Student Service Experiences with MDS
Grebel service trips with Mennonite Disaster Service date back to as early as the 1960s. In December 1969, Winfield Fretz, Grebel’s first president, led a group of Grebel students along with his daughter Sara to Mississippi after a hurricane. “We drove the distance to Gulfport, Mississippi in three cars, staying in churches along the way,” said Sara Fretz-Goering. “This was a meaningful trip for me personally as a high school senior.” The group stayed in Mississippi for a few days including New Year’s Eve, ringing in 1970 in the South.
Winfield Fretz led a group of Grebel students and his daughter Sara to Mississippi to serve with MDS after Hurricane Camille in 1969.
Grebel students working with MDS in Mississippi, 1969
This year, three Grebel students were awarded the MDS Scholarship after completing four-week service trips in British Columbia and Alberta. Third-year History student Jacob Morris and fourth-year Science and Music student Isabel Song both worked on home restoration in Lytton, BC following the 2021 wildfires. Mona Bailey, a third-year Psychology student worked near Coleman, Alberta on the MDS Canada Summer Youth Project at Crowsnest Bible Camp. Isabel and Mona both served on an MDS trip during their winter reading week, in 2024 and 2025 respectively, before their longer service trips with MDS, and each reflected on their own experiences serving with MDS this summer.
Mona Bailey
I chose to serve with Mennonite Disaster Service after watching the 2024 MDS Trip group present on their trip at Community Supper. Hearing their stories sold me immediately: this is something I wanted to be a part of. I was excited to experience what Grebel becomes when we’re not in our home.
The eclectic group of us that left for the week in February 2025 were certainly a small percentage of Grebelites in Ontario, but represented all of Grebel in Mississippi, our destination. That trip held many stressful hours of snowy driving and challenging work on flooring and other tasks. It also brought laughing, listening, and singing with Grebelites I had rarely spoken to before, and a tearful goodbye to the crew we left behind as we headed back to Canada. Experiencing the magic of Grebel and MDS during that trip inspired me to apply for the summer scholarship as a long-term volunteer so I could be a part of those weeks for other school and youth groups experiencing it for the first time.
The February 2025 MDS students about to depart, accompanied by visiting Chaplain Chip Bender.
During my weeks in Alberta, I witnessed something incredible. Every time new volunteers came together to work on the project, they picked up right where the last group left off and left at the end of the week trusting the next group to do the same. There is a great sense of connection in this kind of work; we worked towards a goal that was farther off than many got to see and distinctly larger than the tasks completed in each individual week. I’m left with a sense of awe at the progress and transformation that is possible when everyone works together, even when many never meet each other.
When we look at other changes and transformation we are called to work on (the climate crisis, indigenous reconciliation etc.), this type of long-term collaboration is crucial. Commending the work that came before us, pushing our own efforts forward, and trusting that the future holds a team of just as passionate and hardworking people is how progress is made. Feeling as though individuals can't accomplish the goal is never a reason to not give 100% of our efforts into the objective. A transformation rarely takes as short as four weeks, but each step we take brings the next person who picks up the hammer closer to completing the project.
I’ve learned that something going “according to plan” seems to be a rare occurrence on an MDS project. Being thrown into that kind of unpredictable environment taught me and the other volunteers how to adapt and creatively overcome obstacles. While this project did give me confidence with new tools and the know-how for new skills, it also gave me confidence in being unknowledgeable or uncertain, and figuring things out!
I’m passionate about people and communities. Non-profits and organizations like MDS that sustain communities on a local and global scale are areas I’m excited to get more involved with, and MDS has been a great way to open those doors.
The reality of being a student means your summer plans revolve around finding a job and ways to sustain yourself financially. The direct consequence of this is that young people feel they cannot volunteer because their time must be spent in paid positions where they are guaranteed one reward: money. The student scholarship and reading week trips offered with MDS provide students with these volunteer opportunities. Scholarships and bursaries relieve financial stress, while the personal rewards from volunteer work expand far beyond the usual monetary pay to a variety of priceless experiences and world-changing benefits. I’m grateful for Grebel and MDS’s connection and I hope to watch this connection strengthen in the future.
Students should volunteer with MDS because they'll learn a wild amount of practical construction skills and have the invaluable experience of evolving their perspective of the world. Travelling to different sites, listening to locals and volunteers tell their life story, and sitting down for a warm meal after accomplishing a tiring day’s work are parts of volunteering with MDS I can only hope everyone gets the chance to experience.
Isabel Song (bottom centre) with the MDS crew outside the house they worked on
Isabel working on the house
Lytton, BC
Lytton, BC is situated where the Fraser River and Thompson River meet
Isabel Song
I had the opportunity to serve with MDS in both Crisfield, Maryland and Lytton BC. The first time, I volunteered because I had heard wonderful things about the organization. I loved the idea of spending my reading week helping others, as my time as a student can often feel pretty self-focused with studying all the time. It was also so fun to travel with other Grebel students. Because I loved that experience so much, I knew I would love to serve for a whole month in BC.
In Maryland, we were responding to damage caused by a flood in 2012. We met many lovely volunteers who taught us card games, sang hymns and John Prine songs with us, and made us feel so welcome! I spent the week working on the home of the Crisfield Crab-Picking Champion, who goes by the nickname Hurricane Hazel. Most days she would stand outside with us as we painted her porch, and we would chat and hear stories. She even gave us a crab-picking demonstration on the last day of our trip!
In Lytton, we were responding to damage caused by a forest fire in 2021. I loved meeting the other scholarship students; there were four of us there, and we had a lot of fun exploring Lytton together. We were building a house while I was there, and getting to know the family we were building for was such a highlight of my time in Lytton. Members of the family built with us every day, took the volunteers on hikes and picnics in Lytton, and even showed us how to pan for gold. It was really special.
I really like the lifestyle of MDS—you work hard during the day at work that is meaningful, and then in the evenings you’re free to linger at meal tables, play lots of card games, read books, and go for walks—it’s very peaceful and purposeful. I think that’s something I’d like to have in the future, knowing that my work is making people’s lives better, and balancing that with time for community and rest.
Since 2024, Mennonite Disaster Service has offered a scholarship to Grebel students who volunteer for at least four weeks between May and August. This generous scholarship of $4500 covers average tuition costs for a term, and it encourages service and volunteering in a new generation. A short-term opportunity for Grebel students to serve with MDS over breaks from studies has been an annual tradition. “So many of our students over the years have very special memories from their time serving on MDS trips,” said Gemma Ricker-Rampersad, the Student Life and Recruitment Coordinator who helps organize the trips. “I really value the relationship Grebel has with MDS. They provide an amazing opportunity for our students to connect with a Mennonite organization and experience service learning in a unique way. I'm glad that this scholarship offers a new way for our students to experience MDS.”