Although many students at De Soto High School have gone on mission trips, few have traveled as far as Ireland, which is senior Morgan Laplante’s destination in January.

Specifically, Laplante is going to Dundrum, Ireland, which is around two hours outside of Dublin. She is going with a group called Christ In Youth (CIY) Engage and is leaving Jan. 3, and will be gone for 10 days.

Laplante chose to travel to Ireland because of her experience at a summer church camp, CIY Move, where she and others learned about the need for Christ as well as suicide prevention in Ireland, so they made donations to help.    

“I really enjoyed everything that we did and saw about Ireland [at camp],” Laplante said. “When I decided I wanted to go on a mission trip it was one of the opportunities.”

Laplante wanted to go on a mission trip before college, and the next trip available just happened to be Ireland.

Since the mission trip includes  people from all over the United States, Laplante doesn’t know anyone in her group. This has been a little outside her comfort zone.  

“I’m traveling by myself to a place I don’t know with people I don’t know, so I’m kind of excited for that even though it’s a little nerve racking,” Laplante said.

While in Ireland, Laplante will be working with kids at a community center called RIOT which stands for Revival In Our Town. She will play with and tutor the kids as well as help with classes on youth leadership and suicide prevention. Laplante will also be attending worship and church services.

Laplante believes going on a mission trip is an essential part of growing in her faith.

“The next step with my faith I felt like was going on a mission trip and really getting outside my comfort zone. It is really important in regards to my walk with God,” Laplante explained.

Along with her mission work, Laplante is excited to do some tourist activities such as visiting the forest where C.S. Lewis got inspiration for his book series titled The Chronicles of Narnia.

Laplante is currently working on raising money to pay for her trip. Her goal is to raise $2,500 and she has sent out letters to family and friends asking for donations and prayer.  

In addition, Laplante is selling t-shirts which are available to any DHS students who would like to support her mission trip to Ireland. If any students are interested, they should ask Laplante for more details.