Globalscope Service Trips are Life-Changing for Students and Communities

For the fourth straight year, several Globalscope campus ministries from Latin America have teamed up to travel to a different location to serve together. Claudia Ossa, campus minister with the team in Montevideo, Uruguay, shares how Proyecto La Paz continues to be an amazing experience.

This year, our annual Service Trip (“Proyecto La Paz*) brought together ministries from Montevideo, Santiago, Viña del Mar, and Puebla. A group of 25 people—20 of them university students and 10 from our ministry in Uruguay—traveled to southern Chile, specifically to Ralco, to work alongside the indigenous Pehuenche communities in the area.

The experience deeply impacted each participant as they witnessed a social and cultural reality so different from their own. One of the most meaningful aspects of the trip was our morning devotionals, where we intentionally encouraged students not only to deepen their relationship with Christ but also to take new steps of faith. You have to understand—daily devotionals are not common in the lives of most of our Uruguayan students. Out of the 10 students from Uruguay, only three are Christians, while the other seven are sincerely and openly exploring the Christian faith. These trips create beautiful opportunities to plant new seeds of curiosity about Christ’s love.

We “use” service trips like this to open their eyes and provide space for the Holy Spirit to work, allowing them to reflect on their own spirituality in an environment away from campus.

The trip was not only transformative for our students but also had a profound impact on the local community. We built a playground for the children of the local church, distributed over 200 school supply kits and small gifts to children in the area, and painted the walls of two local preschools. Additionally, we gifted 20 pairs of shoes to children living in a remote indigenous community in the mountains.

This journey was a powerful reminder that, through service, we not only give—but we receive. God is at work in every heart, and your support makes it possible for more students to step into these life-changing experiences.