GO Week 2025: Ecuador
By Samantha DePriest
TCS GO Week coverage continues as a group of eager high school students traveled to South America to the captial city of Quito, Ecuador to serve in a local community. The mission trip provided a unique opportunity to not only help others over the course of many days but to learn and grow through a cross cultural experience, learning how to communicate in a different language, fostering meaningful relationships, and deepening their Faith. Assistant Director of Student Development and Honor Spanish III teacher Mr. Reed Shackelford and ninth grade Bible teacher and head coach of Track & Field Mr. Sam Howard led our missions team in Ecuador. TCS sophomore Sophia Selleck was just one of the high school students greatly impacted and shares how God grew her Faith while serving in Ecuador.
The team hit the ground running as soon as they arrived. After sharing a meal and evening devotion, the team got a good nights rest and headed out the next morning to serve with Joshua Expeditions partners for a full three days. On the fifth day, the team was able to visit the Middle of the World Monument and participate in cultural experiences while visiting the historic city of Quito. The team also visited Teleferico to enjoy the magnificent view from 12,000 feet above sea level of Quito and the surrounding mountains.
Mr. Sam Howard shares, “As a chaperone on a mission trip you can never truly know what to expect. You begin to question, do we have enough students? Do we have the right students? Are their hearts eager and in a posture to serve? I can confidently look back on the trip to Ecuador and say, these are things I should have never worried about. From day one our group was not just willing, but dedicated to making a difference during GO Week. At every opportunity, whether that be playing games and leading a VBS with children all afternoon or planting gardens at homes that were just trying to put food on the table our students sought to serve. Looking back, this wasn’t just an opportunity for them, but it was an opportunity for me to see how God is active in our student body to equip and encourage for Kingdom impact.”
Sophia Selleck pictured right.
Sophia Selleck shares, “My trip to Ecuador was really a life changing experience! Our trip was filled with the Word the entire time. I knew each of my leaders wanted to make Jesus’ mission the center of our trip. On our first day of work, we met with our missions team, Pan de Vida, and held a VBS for Ecuadorian kids in the area.
At first, I didn’t know how to communicate with them at all. I knew a few Spanish phrases, but I was far from fluent and couldn’t understand them very well. In my discouragement, I remembered that before we had gotten there, I read a verse on the plane that had spoken to me deeply. In Jeremiah 1:9-10, God calls Jeremiah to ministry for the first time. It says, “Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, ‘Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” I knew from this verse that whatever it was I needed to do on this mission trip, God would give me the words to say and provide me with the tools I needed to fulfill his will, even if I didn’t speak the language these people did.
Later during the VBS, we sat down in the grass and did a craft. I was placed with a group of kids and decided to introduce myself with my name. They started asking me questions like “how old are you?” and I was able to answer. Of course there were phrases I didn’t know yet, but I started having real conversations with these kids. The little jokes they would make, the mentioning of their favorite crayon colors, and even when they tried to say their own names with an American accent, it all made sense to me and I could laugh and play with them. It was incredible what was happening and I was becoming so close with kids that spoke a different language than me.
The next couple work days of our trip were gardening for Ecuadorian families who didn’t have the finances or the strength to build their own gardens. I truly fell in love with the culture and the heart that these people had. Seeing people who were not blessed with much but still so full of the spirit was encouraging to me. I enjoyed getting to know the students I went with on the trip as well as becoming closer with the school friends I already had. All of the judgement that we might’ve shown each other at school vanished as we bonded over holding cute puppies, picking beautiful flowers, and caring for kids. Ever since I left, I’ve wanted to go back and serve just like I did. It was the greatest blessing to go out into the world and spread the message of Jesus and what he has done for me. “
