Category: Travel

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ICO Aliquippa Experience

After going on ICO Aliquippa in the fall semester, I knew I wanted to go back in the spring. When preparing for this trip, I kept thinking back to the fall trip and wondering how similar and different it would be.

During the fall trip, we were always busy helping others, focusing on fixing things and meeting people in Aliquippa. We focused on going to the different neighborhoods and housing plans, walking around to hand out food to families and play with little kids. With the kids, we taught them about Jesus, played with them, and did Bible studies with them. A majority of our time was creating relationships and becoming familiar with Aliquippa to then come back in the spring and continue building those relationships.

When we came back in the spring, it felt like we picked up where we left off. We got to see all the people we met in the fall and spend days working and serving with them. Compared to the fall, we focused on being servants and serving others well while building the relationships we created. For a few days, we got to talk with Marie and help repair and clean parts of her house and learn more about her life. This was the most difficult part of the trip for me but also was an important lesson and reminder. Everyone has a different story and some people are not as fortunate as you, but they are the ones who are most joyful and grateful. We also spent time working at Uncommon Grounds Café and food banks, helping serve them in any way that they need. For a majority of our week, we worked with Communicycle, a non-profit organization, repairing and replacing bikes to give them to a kids’ summer camp. We spent a lot of time with Brownie, who helps out at Communicycle, and got to see how much of an impact he has left on people and how God has performed miracles in his life. One of my favorite parts about being on an ICO trip are the relationships and the people you meet and spend time with. We still talk to everyone we worked with during the fall and spring and go back to Uncommon Grounds Café to help them, in anyway they need.

Every night, we took time to talk about our highs, lows, and God sightings of the day. Thinking and answering these questions helped to keep our focus on why we were on this trip, to serve others through God. The fall trip had a positive impact on me but this trip really pushed me in my faith. If you are looking at Grove City College or have decided to come in the fall, I recommend looking into an ICO trip or going on one. Not only do you get to spend time with your peers, but you get to meet so many people in a different area and serve with them while doing it for the glory of God.

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Inner City Outreach: A Leader’s Perspective

Over Spring Break, I was blessed to have the opportunity to lead ICO Arizona. ICO Arizona is one the many opportunities students have to travel around the United States to serve a local church and community. My first exposure to ICO was my sophomore year. I knew an upperclassman through my fraternity that was leading a student led trip to Tucson, Arizona. Looking back, I have never really been able to figure out why I exactly went but attribute my participation to God. My first year I was able to participate in the trip as a regular attendee but was later asked to lead the trip. The following is an account of my leadership experience and the unique opportunity ICO provides to students across campus.

ICO is one of the best things that has ever happened to me on this campus. The ICO (Inner City Outreach) program is such a unique way to serve the Lord along side people on campus you maybe would never talk too. What makes it so unique is that is completely student led. While the ICO and chapel department at the school help train the leaders, it is up to us when we get down their to be spiritual leaders to the rest of the people on our trip. The task is daunting! To know that you are responsible for a large amount of students is not an easy thing to accept. But what ICO provides is not only the lifelong relationships with your service community but also an opportunity for students to go out of their comfort zone and lead fearlessly into an unknown area. A lot of times students have natural abilities to lead but are not often exerted out of fear or lack of opportunity, but the ICO program provides opportunities for leaders and non-leaders to serve the Lord as well as find a church community that can pour into you, even if they live across the country.

A lot has been said about “short-term” missions but I can confidently say that ICO programs should be considered by all freshmen when coming into Grove City. There are endless opportunities for you to serve God on and off campus, but the ICO program has been one way that has personally affected me, and I want to see as many people have the same experience I did. While it might not be Arizona, every ICO program offers a fresh look at God that can be extremely fruitful for college students. I cannot wait to see you all out there serving!

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Inner City Outreach – Fall Semester

Going into freshman year, I wasn’t involved in a lot of groups or activities on campus because of COVID-19 restrictions. Over the course of my freshman year, campus started to slowly make changes to try and go back to “normal.” As the spring semester ended, I knew that I wanted to join a group or different activities on campus to have community and get to know other students.

