What if the most meaningful mission field isn't across the ocean—it's a few hours down the road? That idea drove a spring break mission trip organized through Walla Walla University's Center for Humanitarian Engagement, and student leader Pomai Kekauoha turned it into something real.
She spent months coordinating with Volunteer Park Seventh-day Adventist Church, the North Pacific Union Conference, and WWU’s Asian Pacific Islander Club to bring students to Seattle for a week that would change more than she planned.
When the NPUC reached out about partnering with Volunteer Park Church on an evangelistic series, the CHE saw an opportunity to pitch something different: domestic mission work, just a few hours from campus. More students said yes to Seattle than would have said yes to a far-away destination because the idea resonated. You don't have to cross an ocean to make a difference.
"It's important to plant seeds everywhere you go," said Kekauoha, "especially with the people closest to you. Seattle has such a big population; it’s close, but it still has a wide reach."
While most of the students were APIC members, this trip welcomed students from all over campus. Throughout the trip, they stayed at Volunteer Park Church, worked alongside its congregation, and stepped into something the church had never done before: hosting students as active participants in a full evangelistic series.
The week immersed students in what it looks like to live and work in a city while actively serving God. They canvassed neighborhoods, connected with people one-on-one, and invited them to the evangelistic meetings at the church.
For the congregation at Volunteer Park Church, it was something they had never experienced either—students embedded in their mission work, carrying the message of Jesus into corners of Seattle the church hadn't reached before.
Kekauoha’s favorite memory was watching her fellow students during the evangelistic series—seeing their confidence grow, their skills sharpen, their faith move from something private into something lived. She said, “I kept thinking: imagine this after graduation. Imagine this kind of involvement in the church for the rest of their lives.”
Somewhere between the planning and the evangelistic series and watching fellow students grow into something more, Pomai found something she hadn't been looking for: a reason to stay.
She had been weighing her future at WWU. This trip answered something she hadn't known she was asking. The community was real. Her leadership mattered. Proof that transformational ministry could happen at home—through the CHE, through students who just needed someone to say yes to them first.
"Say yes to service, no matter how small you think it is," she said. "Small impacts are still impacts. What feels small to you can be enormous to someone else."
To learn about upcoming mission and service opportunities, visit wallawalla.edu/che. For more photos from the trip, visit the Associated Students of Walla Walla’s Seattle Mission Trip album in SmugMug.
Posted May 6, 2026.
