Kirby's reflection

During one of the last few weeks of school, I sat down with the head of the upper school to discuss the grading of my senior speech. For that thesis paper, I had defended the point that the Agriculture Department should be placed on the minimum wage standard. I was inspired to research that particular issue after my experience at the Beth-El Farmworker Ministry on Second Presbyterian’s mission trip during the summer of 2013. The head of the upper school was thoroughly impressed I was again traveling down a second time to work with the same community, but for me, that’s what made it all the more special. After becoming so adamant about farmworker’s rights throughout my research, I couldn’t wait for this year’s trip back down to Wimauma. This mission team was a combination of experienced-goers and novices, both with the youth and adults. The intimate size of the group was different from the previous year, but we still managed to be just as, if not even more, productive. We again worked with Javier, our projects coordinator, who enthusiastically greeted us as we pulled in late Sunday night. On Monday, we did a lot of clearing out and sorting in both the attic above the sanctuary and the offices adjacent to the sanctuary. On Tuesday, we, again, assisted with the mission’s weekly food drive. We divided the jobs out; some helped specifically by packing the frozen food items into bags, others carried bags out to the patron’s cars, and still others distributed jugs of orange juice outside. It was so neat to see familiar faces, as the connections made last year were still relevant this year. On Wednesday and Thursday, the drywall projects in the offices with the help of Santos went underway. It was the first experience most of us had with drywall, but all the same we worked enthusiastically to do the best of our ability with the project. All in all, the 2014 Mission Team accomplished a lot. As they say, we were small, but mighty. The mission trip itself was even more special to me as it was my final one. The work we did in Wimauma, although it does not solve the underlying problem these workers experience, assists in the betterment of their daily lives. Just knowing that made this trip one of the highlights of my summer.