Make-A-Wish grants trip of a lifetime to Win-E-Mac teen

By: Alayna Espeseth 

Everyone at some point in their life has made a wish. Maybe you wished upon a star or maybe they were birthday wishes.  Some may have been realistic while others not so much. Grown-ups, as well as children, can come up with some crazy ideas. Physical objects, to traveling, health or something special for the family. Recently, I was with a five year old girl that wanted to make a wish before she went to bed. She wished for her family to get back together. This surprises me! Such a big wish for such a little girl. People do not understand how much their actions affect their children and the people around them. This reason was the deciding factor for why I chose to travel, while making a difference in the lives others.

I was diagnosed on June 4, 2015 with Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma at the age of 15. In the next few weeks I had my thyroid removed along with 27 other lymph nodes, followed by a radioactive iodine treatment (radiation) in August of 2015. And a follow-up radiation treatment this past August after finding new cancer spot in the thyroid bed and cancer in my lungs. (Psalm 27:3   Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid. Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident.)

The way I see myself, is if I’m going to be involved in something I going to give it my all. Having cancer, surgery and radiation while being involved in sports was and is tough. I don’t want to be treated differently than any other player, which also means I don’t want to be given an easy way out. Sometimes we may feel as if our wings are broken but knowing you have friends and family that care and will always be there for you, makes a world of difference. I can’t thank my team enough for supporting me by wearing neatly designed Team Alayna warm ups. I am incredibly thankful for my community and school for putting on benefits and selling the Team Alayna t-shirts and bracelets. It makes my day when I see someone wearing my shirt especially people from other schools or people I personally don’t even know. The amount of support has been truly overwhelming.

I was and still am, incredibly grateful to have had Make A Wish grant me this amazing opportunity, “to travel the world while trying to make a difference.”  I chose to travel through a program called Global Leadership Adventures (GLA).  GLA uses a mythology called ‘service-learning’ which combines community service with different kinds of hands-on learning; learning about Social and Global issues and personal leadership. Community service is a way to gain better understanding of a country but it also gives us the ability to see our place in the world and our ability to change it.  GLA was founded to prepare participants for principled and ethical leadership.  I chose to travel through GLA on a 21 day program to Bali, Indonesia. Making my decision on the fact that Indonesian culture is so different from my own. There are many cultural practices that are strongly influenced by a variety of religions. Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam being the top three. It was neat to travel to famous temples such as the Tanah Lot Temple. Tanah Lot means land in the sea; during high tide you have to walk through waist high water to get to the Temple. 

We volunteered at an elementary school for 10 days.  The children were very well behaved and grateful to learn from “foreigners”.  They were so amazed by my curly hair!  It was hard to say goodbye to people who are so overjoyed to have you as company. These children taught us more life lessons in the short amount of time we had there, then we could ever have taught them.

It was amazing to have the opportunity to be adventurous.  Trying new foods and activities such as scuba diving in the Bali Sea, whitewater rafting, surfing, hiking to beautiful waterfalls, riding elephants, snorkeling, and just enjoying the scenery.

During the trip our directors brought us to a children’s home/orphanage. Narayan Seva is located in Singuraja, Northern Bali. The home is run by 2 incredible women (both named Didi). They put all of their time and effort toward making sure the kids (85 children) are happy and receive what’s needed. Education, clothing, food, housing and most importantly love. A few hobbies the children are involved in are acroyoga, meditation, sports, singing and playing games just like normal kids. They put on an amazing show for us to see. I had never been in an orphanage before so I didn’t know what to expect. But all of the children were so filled with love and they truly shined bright with energy. They were happy to show us around their home, their bedrooms, playrooms and took us to see their Temple. It was a large area which impressed me that it was ran by only two women. The children were very polite and kind hearted, calling you sister to get your attention.  This made me feel welcome, as well as warm and fuzzy inside, they have taken a place in my heart. These children all have dreams of what they would like to do with their lives, just like you and me.  But because of where they were born they have to work a lot harder for their dreams to become reality.

The Home runs partially on solar energy, the children are on a vegetarian diet and they grow their own food but even with these money-saving strategy, the home is underfunded. It takes $45 a month to cover the basic needs for one child but the government only gives them $2 per child. This is not bearable to live on, so the home runs mainly on donations.

The love these children share for each other has inspired me and many of my GLA travelers to try to give them a ‘helping hand’. My personal goal is to raise enough money for one child’s needs for one year. This is roughly $600.  All donations help and are appreciated by the home as well as my group from GLA.  All donations go directly to supporting the children’s needs.

I chose GLA as my Make-A-Wish so I could help the less fortunate and be thankful for what I have. It is very important to me to keep helping even though I am back from this trip. Children like those from Narayan Seva are truly what made my wish life-changing and unforgettable.  Terima Kasih! (Thank you!)

If you would like to help support these wonderful children please contact me on my cell phone (218)280-4639 or you could donate directly online at www.gofundme.com/2gpzang.