serve. I am still waiting for this plan to be solidified and do not know exactly how it will look, but I am hopeful to return and beyond excited to see what God will do in the next year!
Jada is a student at the University of Northwestern – St. Paul, studying Nonprofit Leadership with minors in Theatre, Intercultural Studies, and Bible. In her free time, she likes to run, read, sing, and hang out with friends and family.