Often shadowed by Mexico Outreach, three Action Teams also went out during spring break to do short-term mission work. These teams went to Utah, Los Angeles and the Dominican Republic. For one week, a total of 32 APU students and faculty served the Kingdom of God in various ways.

Utah

The Utah team’s objective was to start conversation with members of the Mormon Church. They were not going with the intent to convert or do any projects; they were simply there to create friendships and engage in interfaith dialogues with Mormon students.

Senior practical theology major Jake Tastad claimed that Utah was his first choice and that he would go again if he was not graduating.

Tastad explained that the dialogues are “a relaxed way of sharing one’s faith with someone of another faith; both faiths challenge each other while respecting the journey that each one is on.”

The team participated in three dialogues, one at the Institute of Religion at the University of Utah, another at the Institute of Religion at Weber State University and the last at the home of a faculty member at Brigham Young University.

Tastad explained that the most rewarding part of the trip was learning to share one’s faith in a way that builds deep relationships.

“You think to yourself sometimes—when you come out of these dialogues with Mormon students—that you have a deeper connection with them than most of your friends at APU,” Tastad said. “The reason for this is because when you are always in your little faith bubble, you never get challenged or asked why you believe what you believe. Everyone just assumes that everyone is a Christian at APU.”

Tastad said that the most challenging part of the trip was the Mormons not understanding the theology of the Trinity.

APU’s team found this frustrating because they themselves had to understand that they did not have all the answers.

Tastad’s advice for others considering this trip is to just go for it.

“You will make deep friendships and learn how to share your faith in a more non-academic way,” Tastad said.

Los Angeles

While other teams left the country or traveled a few states away, the Los Angeles team drove less than an hour away from campus for its destination.

Every day, the LA action team engaged in different parts of the city, including going down to Skid Row, passing out granola bars and soda while praying for the homeless, partnering with the Dream Center and taking part in “Adopt a Block,” leading small Vacation Bible Schools (VBS) and visiting Angelus Temple.

Christina Saad, a junior psychology major, claimed that every aspect of this trip was challenging.

“There were people living on the streets who still had faith in God,” Saad said. “That was definitely hard to see—that even people who were broken still found their hope in God and carried that hope throughout the rest of their lives.”

Freshman Christian ministries major Josephine Wang stated how it was strange to drive around during the trip and see places that she had visited frequently.

“We go for our own pleasure, but it never occurs to us that there is a need in LA more than ever,” Wang said. “Many people think mission trips and serving is all about traveling to a third-world country, but outreach and ministry should be done all the time, anywhere and everywhere.”

Both women would tell those considering an action team to not be afraid. They encourage students to open their hearts and let God speak.

Dominican Republic

As the only other mid- semester break action team that left the country other than Mexico Outreach, the Dominican Republic team spent the week split into various vocational ministry sites, such as community health care, dentistry, microfinance, education and social work.

At these various sites, the team worked alongside missionaries to help support their ministries.

Junior psychology major Rebekah Guerra stated that the most rewarding part of the trip was being able to see the team experience God.

“God moved and transformed lives in a different context than what [the team] is used to,” Guerra said.

Guerra also explained what it was like to do a mission trip in a country largely known for its vacation spots.

“The part of the country [that] we were in was not necessarily known as a vacation region, since it’s not near any beaches and [it’s] up in the mountains,” Guerra said. “We didn’t see the typical resorts and beach paradise that a lot of people think about; it was mostly dirt roads and serving communities that have a lot of issues with poverty.”

Guerra recommends this team to people looking for a shorter mission experience and want to get their “feet wet” in the world of action teams.