When you first asked for me to share some of my experiences I was really excited...but now that I've started to think seriously about it, I just don't know where to begin.

First of all, I found it incredible how we all managed to come from all corners of Canada with hardly anything in common and we left as a family, with an unbreakable bond, unforgettable memories and everything in common. We managed to get through a few sleepless nights, long flights, long waits between flights and the shock of what we saw. We even accepted each other's sweat (like it or not) on the bus.

I figured when I got home I would have some amazing stories to tell. When I finally did get home, the stories seemed to have lost their meaning. In my heart, I knew how much it all meant, but it didn't come out the same. My friends and family weren't there to see the shacks, to experience the heat, to inhale the horrid smoke at the dump. 

It was crazy how after about the second day, we were so dirty, wet and tired that we forgot completely about the simple luxuries of home. We take everything like that for granted. Even something as simple as brushing our teeth under the tap or flushing toilet paper was impossible on the trip. Those tiny things seemed to have one of the biggest impacts on me. Two weeks after getting home, I was still amazed at how easy we have it.

I was pretty moved by one little girl in Ascension. One rainy day I gave her my last bag full of goodies. Her face instantly lit up and she looked at my name tag. For the rest of the week she'd walk around asking everyone where I was and would follow me around.

I think overall, the highlight of the trip for me was the dump. I think it was the last place any of us wanted to be after the nice cruise we went on. After walking through the smoke and dirt and handing out meals, it hit me. After a whole week of working at Ascension, picking up garbage in Redemption and handing out other supplies, it finally hit me. I'm still in disbelief that people in the world are living the way those people are. I've never been so proud to be Canadian as I was when we sang our anthem, and gave out the little Canadian flags. When we sang Amazing Grace and the Haitians/Dominicans sang their anthems was super cool as well. That was truly priceless. Thinking back, I don't know how or why I walked out of there with any clothes on my back.

This was an experience of a life time and I can't wait to go back next year.

To find out more about Hero Holiday please visit www.heroholiday.com

I applied to Hero Holiday after seeing the presentation when Absolute came to my school. The presentation was great...but I could not stop talking about this trip! I got all my friends together and we all signed up for the mailing list. Unfortunately, I was the only one who actually applied and went on the trip.

My plan was to get sponsorships from companies and organizations in my town, but being from a small town where there aren't many large corporations to go to, I found this difficult. I managed to find the money at the last minute from family, but it was a long shot. It seemed almost too good to be true, when the Kiwanis Club in my area gave me $300. It helped pay for the airline flight that was my next obstacle.

I felt sick to my stomach when I flew out to Hamilton to meet my team members for Hero Holiday. I honestly can say I wanted to go home. Part of me felt like I couldn't do it and maybe it was all a big mistake. But once I saw the sign with my name on it with the reps from Hero Holiday holding it...I knew I was fine.

We got to the Dominican and you can't imagine the impact you make. It's truly unbelievable. People there are in dire need and we were able to help them! Even the littlest things like picking up garbage in a village and watching people slowly come out to help you is amazing. They have so little and yet they give unconditionally! I had people welcoming me into their homes, giving me water, helping me when I fell. It was indescribable. I will always remember the little girls and boys I met there. Cassandra, Itagracia, Julia, Wilson...are just a few who's smiles will impact me eternally. I want to participate on this next year...I need to. This isn't something you can do once and forget about. It's a life changing experience! After digging in the mud in the villages and seeing what little people live on and survive with and yet they are so joyful, you can't look at your life the same.

I can't say anything that will truly describe this experience. Words aren't enough. My pictures can't tell you what went on. I can only say this: Experience it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. It truly is life changing for not only you, but also those you go there to serve.

To find out more about Hero Holiday please visit www.heroholiday.com

As I look around my office right now, everything I see is designed for a specific purpose.  Otherwise, why would it exist?  Desk, paper, printer, sticky notes, chapstick…Therefore, it stands to reason that the very fact that you exist gives you purpose on the planet.  Sometimes in our own little part of the world we could be tempted to feel a bit insignificant or obscure.  After all, what can one person do?  Thoughts like "I'm only a student" or "I don't have any amazing talents that will cause the world to stop and take notice" begin to creep into our heads until we believe the lie that we are destined to always be just another face in the crowd.  NOT!  The ball's in your court.  Remember the famous words of William Wallace in the movie Braveheart?  "Every man dies, but not every man really lives."  It's up to each one of us to live our lives with purpose.  Don't be content with average!  Take a look around your city or town, your province, your nation, your continent and even your world.  There are people all around us waiting for a hero.  Do you see them?  The student who walks home alone from school every day, the people in your own city whose home consists of cardboard and a park bench or the millions of children at risk who wait for a sponsor, and of course, Hero Holiday 2006.  I am convinced that all of you have "Hero DNA" encoded inside of you.  So…how are you going to make a difference in your world?

