These days the youth of America are not as interested in Spring Break or heading to the beach when they have time off from school. This past December, Service for Peace and its members achieved yet another extraordinary thing by spending the holiday break in Brazil and rebuilding a community center with their own hands.

This group of young Global Peacemakers spent 2 weeks in Alagado da Suzana, Brazil and visited the surrounding areas learning about the culture, the needs, the desires and the ways that locals can live in happier and healthier conditions, with assistance from the government and organizations like Service for Peace.

After speaking with a group of the members, all in their early-mid 20’s, the most common responses were “The trip changed my life” and “I want to spend my next vacation doing this”. There was fun to be found amongst planting trees, painting walls, digging canals and barbecues with local government officials. There was fulfillment to be found in bringing opportunity to a community and smiles to the faces of the families and children.

Some of the members were kind enough to share their personal reflections, private moments taken at the end of each day to write down whatever they wanted. I was moved to see how each one of these young members relished in the experience. It was refreshing to see new perspectives on what can bring fulfillment. I was inspired to share their story in hopes of inspiring more of today’s youth into taking Alternative Vacations. Become the change you want to see in the world and let new experiences be your way of doing it.

For more on upcoming Global Peacemakers: Service for Peace projects visit www.serviceforpeace.org

For more videos from this Brazil experience, visit Aceneth TV on You Tube.

Final reflection: Ryan Vogel
From New York, living in Miami, goes to FIU, age 22
GPM Brazil was his third GPM
Active member of SFP club at FIU for over 3 years

Some people come to leave long-lasting effects on a community, but I just come for the fun. When I’m at home in the U.S. I do a lot of service. Whether it be bringing a Thanksgiving celebration and dinner to a poor family, or helping an elderly person cross the street safely, I like to serve for one reason and one reason only—because it is fun! For, if I enjoy helping someone and they enjoy spending that time with me as well, then why wouldn’t I continue serving? This, to me, is where the magic happens. When there is a handful of children each within a meter of me, all of them struggling to catch their breath because they are laughing so hard—that’s fun! When me and the guys are laying awake in our sleeping bags, laughing all night—that’s fun! When me and a neighbor are covered from head to toe in mud, working together to build something that neither could do alone—that’s fun! Moments like these bring tears to my eyes, tears for good memories, and for memories yet to come.

Final Reflection: Dimmy Herard
From Miami, PhD student at FIU, age 26
GPM Brazil was 3rd or 4th GPM project
Active member of Miami SFP chapter for over 3 years

For me, this Global Peacemakers project in Brazil was the planting of seeds that will one day bear the fruits of a growing relationship. Brazil is a beautiful country with warm and inviting people. Laughs and smiles come quite readily. But more importantly, what I see in Brazil is progress. This is one of the first Global Peacemakers projects that I have been involved in where you can feel the presence of the government and the vibrancy of a growing civil society. I get the sense that the two are feeding off of one another to produce the type of rapid changes that are evident in Brazilians’ everyday lives. While the community of Alagado da Suzana seems worlds away, within a lifetime the gap will be closed. This is because of the variety of groups that Service for Peace has been able to partner with here in Brazil, and their active roles in seeking positive change. I believe that the sheer will to work for change is the foundation for progressive change. I think that this will to work for change was what we brought to the community of Alagado da Suzana. By showing people in a small forgotten village on the outskirts of our relatively comfortable lives in whichever part of the U.S. we were from to get our hands dirty to do the work necessary to help them realize their full potential, we awakened their will to take the smallest, yet biggest, step that there is: to believe that they can change their lives if they simply believed they could.

Final Reflection: Samir Patel
From Kentucky (or Tennessee?), lives in Miami and goes to FIU
GPM Brazil was his first GPM

I had an amazing time. I went through many obstacles and one life-changing experience. My life-changing experience came from a game that we played during the educational reflection session. In this particular game, I was put on a team that had many useful people. My drive to always be the center of attention was what led my team to failure. We all made excuses, but I knew I had failed everyone by being myself. Had I just taken a moment to think and stood back to let others do what needed to be done, we would have had a better chance at winning. Now, I plan on changing this part of me by concentrating on this weakness. The next time I am in that kind of situation, I’ll handle it right, use all of my resources, and let others take the credit. I’m sure this will change my life for the better. It will be hard to accomplish, but it will be worth it. Brazil was so amazing.

Final Reflection: Michael Bustamente
From New York, undergraduate at St. John’s College
GPM Brazil was his first GPM

This has been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. The work we did and the meetings we had had an impact on me, but the biggest factor was the interactions I had with the people in Alagado da Suzana and within our group of volunteers. I have never felt sooo comfortable with a group of people (besides my family) than this one. I honestly feel that I’ve made friends and forms relationships that will last me a lifetime. At first I thought I was crazy for giving up half of my vacation to this, but now I feel that I’d be crazy if I didn’t give up the entire month during my next vacation for another Global Peacemakers project.