Spring break has come and gone. While some were content to spend the week in the silence of a deserted campus, other students were not satisfied with simply doing homework and watching WrestleMania. From hiking in national parks to digging in Honduras to relaxing in Arizona, some were determined to make the most of their break.

Charlie Meo feels the crave for adventure

Leaving on Monday, senior biblical studies major Charlie Meo went with a group of nine others to three different national parks. The same day, Meo drove from Biola to Bryce Canyon in Utah. Enjoying the day, they hiked into the canyon valley and back, appreciating the hoodoo rock formations. They arrived at Zion National Park the next morning, which is about 110,000 acres bigger than Bryce Canyon. There, they hiked a trail called Angels Landing, the third most dangerous hike in the United States, Meo said.

“In the last nine years, six people have died,” Meo said. “You climb up the side of this cliff. Once you get halfway up, the rest of the hike is up the side of the cliff. There’s linked chains along the way up so you can pull yourself up.”

After braving a cliffside, seven of the nine drove back home while Meo and one other spent time at the Grand Canyon before driving to Sedona, Ariz. and back home.

The trip was prompted by a love for adventure.

“I think about what does it mean to live a good story and actually do things that make our story great or powerful,” Meo said. “It was a great opportunity to live a great story and enjoy life.”

Tony Landini digs with the Honduras Water Project

Sophomore biblical studies major Tony Landini went with a team of 40 to Honduras as part of the Honduras Water Project. The goals were to bring running water and the gospel to a village of 50 — and both attempts were a success, Landini said.

“We got to bring in the running water,” Landini said. “We would also have ministries and services every day and a night service where someone would speak and bring the gospel every night.”

The heat was probably the hardest part about the effort, he said. Digging knee deep, shovelling wide trenches for a mile up a mountain in 90-100 degree heat, the men would use pickaxes while the women shoveled the dirt out.

Despite the hard work and heat, the water made it to a central point where everyone could reach it. A good number of people came to Christ over the week, Landini said.

“The village wasn’t that large,” Landini said. “The fact that so many people came and they already had a church there prior was phenomenal.”

Ryan Dea and Michelle Andre relax in Arizona

While they didn’t hike up a cliff face or dig trenches, dating couple psychology major Ryan Dea and history major Michelle Andre, juniors, were able to spend the week together in Arizona, where Andre lives. Between shopping, picnics and catching up with old friends, the two visited an acre-wide deer farm near Flagstaff for Andre’s 21st birthday as well as Bearizona in Williams, a wildlife park that Andre says is similar to Jurassic Park.

“You just stay in your car and drive through different enclosures of animals,” Andre said. “We drove through buffalo, black bears, wolves; it was really cool.”

The two were also able to spend time with Andre’s family. At one point, her family held an Easter egg hunt competition with about 50 eggs and a handful of her eager siblings, which Dea won and saw as a highlight of his break.
 
Although the two found break relaxing, they still have to face reality along with Meo and Landini. Spring break is over; classes have started once again. There is a looming mountain of homework in their way and finals glare over the horizon.