Coming back to school in the fall, I was part of OB (Orientation Board). It gave me the opportunity to grow closer with people I didn’t know very well and provide community to incoming freshmen. One of my friends from Orientation Board asked me what I was doing for fall break, and she proceeded to talk to me about an upcoming ICO trip. ICO is also referred to as Inner City Outreach, a small mission trip led by Grove City College students, taking place in different cities in multiple states, as well as a few countries. The only trip happening over fall break was ICO Aliquippa, and it was four days long. I grew up in the Pittsburgh area and have always been told that Aliquippa has a reputation for being unsafe and filled with crime. This made me very hesitant to want to go on the trip, but after talking to upperclassmen who went on the trip and listening to their experience, I decided that I wanted to go. I did not have high expectations, nor did I know what to expect before going on the trip. All I knew was that I was going out of my comfort zone and that made me very nervous and scared.

During the trip, we worked with a local church, Mount Carmel, and they felt like family at the end of the trip. We spent two days working on Janice’s house, a fellow believer. We got to paint her porch, do yardwork, and build her a new staircase to get into her house. The best part about working on her house was spending time with her, hearing about her life and how God has worked in it. We also got to spend time in the different plans (housing communities) playing with kids (lots and lots of face paint), doing Bible studies, handing out clothes, and serving food to families. We worked with a non-profit organization Communicycle that collected donated bikes to repair them and then give them to kids who do not have bikes. We spent time learning how to repair bikes and would drive around Aliquippa, handing out bikes to children.

Every night on the trip, the group would take time to reflect on the day and talk about their high and low and an instance of where they saw God that day. Asking these questions helped us to keep God at the center of our mind and of the trip. Looking back on the trip, I realized that Aliquippa is different than how it is perceived. People see Aliquippa as being a broken town with a high crime rate, but after spending time there, I see it in a different way. Although they do not have a lot, they have a strong community. They know people in different plans and all of their neighbors, treating each other like family. On the trip, I saw how present God was in each activity we did and how He is working through the people of Aliquippa. I cannot wait to go back to Aliquippa for the spring ICO trip and continue to share who God is to people. If you are looking for community at Grove City College, ICO trips provide amazing community with fellow students who want to share who God is with others!

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Study Abroad: Greece Summer Intersession

Europe Study Abroad

https://vimeo.com/359858009

How did you balance taking a class while studying abroad?

Before traveling to Europe, all the students met with our professor for the Christianity and Civilization course, and we had assignments to complete before leaving. We read numerous books and wrote responses. When we flew to Greece, we took our midterm on the airplane. This aspect was a little hard because I was tired, but I managed to get it done. While we were in Europe, we had to complete journal responses at our leisure. Finally, we all had to give a presentation at a designated tourist spot. It may seem like a lot, but I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

At which location did you present?

I did my presentation at Mycenae where I had the opportunity to talk about King Agamemnon and his tomb. It was really interesting because the view was incredible while climbing the mountain, but the tomb is in a honeycomb structure. So, when you go inside, there were cement blocks laid out to look like a honeycomb from a beehive. The acoustics were great and we all sang as one.

If a prospective student was interested in studying abroad for two weeks, what would you tell them?

I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants to travel and also get coursework done too! It is great if you want to complete one of your humanities courses. The one thing I did not realize until we got there was the people you travel with will become some of your closest friends and I still hang out with them on campus now.

How did you find out about the Summer Study Abroad opportunity?

I saw a poster around campus, so I went on my.gcc.edu and went under the International Education tab to learn more about travel courses Grove City College offers.

Europe is known for its food, so what was your favorite item you ate while in Greece and Italy?

