Small children are seen excitedly laughing and running, playing a game of soccer, with smiles so wide that nothing could bring them down. It is sweltering hot and around 95 degrees. Drops of sweat pour from the little children’s flushed faces, with the sun beaming down bright rays on their backside.

On the other side of the world, sits a woman in an airplane, accompanied by a mix of both nerves and enthusiasm. She sits, wearing a solid navy-blue tank top and white cotton shorts with fringe on the end. With her baseball cap in hand and her hair in long braids, she was ready to go.

Her mind was open and waiting to be filled with precious lifelong memories. Her heart was big and full of love. She was waiting to go on a journey such as this that would change her life forever.

Life, she thought, was wonderful.

Senior Tarin Cook is a Criminal Justice major. Cook’s spring break was not just any ordinary vacation away from home, as she had the opportunity to travel to Managua, Nicaragua for a week while on spring break to do missionary work.

The trip itself was through Newman Catholic Ministries located in Ashland, OH. Catholic Chaplain Father Vincent Hawk, Catholic Campus Minister Nate Ediger and 15 Ashland University students went on the trip.

Cook explained the process regarding how exactly Nicaragua was chosen as the destined country for this year’s missions trip.

“They go through an organization called Mustard Seed Communities,” said Cook. “It is a Catholic-based organization that has orphanages for kids with special-needs, [and also] AIDS victims and young teenage mothers. This organization started in Jamaica.”

When sharing the news to her friends and family that she was traveling to a different country, they were all overwhelmed with such positive emotion and had encouraged her to go for it.

“I [wanted] to keep a very open mind and not go in with any expectations so that I could fully be in the moment and experience everything,” said Cook.

In order to raise money for the trip, Cook received a large portion of her money through GoFundMe, a popular fundraising website, as well as through various scholarships through the Isaiah Project, a non-profit organization which allows AU students to do missionary work.

Additionally, Applebee’s Bar & Grill donated 15% of the proceeds to Cook’s mission trip. Cook sold bracelets for $6 and patterned headbands for $16 through the Pulsera Project, a non-profit organization in which artists from Nicaragua have the opportunity to sell their handmade woven bracelets to students in schools all over the U.S. Cook also sold her mission group’s team t-shirts for $20.

Overall, Cook raised $2,000.

While in Nicaragua, it was extremely hot each day, ranging from 93 to 98 degrees.

A typical day for Cook included waking up at 7 a.m. to attend morning prayer, and eating in the cafeteria where a variety of foods were prepared for the individuals by talented chefs, including hearty rice and beans, succulent meat and chicken, and mashed or fried plantains.

Afterwards, everyone would join together to help build the chapel from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Then, for the duration of the day, individuals had the opportunity to relax and bond with some of the children in Nicaragua.

Cook elaborated on some of the activities that she and her group did while exploring Nicaragua.

“We had a guide the entire time [of the trip] named Julia, and she is such an amazing person,” said Cook. “Every time she spoke, I felt like I needed to take notes because she was so insightful. She took us to an extinct volcano that turned into a freshwater lake; it was super cool. We also did a boat tour of Nicaragua.”

Between having fun, making new memories, and interacting with children, Cook along with other AU students helped build a chapel. It was not only very strenuous work, but it taught Cook a lot about discipline.

“I thought that we were not going to be allowed to do the really hard [tasks], but it was actually a lot of manual labor and it fueled me,” said Cook. “The more tired I [became], the more I wanted to push through it. Ultimately, the chapel was for the kids, so we were helping [them] and the community itself.”

While many people in the world have access to material items, many in fact, do not. Cook described what exactly made this trip so special for her.

“For me, I had no clue that one week could change your mindset so much and leave such a lasting impact,” said Cook. “I loved the simple life. We did not have phones, or the best water system, as we could not even flush toilet paper. It was over 90 degrees with [access] to only one fan for all of us, but I never found myself complaining about any of those things. I found myself adapting and loving this [lifestyle]. You look around and see these kids; that is all they have ever known. They are the happiest kids ever and always having fun. It really makes you appreciate the little things.”

Before Cook and the rest of the group traveled back to Ashland, they were thrown a going away party complete with a huge banner that read “Ashland 2016, thank you for everything and may God bless you!” and a piñata.

Cook is eager to go back to Nicaragua in the near future.