for the pastfouryears,onegroup had made it its m1ss1on to put a sm1le one the faces of students and the rest of the world alike. Since 2006, Smiles for Ch1·ist had brought opportunities to improve lives and bring joy as students reached out to help their fellow man. In 2010-2011, the group fundraised for APANJE, a school for special needs children and adults in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Senior Rafael Guillen said the mission of Smiles for Christ was to serve the community while showing the love of Christ "Our vision is to be an organization that can impact lives of people strugglmg with different needs, as well astoofferopportunitiestothem," Guillen said. "We also want our organization to change and transform lives of the people working with us by developing in them leadership skills and awareness toward global issues." Every year Smiles for Christ organized a mission trip to Tegucigalpa in order to distribute the funds they had raised throughout the year. During that week, members helped with different projects and got to know the students at APANJE school. Sophomore Sofia Lopez found that traveling to a foreign country was an amazing experience. "What I enjoyed the most was the last day of the mission, being in Honduras after all the work and fundraisers in Harding," Lopez said. "Hearing the kids and young adults with disabilities singing to God and thanking Him, even with their conditions, was really inspiring." Smiles for Christ president, senior Daniel Avelar, said that this year's main projects were improving APANJE's computer lab and providing new educational material. 2 40 organizations "We hope that it will make a great stimuli in the process of integrating these students into the work labor, but most importantly, into theirfamilies and into society," Avelar said. The members developed an organized schedule for fundraising that involved cookouts, volleyball and basketball tournaments.The cookouts featured different Latin foods such as tamales and pupusas.The organization's largest fundraiser was a Latin festival during the weekend of Spring Sing with the goal of attracting large groups of visitors. In addition to thefundraising, Smiles for Christ started a website promoting the new image of the organization. The website also promoted a work atmosphere that substituted the concepts of "co-workers" with "friends" and of "associates" with "leaders." Through the organization, members learned to focus on others rather than on themselves. "We are talking about building a network of leaders that will altogether strive for excellence in the pursuit of helping others," Guillen said. "I have never experienced or applied the golden rule described in Matthew 7:12 and Mark 12:31 1n a greater way anywhere else than in the Smiles for Christ" The future looked bright for Smiles for Christ, as they had already increased their membership from six members to over 20 members. Senior Daniela Hernandez said that being a part of Smiles for Christ had been a priceless experience, driving her to work harder to serve others. "I've enjoyed this opportunity," Hernandez said. "It is great to be able to meet and interact with people that are fighters in life." Kristi Soto
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