Chanel Breton: "I felt God tugging at my heart"

After hearing her pastor introduce the various mission trips available to its members, Memorial freshman Chanel Breton felt God tugging at her heart. “He was telling me to go and serve, to go do something outside of my comfort zone.”

Chanel decided to take an eight day trip to Costa Rica in July as part of an Exposure Trip that her church opens up to everyone, no matter their age. “I chose Costa Rica because I knew they would be working with kids and my pastor was leading the trip.” 

Accompanied by her grandpa, they stayed with a host family. “Everyday my grandpa and I would go and eat breakfast with our host family, and then we walked to the office for devotional with the group that was with us,” she said. “The first week we were there, it was the kids’ winter vacation, so we took them on fun trips to parks and even to a see a volcano!”

During the second week, Chanel and her grandpa went to a site, or club, provided by Students International.  “My grandpa and I chose the Creative Arts Workshop. We took a bus there everyday and helped moms’ with some of the woodworking they were doing. I also watched their kids and played soccer or painted with them,” shared Chanel.

“Our site leaders were incredible people, who only spoke Spanish,” she said. “I most enjoyed the cafecitos we had everyday with them. We would eat bread, butter, and avocados and they would make coffee with chorreadors; they use cloth filters and put it over a mug, then mix coffee grounds and water. We would talk, we would sing, and just had fun.” 

Being a freshman at SJM has opened her eyes to the importance of service, according to Chanel, and her passion for serving others has grown since she signed up for her trip this past summer. “It was definitely a life changing experience for me,” she said.  “I learned the importance of relationships, with God and people. I also learned that happiness doesn't come from materials or anything that makes us ‘happy’ here in the states. Jesus is the ultimate satisfier and gives us peace.”