OAA Students Serve on Belize Mission Trip

GENTRY, ARK. – Students from Ozark Adventist Academy (OAA) traveled to Belize in February for a construction and community outreach mission trip.

The group of 35 students, along with eight staff members and parents, departed campus Feb. 12 and flew from Tulsa to Belize City. Their destination was Belize Adventist Junior College in Calcutta Village, Corozal District, where they worked to help build the second floor of a new nursing facility. The new facility is significant because Belize has only one other nursing school, limiting access to medical training and care.

Belize Adventist Junior College currently offers academic programs ranging from primary education to biology and information technology but doesn’t yet offer a nursing degree. 

“This is going to change my life,” one local teenager told Travis Irish, OAA vice principal for academics and trip sponsor. “I will be able to become a nurse and help my people.”

When the group arrived, the first floor of the building was already complete and construction on the second floor had begun. By the time they left on Feb. 23, the only parts of the structure that remained to be completed were the center supports and roof.

The experience also exposed OAA students to a different pace of life. Much of the campus doesn’t have air conditioning, and water for showers comes from a well. Food options were limited, often consisting of roadside vendors. While mission trip participants helped with a children’s program at an Adventist elementary school, one young boy asked, “Is McDonald’s real?” The experience helped students gain perspective and appreciation.

Construction work required significant manual labor. Without heavy equipment, students passed concrete blocks hand to hand to the second floor and hauled sand and rock using ropes. Despite the challenges, participants said the work was rewarding.

Outside of the worksite, students experienced Belize’s culture and environment. They visited the island of Caye Caulker, explored local markets and went snorkeling along the reef. The group also visited Mayan ruins and spent time in Corozal.

Annah Spencer, a senior at OAA, said, “The bathrooms may not have been perfect, and the showers may not have been warm, but I have never felt so full of purpose and fulfilled.” 

Beth Zeiss, OAA principal, said she hopes experiences like this help students develop a lifelong commitment to serving others.

By Debbie Upson, Media Director

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