Combining the love of traveling, experiencing other cultures, and the desire to help people set junior Gettysburg College women's soccer player Molly O'Shea on a path to Guatemala. During the summer of 2019, O'Shea spent a week building a house for a family in need and delivered supplies to two orphanages.

After experiencing affiliated mission trips in high school, O'Shea knew that she wanted to be involved in another opportunity. It wasn't until 2019 when she finally had the chance to make it a reality.

O'Shea joined a team of like-minded people who embarked on their way to Guatemala. The team stayed for a week in Guatemala City and went through an organization in Guatemala called Catalyst Resources, which provided the supplies needed to build a brand new house for a family in Santa Maria de Jesus, a small village outside of the city.

"I wasn't exactly sure what to expect because all we knew was we were going to build a house in three days, which I didn't really believe at first," said O'Shea. "We built the entire house from scratch ourselves. It was a really good experience. It was super cool."

With the concrete base for the foundation already put in place at the site, O'Shea and her colleagues used only a wood, hammer, nails, and saw to build the house.

"I learned how to build the framing for the house as well as make double paneled walls on the outside," noted O'Shea.

"Another neat part about building the entire house was that a bunch of the kids wanted to help us hammer and stuff," "The kids enjoyed building the house because they felt like they were doing something to contribute. Building this house taught me how even the simplest of structures can completely change a family's life."

O'Shea and her colleagues did some fundraising, asked for donations, and bought items to help supply bedding and other household items for the family as well as purchasing toys and clothes for the children in the greater Guatemala City area. In between working on the house and picking up donations, O'Shea mixed in some soccer practice with local children.

"They all love soccer over there, so I was very excited," said O'Shea, who was tagged All-Centennial Conference Honorable Mention in the fall of 2019. "I think I spent most of an afternoon kicking the soccer ball around with two of the older boys at one of the orphanages."   

Once the house was completed, the team went to work putting in the furniture, clothes, toys and doing the interior decorating. When everything was set up and ready, the group invited the family to a dedication ceremony, marking O'Shea's favorite part of the experience.  

"At the end, we gave them a key, gave them a big speech, and let them open it. It was just amazing to see all the reactions," said O'Shea. "There was this one little girl that didn't really speak the entire time we were there, but as soon as she went into the house and saw her bed, clothes, and all the toys, she would not stop talking."

While O'Shea has travelled to several countries over the years, her first trip to Guatemala may have been the most memorable and left the greatest impact. The experience provided her with more knowledge, drive, and determination to continue to serve with a grateful heart and to create a better place in this world.

"This trip really humbled me and gave me an idea of what I am interested in doing," noted the political science major and philosophy minor. "I am very interested in doing a career that will help people and hopefully raise awareness for all the issues that exist."

O'Shea was unable to travel back to Guatemala this summer because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that did not stop her or the team, who she travelled with last summer, from helping from a distance as they still collected clothes, food, and supplies to send over to those families in need.

"Sadly, Guatemala has really struggled with the pandemic and the absence of mission groups helping them," said O'Shea. "I am hopeful that I will be able to go back in 2021 and we can continue our great work!"