Student Reflection

Below is a fantastic submission from Georgia Versteeg about her experience an overseas's experience to Sri Lanka

"Hello my name is Georgia Versteeg, and last year from the 18th of November to the 3rd of December I embarked on a mission trip to Sri Lanka. Through my protestant church, we had connections to a church like ours's, and then before I knew it I was signed up to go on behalf of my church, alongside my team to do missions. The pastor and his family accepted us as their own, and guided us through the wild world of a new country. Rather than getting what I would see from sightseeing, and visiting historical places, instead I had to become like a Sri Lankan. I ate like them, their spicy curries, massive plates of food, and visited their homes cramped in small apartments or uninsulated tin houses, holding their entire families, grandparents, aunties, uncles included. Also visited schools, some had no ventilation, mould growing in the ceiling, and some were just half the size of a classroom at Marian, this small class needing to accommodate an entire village of school children. The mattresses were just a thin layer of foam, your weight would make you feel like you were just laying on springs, and only if they were lucky, some wouldn't even have a mattress.

 I followed their routines, creating workshops, hiking into remote towns and helping give nutrients to starving children, making kids clubs and activities and financially supporting them with school supplies and backpacks. I went into the wild jungles of the inland of Sri Lanka where the tea plantations were, and experienced many hardworking women plowing and picking tea all day long, never being appreciated by their society for all they would do. All they needed was a bit of love, a simple conversation, just telling them their name was pretty would light up their faces up like I had never seen before. This escalated my experience, and granted me more knowledge than a holiday could ever offer. By the time I reached having some spare time to relax, I actually found it very boring and unfulfilling, and found talking to people hiking into villages much more valuable. Their way of life is so simple, and they have so little, the small things, making jokes and a simple lesson on the bible with a game, would give them so much joy I couldn't even tell you. These people of Sri Lanka had never seen what it was like to be loved as an individual before, and I would say it was my greatest honor to help those Sri Lankans feel like they were worth something. This trip made me realize that I could never truly see a country until I walked with the eyes of the people, and going on this mission trip was the best decision I have ever made."