Oddly enough, I do not like vegetables, but one of my favorite things to eat was the Greek salad. The vegetables were so fresh, and they serve it with a huge block of cheese and olive oil, it was phenomenal. I still have dreams about the first salad I ate there, that is how good it was. On the other hand, my favorite dessert became baklava on this trip.

 

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I Recorded a Music Video in Haiti

This past summer, I spent two beautiful weeks in Deschappelles, Haiti. The heat was intense, the people were very relaxed (as is common with islanders), and art was incorporated into mostly everywhere one could look. From the sides of buildings to the sounds of street musicians, I relished in the aestheticism of this country.

This country of Haiti, although severely impoverished, was rich with creativity. I experienced this fierce and natural creative spirit most when I met Pasky.

I had met this young man, 24 years of age, at the local tennis court. Being an avid tennis player myself, I would stop at the tennis courts at least once a day to play the town’s best hitters. It was titillating to barely be able to communicate with many villagers, but nonetheless exchange forehand, backhands, and serving strokes.

Pasky and I shared a match, and a few days later, he saw me walking around town with my big camera taking pictures of the area’s tree reforestation program (my reason for traveling to Haiti).

Pasky walked on over to me and said, in broken English, “Mark, will you please take a music video of me?”

I responded, “Pasky, you’re a rapper?”

He said “Oui, oui.” (meaning yes, yes).

It was natural that I accepted the challenge, even though I had not used video editing software since high school. I traveled to the country to help Haitians and this was my opportunity, one which could not have been more directly offered to me.

So, we set to record the next day. Pasky showed up wearing quirky and colorful rural costume of sorts, and had brought his friends from the tennis courts as his personal hype-men. So, we set forth, me recording, Pasky singing, and his friends joking and suggesting different dance moves to their rapper-friend. I was very grateful to be able to record what I think of as a pure manifestation of Haitian culture that developed before me.

We had a blast hitting up different spots around town and having random members of the community get involved, all while having good fun.

My personal favorite part of the video is the last minute, where the music fades out and you can only hear the raw noises of the excited Haitians. The country has an amazing culture, represented by this final part of the film clip.

The day before I left, Pasky gave me a nice present. It turns out, he’s an excellent pencil artist as well! Here is the portrait he created with myself as his inspiration to show thanks for me agreeing to give him his hour or so of fame…  he even depicted me showing peace!

Indeed, I loved the country, and now, looking back, I love the simple and pure memory of the video-recording experience. I look forward to going back to Haiti and meeting Pasky, my friend, at the cement tennis court in the heart of Deschappelles.

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Preparing for a Semester Abroad

Flying over the Swiss Alps to Italy!

Studying abroad through Grove City College is a wonderful way to expand one’s view of the world, meet new people, and learn about different cultures! The school makes studying abroad extremely accessible and allows each student to have options with the multiple programs approved by the Office of Global Programs.

The thought of going abroad for a whole semester can be daunting for a student, especially when the process is unclear and unfamiliar. Not to worry though, because the Office of Global Programs is extremely helpful and students can stop in or make an appointment at anytime! Student Advisers are available to guide each individual in their own process and make it as clear and personal to them as possible. The first step will be deciding what semester will fit best into the student’s schedule to go abroad. It will be necessary to make sure that all required classes are taken and/or available in the semesters that the student will be back at Grove City College. And then the fun begins! It will be time to do some research and narrow down programs and destinations. This is one of the best parts because the options are endless and there are really no limits to where a student can go! Some things to think about when deciding where to go are: What is your major? What languages can you speak? What is a culture that you have always been interested in learning more about? Where have you always dreamed of traveling to? Do you want to challenge yourself in speaking another language or would you rather go somewhere that speaks English?

Once the destination and program have been settled on, it will be time to figure out how many and what courses the student wants to take. The Office of Global Programs will assist the most in this stage of the process, as handing out and receiving the Course Approval Forms is their main job when advising students. Preferred and alternate courses will be chosen and then students take the form with each course syllabus to the correct Department Chair here at Grove City to get a signature. The form will be brought back to the Office of Global Programs where the forms are delivered to the Registrar’s Office to get approved. The Financial Aid Office will email the student to discuss more about preparing to study abroad. The process is a wonderful balance of learning to go through each step independently, along with guidance from the correct staff and students.

