Spring Break Campaigns has removed the international campaigns from its program this year, eliminating destinations in Central America.
The increasing cost of airfare, concern over international risks and the immense planning involved in organizing the international trips discouraged SBC from continuing the out-of-country campaigns. However, domestic trips will continue as usual.
Jen Rogers, director of student ministries, said the primary reason the trips were dropped was the expense. A trip in the U.S. can cost between $250 and $1,000 while an international trip can exceed $2,000.
“The reality is, there are so many needs we have nearby, and we have more than enough national locations this year,” Rogers said.
The Health Science Department will continue to conduct medical missions in Guatemala, however. SBC organizers said it was best to leave it to the pre-med students and faculty to organize the medical trips while SBC trips changed focus.
“Most campaigners learn that God is already at work no matter where they’re going,” Rogers said. “When students go somewhere that has a lot of similarities to where they already live, their eyes become more open to what God is doing back at home; whereas if you go to a totally different culture, you don’t always see how that relates at home.”
Evan Hernandez, SBC committee chaplain, said SBC is focusing more on what it can do locally and putting more of the funds it receives to a better use than covering excessive travel expenses.
“For the most part, we try to focus on the service, the spiritual drive and how to build community everywhere that we go to serve,” said Hernandez, senior history major from San Antonio. “That’s really what it’s about; we try to be as selfless as possible while on these missions.”
Hernandez said Anchorage, New York, St. Paul, Chicago, Seattle and Denver are among the locations planners are considering for this year.
In past years, Hernandez said SBC would send as many as 300 people out on campaigns. Last year that number had declined to about 150 people.
Hernandez said more and more people are beginning to focus on enjoying spring break for themselves and, as a result, the willingness to serve is declining.
“I feel people have lost the power of prayer and of listening to what the Lord God is directing them to,” Hernandez said. “People are refusing to look at the fact that college is not just a break from their parents but a time for them to grow into their own spirituality, their own person, their own adult life. This is what we’re called to do.”
Students can sign up for SBC by picking up a lottery number in the Campus Center Oct. 31 through Nov. 3.
