Dr. Steven Bridge considers his service projects a way of life.

“It’s a natural extension of my faith and my belief system,” he said.

So it was nothing new for the Saint Joseph’s College theology professor to take a group of students on a weeklong missions trip to help a desperately needy village.

The group of 20 left the country on Jan. 2 to travel to Guatemala, the second poorest nation in North America. Once there, in a village of 500 three hours west of Guatemala City, the students spent a week of their semester break performing medical assessments for people who had never seen a doctor, cleaning teeth that had never been touched by a toothbrush and building a house out of cement blocks and rebar.

And they’d do it again.

For senior nursing major Kristen Rosenlund, the trip was a dream fulfilled. Ever since she had heard about Bridge’s last trip – to Haiti, two years ago – she had determined to be a part of the next. Unable to afford the $1,100 price tag, she asked her home parish in Danvers, Mass. for help. They sponsored her for half of the total and she managed to earn the rest.

“Service is a part of my life but is also a calling in the Christian religion. It is all sort of intertwined,” she said. “This trip confirmed my desire to do more service work.”

In fact, once she graduates, she plans to look for other opportunities to do medical-related work in third-world countries or in poor areas of the United States in addition to working as a nurse in Danvers.

As Rosenlund reflected on this trip, her first remarks concerned not what Guatemala lacks but what it made her realize is lacking here.

“While we have modern conveniences, we don’t have the sense of community and devotion to family. We’ve lost these things,” she said. “I learned so much from these people. They were so gracious.”

Kim French, also a senior nursing student, experienced that same sense of appreciation from the villagers. She, too, would like to participate in this type of service project again.

French spent much of her time assisting with the medical work, a task she enjoyed and one she felt made an impact on the villagers. And before she left, she passed on some of her medical knowledge.

“I had the privilege of working with one Guatemalan woman,” she said. “We taught her how to take blood pressures and dress wounds.”

Bridge and the students went to Guatemala with Partners in Development, an organization that operates out of Ipswich, Mass. Defining itself on its Web site as “a Christian service organization committed to the education and economic advancement of the Third-World poor,” this group’s goal is to transform communities with a combination of education, micro business loans, housing projects and healthcare.

Until now, the organization concentrated its efforts on Haiti. But with the political unrest that country is experiencing, the group decided to begin working in Guatemala. They heard about the needs of Conception from one of its villagers, a woman who had moved to the United States and had gone to work for the organization’s director, Gale Hull, in her gourmet food business.

Traveling with the Saint Joseph’s contingency, Hull arranged the details of the trip and provided a translator. She even surprised them with a last-minute crash course in teeth cleaning.

After being greeted with a banquet in their honor, the group of students got right to work with their three-fold mission.

The first area of concentration involved medical assessments. Students checked the villagers’ blood pressure and blood sugar, as well as recorded any obvious medical issues.

The second area put their recent dental training to the test. Within three and a half days, the group cared for 511 dental patients, who waited for hours to sit on the plastic lawn chairs in a family’s home in order to learn how to brush their teeth. The students gave each patient a toothbrush and toothpaste.

By performing the dental work and recording the patient information, the group set the groundwork for future teams – teams of doctors and dentists – to come in and treat those with the greatest needs.

The third area of concentration required strong arms and backs. The students completed much of a new home for a family of nine. Beginning with trench digging, they worked their way through the project mixing cement by hand, pouring it from buckets, hauling and laying concrete blocks and reinforcing the structure with rebar.

Although they were careful to drink only bottled water, many of the students got sick during their week. Perhaps it was from the unusual foods they ate, perhaps it was the coldwater bucket showers. But, in spite of this inconvenience, the students enjoyed their time. And during the last two days, they even had the chance to do some sightseeing, visiting Lake Atitlin and the artisans of Antigua.

Now that they’ve returned, the students are eager to relate the details of their trip with others. And on Wednesday, Feb. 1, they will do just that. The group will be at the Alfond Auditorium at 6:30 p.m. to share their experiences, pictures and videos. The public is invited to attend.

As Bridge pondered the impact this trip made on the villagers, the students and himself, he defined one of the tenets of his faith.

“One of the bases of Christianity is loving your neighbor and especially your neighbor who is in need. When we do that, we’re encountering God,” he said. “Where do I see God? Where don’t I see Him. In the students’ willingness to work, in the natives’ hospitality to us, in working together for a common good. I think that’s what motivates me to do what I do.”

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