A party with a purpose

Trinity students throw a fundraising fiesta

Every year, Susan Rasmussen's first-grade class at Trinity Lutheran Elementary takes a trip to Tijuana - without ever leaving the classroom.

The entire school brings money to send to children in Tijuana, but about seven years ago, Rasmussen decided to make the giving more experiential for her first-graders. It's fine to say the money is going to children in Mexico, she said, but what does that look like for a first grader?

For every dollar a student brings for the offering at chapel on Wednesdays, she credits her class with five miles. A chart under the American flag in the front of the classroom keeps track of how far the children travel. They start in Kalispell and progress anywhere from 20 to 40 miles each week.

"It gives them a goal to aim for," Rasmussen said. "It's just a way to help them remember their mission offering."

When the class reaches Tijuana - according to the chart, a distance of about 1,250 miles - it's time to party. This year, they crossed the border in January, but it took several weeks for classroom parents to plan the fiesta, which took place Friday.

The children, many sporting sombreros or ponchos, ate taquitos and Mexican tacos, drank virgin pi-a coladas and played games with a south-of-the-border twist, like Spanish bingo and Pictionary with prompts like "donkey" and "taco." Each student had Mexican jumping beans on a paper plate and received points for how far their beans traveled.

The fiesta's highlight was, of course, the giant gold and purple pi-ata dangling from the ceiling. Instead of swinging sticks to break it, the children pulled curled ribbons attached to the plug, but after the last ribbon broke and the pi-ata was still intact, mom Lora Anderson released it herself, showering the already-hyper students with candy.

Even with the sugar and fun, however, the children never forgot why they were there. It was a party with a purpose.

"We're celebrating Mexico," student Delani Long said, explaining that she and her classmates brought money for the children there. "We get to send it to them."

Primary school ends after sixth grade in Tijuana, and schools with upper grades are too far for many children to reach on foot. There are no buses, Rasmussen said, so students have two options: Take a taxi or stay home.

The money Trinity Lutheran students give goes toward cab fare, shoes and school supplies - things the Mexican children need to continue their schooling.

"We're giving children an education like we do," explained first-grader Adrian Schnee.

Schnee and her classmates bring a mission offering every week, Rasmussen said, and three weeks of every month, that money goes toward Mexico missions. She estimates the school helps half a dozen kids each year.

"The biggest thing we do is provide transportation," she said. "That's a biggie."

And every little bit helps.

"They say, what's a quarter?" principal David Hobus said. "Well, a quarter will buy a cab ride."

The giving doesn't stop once the class reaches Tijuana. As soon as they arrive, they turn around and head home. Only one class in seven years has given enough money to make it back to Kalispell, Rasmussen said.

"We get stranded somewhere in Utah, usually," she said, laughing. "Post-fiesta, they must go into siesta at that point. I need to see if I can motivate them."

She begins each school year with a motivational speech.

"Because we're first-graders, we can't go where God needs us to go at this point in time," she tells the class. "We can't be there in Tijuana, but through our offerings, we can make a difference."

This year, her first-graders were able to really see what life is like for the students they're helping. A high-school student who traveled to Mexico last summer on Trinity Lutheran Church's annual mission trip loaned Rasmussen a photo album and shared journal entries from her time there.

The children were disgusted when they heard about sewage running down the streets. Rasmussen asked her students to imagine the 144-square-foot houses the church builds in Mexico; nearly four houses could fit inside her classroom.

"But guys, this is what they live like," Rasmussen told them. "They're excited to use markers and crayons."

It's been invaluable for her students to "actually see what life is like down there," she said. "It's so different from anything that we have here."

Exposing the children to real-life poverty issues is a way to encourage the children to make a difference in the world, Rasmussen said.

"I try to encourage them. They can be there as his witnesses," she said. "Even though they can't be there physically, they can do it through prayer and do it through their offerings. That's how they were missionaries in their own way."

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.