While many college aged students look forward to some “down time” during the winter break, a group of 10 college aged young adults spent 10 days of their holiday break in Nicaragua.

Two of those 10 young adults came from Fennimore. 

Rachel Schauer, a 2024 graduate of Fennimore High School, and daughter of Ruby and James Schauer, and Brady Pink, a 2021 graduate of Fennimore High School and son of Bobbi Jo and Brian Pink, both took part in the recent 10-day trip down to Nicaragua.

The trip was an extension of To The Cross Missions, and coordinated with 516 NOW, a Christian nonprofit organization.

The To The Cross trips were started back in 2021, by area churches, First Presbyterian Church of Lancaster, Family in Faith, Fennimore, and Mount Hope/Wauzeka Methodist Church.

The main purpose was to get more kids involved with the church and see “religion isn’t just coming to church and sitting and singing hymns,” according to Pastor Mark Hoehne of the First Presbyterian Church.

Mission trips go through kids’ ages with the first ones aimed for children first through fifth grade as day trips in Boscobel, Fennimore, and Lancaster. Sixth through eighth grade do three-day overnight trips in the assigned area doing projects, and high schoolers go on week long trips somewhere out of state to do their work.

And new this year was the college-agers embarking on an out of the United States trip.

“We saw the profound effect these trips had on all the kids involved, and we wanted to give them one more level of exposure, so we added the international trip for the college-aged one,” Hoehne explained.

Hoehne also explained that although the mission trips were started by himself and the pastors Lance Wetter of Mount Hope/Wauzeka and Renee Thomas of Family In Faith, the trips are open to all. 

Schauer and Pink both had done those trips, recently attending an out-of-state one to North Carolina, but were ready to embark on and experience an international one.

When asked why they wanted to go on such a far away trip, Schauer stated she “always wanted to travel and wanted to help spread the ‘good word.’”

Pink said his reasons were as this trip was the first one out of the United States, wanted to “be part of getting the ball rolling and help set up trips for the future.”

The trip was lead and coordinated by Emily Stader who was part of the 516 NOW group.

Stader stated that she had been on previous trips to places such as the Dominican  Republic and Ecuador, some with her father leading the group, but this was her first “solo leader” trip.

“It was perfect timing. They (To The Cross) were looking for someone to lead an international trip and I was looking for a team to go,” Stader explained.

In June/July 2025, the trip to Nicaragua was confirmed and Stader and Hoehne both stated that within 48 hours of the To The Cross Missions asking, they had their 10 group set.

The 10 group members held one group fundraiser, a spaghetti lunch with a silent auction and gun raffle, as well as individual ones to raise the funds needed for their trip.

“With God working how he does,” Stader said, “the group fundraiser was successful enough that they had all their plane ticket funds raised.”

Their group’s trip started a little on the rough side as their travel day started with a flight from Chicago to Miami, and then a seven hour delay. Pink also said he came down with some sort of fluish bug and was in his words, “no bueno.”

But looking at the positives, Stader, Schauer, and Pink all said the seven hour delay gave them all a better chance to get to know one another and “everyone stayed flexible and patient,” according to Stader, who also stated the experience gave them “good team bonding from the start.”

Finally, the group arrived at their host camp in Nicaragua, and the trip was a mix of volunteer work, site seeing, and “taking in the culture.”

The volunteer part consisted of some painting projects and doing some after school camps which Schauer and Pink said they played games with the local children, hung out, and acted out the story of David and Goliath.

“The community there was super welcoming,” Schauer explained. “The kids there are just so grateful for whatever they have.”

Pink stated, “They made us feel like celebrities, always wanted to take pictures with us. It was a very interesting dynamic.”

Schauer and Pink recalled a time when one of the local children brought them a bird he had and the group was making a big deal of it, and all of sudden the child ran off and came back with his second, bigger bird and was so proud of them.

“You can see the gratefulness in their eyes for everything they have,” Pink went on say, recalling a game of pinata where after the pinata was broken the children started grabbing the broken pieces and coming up with ideas on how to use them. “They can make toys with anything, and they’re just so grateful for anything,” he stated.

The group did some site-seeing and exploring and had some fun as Stader said when they went to the ocean, took in the nature, being in the middle of a jungle, and were able to swim in a lagoon in a dormant volcano.

They also went to the local markets, and hardware and grocery stores to experience some of everyday life in Nicaragua.

“Tourism is nice, but you have to see how everyday people live to take it all in,” Stader explained.

Schauer and Pink said whenever they went site-seeing they took along their host camp staff to always include them with their experience in Nicaragua.

All three stated the trip home went much, much more smoothly then the trip there.

Stader called the trip and experience fabulous and thanked To The Cross for partnering with her. “I’m very thankful for the opportunity to work with them.”

Hoehne of First Presbyterian felt likewise working with Stader, stating that “She was such a blessing and an answer to our prayers.”

Schauer, when looking back on the experience, said, “It was just so eye opening seeing a third world country. I had been to Europe for wrestling and there’s big houses and everything is nice, but being in the middle of the jungle and seeing how happy the people are with less, it’s just an eye opening experience.”

Pink shared Schauer’s sentiments. “We are so blessed here in the states, it can distract us from what is important,” he stated. “They are more focused on their faith all while having so much less.”