Love you all,

Going on Hero Holiday has made me have a new perspective on life. Seeing the little kids and holding them has made my life totally different. Before I left I thought, we'll meet some people, do some building and have a lot of fun, then come home and tell everyone about it, think about it sometimes, but pretty much go back to how I was. How wrong was I!! Life is totally different. Actually being there, seeing the people and holding the little kids has had a HUGE impact on my life. The people there have nothing, but they are so happy. They praise God for every little thing they have. Back in Canada, all we want is more. We want the new toy, the new computer, the new car; all we ever think about is what we don't have. The people in the Dominican Republic are happy for what they have, and even when we gave them little things like a toothbrush and toothpaste, they were so thankful. I can remember in Redemption, the little kids were so excited about getting suckers and stickers, to them it meant the world. The little kids were so amazing; when I was handing out suckers I had a little girl named Angela in my arms. When she saw that I had given all of mine away, even though she only had one, she offered it to me. That was a changing moment in my life. The fact that she was willing to give up the little that she had to make someone else happy brought me to tears. Even while she was eating it she kept offering me some. To think that in Canada the little four year old would have eaten the sucker without even thinking about giving it to someone else, when we have everything we need and more, but the little girl who had nothing would give me hers. It shocks me at how nice these people were. When you went to talk to someone, they would offer you tea or coffee, they would give you anything they had. Little kids were so happy when they could draw, this was an amazing thing for them, they didn't have crayons and paper of their own. To think that these people have so little and they would give everything they have makes me wish I could be like them. Before I left for Redemption I was thinking, I will not pick up a child without clothes on, but as soon as I got there and saw their faces, it didn't matter. All the kids were the same, they all wanted to be loved and know that someone cared. The kids would cling onto you and never want to let you go, and we didn't want to let them go either!! Its weird how in only a few seconds, you can bond with a child, even when you don't speak the same language.  

When we were building in Ascension, the children who lived in the village would come and want to help us, and if we gave them a little bit of water, they would be so grateful. I remember sitting on the ground one day when we were taking a little break to have a snack, and a little boy Sandy was working with us. He came over and sat down next to me, and I gave him half of my banana and he was so happy. The smile on his face made me want to cry, he was so happy over what seemed to me to be nothing. When a little girl came to me and I had my water bottle open and I gave her a little drink, she was smiling and dancing, she was so happy over a little drink of clean water. These people literally have nothing, and every little thing we gave them, they were so thankful for. In Canada we just have clean water, the food we need, the cloths to wear. Everything we need we have, these people don't have the luxury. They are lucky to get one meal a day, they bath in dirty water, they sleep on the floors. The houses that they live in are so small, but yet these people are happy to have a house.

When we went on the awareness tour, it really shocked me to see how these people are really living, what they eat and how happy they are. When you walked into the villages, here were kids dancing and singing, smiling and grabbing onto you. It's amazing how these kids are so happy when they have nothing. They are glad for what they have, but that's all they've ever known.

I guess I'm a totally new person. I try to be like those children, happy with what I have. Not always wanting more, not complaining because I don't have something, and always being happy. I want to be able to dance and sing and praise God for what I have, not complain about what I don't have. This is a project I hope to do every year from now on!!

To find out more about Hero Holiday please visit www.heroholiday.com

Here we are on the other side of history.  We did it!  How many times in the past year did we hear the words, "You can't do that!"  It's a good thing we are too stubborn to give up!  I don't know about you, but sometimes I think it was all a dream.  And then one evening last week I put the DVD in my laptop and watched each one of you, one by one, emerge though the dense smoke at the Puerto Plata Dump.  A year ago you were students, teachers, parents, business people.  Now you have become history makers, world changers, and hearts broken as you faced poverty and extended your hands and reached into a different world.  Forever ingrained in my memory is the sight of one of our teenagers kneeling barefoot in the midst of all the filth, putting his running shoes on the feet of a young Haitian refugee and tying up the shoelaces.  HEROES.  Every one of you.  Thank you for taking up the challenge to make a difference in someone else's life.  Thank you for refusing to be average.  Thank you for giving so much of yourself.  I'm so proud of you.

We are already gearing up for Hero Holiday 2006 and I am excited beyond words.  We will be back in Sosua, DR next year and we have some exciting plans.  I know I will be seeing many of you again and many of you I will meet for the first time.  I am already receiving emails from students who have heard about Hero Holiday 2005 through friends, the local news and newspapers.  Applications are now available on the Hero Holiday website.  I suggest you get your applications in early!  I'm always here for you if you need questions answered or just want to chat.

Love you all,