Lucia Cornejo

Block 5

Junior Service Reflection

Service Project Site: Fundación Castro Limon

1. Describe your service project. Where did you go, what were your specific duties, etc.
Why did you choose this particular service project? If you did more than one project/went
to more than one site, please answer the questions for each one.

I did my service hours at Fundación Castro Limon, a nonprofit that brings assistance to
children and adolescents with cancer and helps them with their oncological treatment. During
my time at Castro Limon, I spend hours packaging hoodies, bracelets, and t-shirts. By selling
these products at local grocery stores, this is how the nonprofit generates money for treatments
and food for the children. I chose Castro Limon as it is a well-known and ethical nonprofit in my
locality, the location also facilitated my service, as it is near my house.

2. What, if any, challenges did your project present?

Fundación Castro Limon has a really pleasing working environment and I had respectful
interactions with college students who also were doing service hours. Overall, I did not present
any challenges while doing my service over there.

3. What did you learn about/how did you grow from the project regarding each of the
following:
Your community:

Serving others during this service project taught me many important lessons about our
communities. I developed a greater understanding of the issues and needs of my community
and the people living in it. This knowledge can aid in my development of deeper empathy and
compassion for others as well as a better sense of responsibility for the well-being of our
community. I also learned how compressive my community can be. All the volunteers wanting to
give a better life to the children showed me the beautiful and helpful city in which I live.

The organization:
During my service time, I learned about the beautiful environment that Castro Limon has
to offer. Their ethics and charity gave them the recognition they deserve. The organization helps
children with cancer, especially the ones who come from low-income families for free, and they
finance all of the expensive oncological treatments. These actions illustrate the Christ-like life
the organization works and lives every day.

Your faith:

During this project, I witnessed the transforming power of God's love and gain a clearer
understanding of what it means to be a follower of Christ through serving others. My
service also deepened my relationship with God. I could sense God's presence working through
me to transform and provide hope to those I served. This could strengthen my spiritual
connection and give me a clearer sense of my calling in life.

Yourself:
I learned more about my own strengths and weaknesses and find new ways to use my
skills and talents to help others. This can aid in enhancing my sense of purpose in life.
Christian service also helped me in the development of important qualities like patience,
persistence, and humility. Through this process, I learned to be more selfless and
compassionate as well as get a deeper understanding of the worth and dignity of every person.

4. After this experience, can you reflect on how Christian service is part of who we are as
human persons? What benefits are there in serving others for you?

Christian service expresses our intrinsic desire to serve others and contribute to something
bigger than ourselves, and as such, can be considered as an essential part of who we are as
individuals. Humans have the responsibility to treat others with the same love and service that
God does for us. By performing acts of service, we not only assist those in need but also
develop our own sense of fulfillment and purpose. Serving others fosters a sense of community
and fosters relationships of empathy and compassion that cut over racial, cultural, and historical
barriers.

5. After your experience this year, what will you do next year for Christian service? Will you
make any changes to your project? If yes, how and why? In other words, how can you
expand on and make better your experience performing Christian service?

In my senior year, I will continue doing my service hours at Castro Limon and take school-
given service opportunities. To expand on and make better my experience performing Christian
service, I will deepen my understanding of this. Reflecting on how helping and giving love to
others connects to my faith and to what God wants to me, will increase my joy at doing acts of
charity. I will also try to establish connections with the people I serve and volunteers I engage
with; spend some time hearing about their experiences and learning about their opinions.
Making these connections can increase my understanding of the effects of my work and give
me a sense of fulfillment and purpose.