Holbrook, Guatemala mission trips move the needle on impact

Ten students and one faculty member under the auspices of the Adventist university’s Pre-Medical Society served more than 500 people across multiple communities in Guatemala between Dec. 13 – 21. Their activities included distributing toys to children; installing clean water filters in six homes; visiting a children’s hospital to pray with families and deliver stuffed toys; providing enriching social activities at a HIV hospice; donating essential supplies to a homeless shelter; and assisting physicians and dentists during a health clinic.

“Each day concluded with team debriefs and devotionals, providing space for reflection, gratitude, and spiritual growth,” Pre-Medical Society President Pablo Jaquez said in an email overview of the trip. “These moments helped center the experience in service, humility, and faith, and allowed students to process the responsibility and privilege of caring for others.”

“Our club members joined hands around the baby and began singing.” – Pablo Jaquez, Pre-Medical Society President

One of the most impactful activities in which Jaquez participated was a visit the La Sierra team made to a Hospital Roosevelt Pediatrics in Guatemala City. The students prayed for the children and families who were there, including for a six-month-old baby whose health issues were particularly challenging.

“The mother was crying and our club members joined hands around the baby and began singing ‘How Great is Our God.’ In that moment you could truly feel God’s presence. It felt like God’s love was being poured into everyone there,” Jaquez said.

“The Guatemala mission trip was a life-changing experience for me,” he continued. “Being able to see the real needs that exist outside of our normal environment helped me step out of our bubble.”

“It also impacted my faith in a very special way,” he said, noting that every night during dinner, the club members each told of one experience from the day’s activities in which they could see God in others. “Hearing how someone saw God in something small that another person did was really powerful,” Jaquez said.            

Meanwhile, nearly 3,900 miles away, 18 of the Pre-Medical Society’s college peers were helping Holbrook Indian School with painting and with agricultural activities. The school serves Indian youth who often arrive challenged by various traumas. Programs are designed to provide a haven for healing, growth and thriving in Christ, and where Native American culture is celebrated and preserved.

Ezekiel Teo, a graduate student with the H.M.S. Richards Divinity School and a videographer with the university’s marketing department documented service activities at Holbrook with photos and video. He also assisted in dismantling a damaged greenhouse, sorting a toolshed, weeding and gardening in the school’s fields, and preparing food for missions participants. It was his first visit to Holbrook Indian School.

“I was interested in accompanying and documenting this trip because I was curious about Holbrook’s mission as an indigenous boarding school and how it set itself apart from Christianity’s difficult history with such type of schools,” Teo said.

For Teo and others, the work of serving others circled back to impact their own hearts, minds, and faith experience.

“I enjoyed moments where we worshipped and spent time with students, hearing their faith questions,” Teo said. “I’m happy to see how Adventist education positively impacts the world around us beyond [our] faith community.”

Student Loreen Nepomuceno assisted with painting the school’s cafeteria. “Watching the walls go from worn and faded to bright and renewed was satisfying,” she said, adding, “Serving others helped me understand that faith isn’t just something we believe internally, but it can be demonstrated through love and service.” 

La Sierra’s Ministry Director of Missions Dionne Afease coordinated the Holbrook outreach for Christmas break. She had first visited the Arizona school in March 2025.

“While I was there, I foresaw the potential of a mission trip to help restore and renew the school campus for these children,” Afease said. “Some [Holbrook students] mentioned directly to me that this was their happiest place.

"In the name of Jesus, we served beyond their expectations.” – Dionne Afease, Ministry Director of Missions

“My most memorable moment of this mission's outreach was the ministry of presence we had with the students,” she said. “The students all waited to see us daily. Every morning, they looked for us, and when we were leaving, we received a call that the students wanted to say goodbye. As we turned the corner from the housing location to the cafeteria, they were all outside.”

Afease was also impressed by the dedication of the La Sierra student volunteers. “They were mission-minded and completed the tasks in our plans and wanted to do more,” she said.

“My faith was impacted by the smiles and impressions we left upon the students and staff,” Afease said. “The staff could not believe the job we completed. In the name of Jesus, we served beyond their expectations.”

Jaquez, who aims to become a missionary physician, believes that everyone should experience a mission trip at least once in their lifetime. “As Christians, we are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus,” he said. “Mission work gives us the opportunity to use the talents and gifts God has placed in our lives to serve others and reflect His love in a real and meaningful way.”