Every student should at least consider going through the process of studying abroad. It will be a learning experience and so rewarding once it is completed and the student is on their way to a semester in a different country!

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ICO Spotlight: Philadelphia

What is ICO Philadelphia?

ICO (Inner-City Outreach) Philadelphia is a short-term missions trip to the city of Philadelphia over the first half of Spring Break. Partnering with The Philadelphia Project (TPP), the student group works alongside those working and volunteering with TPP in three different ministries.

What are the different ministries the student work with?

The mercy ministries focus on going out into the parts of the city with a heavy population of homeless individuals handing out food and supplies, as well as taking time to pray and just talk with some of these people.

TPP has many different work sites in the area outside of Philadelphia, renovating the homes of those who sorely need it, but cannot afford it. The students go and work alongside trained professionals, doing projects ranging anywhere from painting to tearing down walls; the students have the opportunity to serve in a more hands on manner, making direct connections in the community.

Another ministry has a few different areas the students can go, one of these is the Whosoever Gospel Mission. The Mission on the surface is an establishment similar to the Salvation Army, complete with a thrift store and locations to donate goods. However, looking deeper, there is an amazing ministry happening just above the store. The Mission offers a place for recovering male addicts to land, recuperate and go back out into the world with a renewed mindset and a more stable (faith based) foundation. In this ministry, the students get to hear the incredible stories of some of these men. They will also get the chance to work alongside them in the sorting section of the thrift store.

What has ICO Philadelphia shown its participants?

Based on what past participants (and personal experience) have taught me, the strongest thing this trip

has brought its members is community. The community forged on this mission lasts far longer the the constraints of the trip itself. The relationships built, faiths strengthened and wisdom’s earned are those which cannot be broken and will last for years to come. Trips like these bring people together for a common goal that cannot be accomplished in such a short amount of time, but every bit (regardless of length) help tremendously. Working in the kingdom alongside other like-minded individuals, for the greater good, is truly something to marvel upon.

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Campus Spotlight: ICO Fair

What is the ICO Fair? What does it offer?

The Inner City Outreach (ICO) Fair is an event held in the student union every fall semester. The goal of this event is to inform the campus community about what ICO trips our college offers and how they can learn more about the details of these trips. This year we had informational tables set up for ten different ICO trips, most of which will be serving during spring break and the others over Thanksgiving or fall break. The trips in attendance were ICO Los Angeles, Rhode Island, Tucson, Guatemala, Philadelphia, Czech Republic, Chicago, Buffalo, and Grove City.

How did the campus community respond to the fair?

There was a great turnout from the community at the fair. Each trip had a table with their respective leaders there, ready to answer any questions about their trip and offer some insights that might help any fresh faces decide which ICO could be a good fit for them. Although the trickle of students coming in and out of the fair was steady, there was no one trip that dominated the students’ interest. Each table consistently had a number of students around and ready to hear what the leaders had to say about their trip. Most students made it a point to cycle through the room, hearing the stories of each individual trip in attendance, making sure to really get a feel for all of the trips and see where God might be leading them on this journey of service.

How can the students receive more information?

Students can sign up for email lists for individual trips to receive updates as well as look to various posters around campus. This will allow students to know when and where info meetings are being held and how they can take steps toward being on the team of their choosing.

 

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ICO Ecuador

Rachel and the ICO team in Ecuador (Photo Courtesy of Rachel Puls)
Rachel and the ICO team building for the locals (Photo Courtesy of Rachel Puls)

An Inner-City Outreach (ICO) trip is a mission trip where Grove City College students go out to a certain city, some in the US and some abroad, by themselves and do different missions work while also experiencing the culture of the place they are traveling to.

