A singer from the band Riskate 24/7 sings at the Honduras Water Project Fundraiser on March 10, 2012. | Ashley Jones/THE CHIMES

On April 5, there will be a team of 40 students taking a long plane ride from California to Honduras. They will be in Honduras for 10 days, until April 15, providing both spiritual and physical water.

On Saturday, March 10, they had a benefit concert in Sutherland Auditorium to help raise support. There were bands from the area as well as a band consisting of Honduras team members. Amid the music, there were games, prizes and a dance team that performed. Approximately 200 people attended, but there were more who supported the team by donating money instead of buying a $5 ticket.

The goal of this mission trip is to impact the people of Honduras in a way that they may see God’s love and become thirsty for Jesus Christ, said freshman team member Shealynna Ringor, who is majoring in communication disorders.

Honduras Water Project partners with Diaconia Nacional

Every spring break for the last 26 years, Biola has sent a team to Honduras, which makes it the longest-running ministry at Biola. The team will work alongside native Hondurans to construct a pipe system to provide fresh water to communities that do not have drinkable water.

“I am really looking forward to the trip! God is going to use the entire group to expand His Kingdom and revolutionize lives. I am most looking forward to serving the people of La Avispa and getting to their needs. This is my first missions trip but I have been out of the country to Bogota, Colombia for an international youth convention,” said team member, junior Nancy Dominguez who is majoring in political science with a minor in human rights.

They partner with Diaconia Nacional, a Honduras-based organization that seeks to foster holistic growth in their country. Diaconia Nacional’s work in the country varies from hurricane relief to micro-financing and development projects, according to the Honduras Water Project’s ministry website.

Benefit concert one method students used to raise money

In order to go on this trip, each member will have to raise $1,900. Raising this money can be very difficult. It takes a lot of trust in the Lord, according to Ringor.

Working together to think of creative ideas, this team has taken advantage of the many ways money can be raised. Team members sent out support letters, held a garage sale, sold books by Randy Alcorn, presented the trip to their churches, sold T-shirts and had a benefit concert. The team does a lot of fundraising together, but each member is in charge of their own funds.

One way the team worked together to raise support was with the benefit concert. Each member went out and sold tickets and the money they raised went straight to their account.

“We signed up for set up, [monitoring] lines or cleaning. Everyone comes and jumps in where there is a need of a helping hand. We worked together to get the word out. Some of the members of the Honduras team is more involved because they are in the band, but overall, we all worked together as a team,” Ringor said.

The people who attended the benefit concert made it very lively by singing, clapping and even dancing. With the games, there was not a problem with the audience volunteering to play. The atmosphere was comfortable, relaxed and fun. Elaine Carrola, from Whittier, who does not attend Biola, came to support her friend, Dominguez. There were many other non-Biola students who came just to support their friends and family.