Sophomore Rachel Puls, who is an Elementary and Special Education major recently went on an ICO trip to Shell Mera, Ecuador from December 27th to January 7th. Rachel went to Ecuador with a group of 15 other Grove City College students. I asked her what made her decide to go on this ICO trip, and she said, “I always knew that I wanted to eventually try a missions trip, so I impulsively went to the meeting and applied and got in.”

Rachel said she absolutely loved her experience on this trip and would love to eventually go back. While there, the team built a workshop for the people living in the jungle to take classes and learn trades/skills that will help them to get jobs and sell their merchandise in the future. They also did some connecting with the Waorani Indians and people living in Ecuador as well as authentically experienced the culture and some of their traditions since they were there during New Years.

I asked Rachel if she would recommend going on an ICO trip to others, and she said, “Going as far as I did is definitely not something for everyone, but I would encourage people to try at least one in their lifetime, even if it is just in your neighboring city.  It is something that can really open your eyes to the Lord and help you to grow in ways you never thought possible.” This was Rachel’s first time going out of the country, and she said it was a great way to do it, and a way to truly experience other cultures.

She said her favorite part of the whole experience was being able to connect with so many people and not being worried about worldly or outside things, just being concerned with experiencing authentic communion together. I asked her if the trip met what she expected when signing up, and ultimately traveling there, and she said, “In some ways yes, but I also did not set many expectations and this trip went above and beyond for what I thought was going to happen and what I was going to see and experience.” She said the only downside to the whole trip was that some of the members of the group got sick toward the end, which was not the best.

Rachel said her favorite memory from the trip was when one day the team was hiking through the Amazon Jungle and she got to cut down banana trees with a machete!

Here on campus Rachel is a part of the ICO Ecuador team, and she is also a member of the Gamma Sigma Phi sorority, the Homecoming Committee, and a co-captain of the Women’s Club Lacrosse Team.

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What is an ICO?

ICO Guatemala team 2017

Every semester students are given the opportunity to participate in an ICO, which stands for Inner-City Outreach. ICO trips are held over just about every break during the school year and take place in cities all over the world. The trips are completely student led, with a team of students running the individual trips. Each fall there is an ICO Fair where information about the trips as well as application forms are provided. The teams are hand selected by the students running the team after much prayer and consideration. A unique part about ICOs compared to other missions trips is that an application is necessary to even be considered for the trip. This allows the people planning the trip to choose the right students for the team. Over Christmas break we have three teams going out for anywhere between 11-14 days. These teams will be serving and doing missions work in the Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Jamaica. While the location of the trip is different, the mindset of the people going on them is the same: Serve the Lord and make an impact for his kingdom. Between the three trips there will be a variety of work being done. Some will work in schools and run a VBS program, others will minister through sports, and others will serve by building houses and helping with construction related things. ICO trips are a great way to get involved for a greater cause, meet new people, travel the country and most importantly learn more about the Lord. The most common thing people say coming back from trips like these is that they went in hoping to make an impact on the people and found that a greater impact was made on them by the people they went to serve.

There are roughly 10 trips that take place each year, with opportunities to serve both in and out of the United States. Although the same trips take place year to year, there is always opportunity for the beginning of new trips. For example, this Thanksgiving a team of students went to Rhode Island (pictured to the right) to serve at a completely new location in hopes to start a trip that would continue to happen for years to come. Other trips are held within the same country, but find new missions opportunities each year. The Ecuador trip, for example, is going to a completely new location this year and is focusing more on serving the missionaries than serving the people in the community, which is different than their previous tips. Although there is room for new additions, many of the trips that are offered have been going to the same location for years and are able to for close relationships with both the children and missionaries that they serve. The Jamaica trip has been going to Robins Nest Children Home for roughly five years now, and will continue to go there as long as they are able to. These three trips are just a small example of the impact ICOs are making globally. If given the opportunity to go on one I would not pass it up. Serving the kingdom alongside your classmates and learning about the Lord together grows people in a unique way and offers an experience that not many people will get.