Building brighter futures

Seth Maitlen's connections to Morningside College have literally taken him halfway around the world.

Five years ago, Maitlen was a sophomore football player on a Creston/O-M team that traveled to Sioux City and lost a playoff game to eventual state champion Bishop Heelan Catholic on the Morningside College field.

That undefeated Heelan team was led by quarterback Trent Solsma and speedy receiver Conner Niles.

Maitlen would later join forces with the Heelan duo on that same field as members of the Morningside football team. Earlier this summer, they were three of a group of Morningside students traveling nearly 9,000 miles to Tanzania on a mission trip to help young orphans in that impoverished east Africa nation.

It was a journey that left lasting impressions.

"You kind of come back with a whole different approach ... just being really grateful for what you do have here," said the son of Steve and Sue Maitlen of rural Creston. "A week or so after we got back was when the water filters here went out. Hearing some of the complaints, I was like, 'It's temporary! And, you don't have to walk a mile to a creek to get the dirty water that you have to use, because that's all there is.' You learn not to take a lot of things for granted that we have here."

Solsma, Niles and Maitlen were joined by teammates Chase Reis, Seth Roberg and twin brothers Jacob and Joel Katzer, along with a small party of other Morningside parents and representatives.

Orphan assistance

They went to Tanzania to lend their support to Project Rehema Ministries, a nonprofit organization whose founder and CEO is Kelli Solsma, mother of the Mustang senior quarterback.

"Trent's mom went over to Tanzania on a mission trip, maybe 20 years ago, and she met a little girl named Rehema," Maitlen said. "The little girl ended up passing away. She loved the work she did there, and felt led to start her own nonprofit named after that little girl."

Project Rehema's primary goal is to minister to some of the 2.5 million orphans in Tanzania and provide small homes where a "mama" (foster parent) cares for a small number of orphaned children in a home.

"One of our goals was to tell them about God and spread the love that way," Maitlen said, "but also to take them away from the institutions of the orphanages down there, where they often end up on the streets for the rest of their life. That way it's still like a home setting were they can get individual love and treatment. Hopefully they can get educated and improve their lives."

Project Rehema serves close to 80 orphans in Tanzania. In addition to providing housing, the organization also helps pay for schooling and assists the orphans in meeting their basic daily needs.

Home construction

The Morningside football players were guided by a crew of local construction workers in setting the foundation and brick-like walls for a new home, which was completed about a month after they returned to Iowa on May 28.

"Through a member of Project Rehema that lives there, Kelli met this woman who was no longer married and living on her own, in a house that was basically a bunch of tree branches leaned up against another building," Maitlen said. "It was really rough. Kelli got it arranged that she would live in the house we were building and care for a small group of orphans there."

The football players began working on the construction of a new home in the Massai village of Monduli Juu, located on the outskirts of Arusha, a city in northeastern Tanzania.

The players and local crew made the cement and laid the brick for the house and dug a 13-foot pit that would serve as the family's bathroom for a few years. They did all of this without the use of electric power tools. They also hauled water from a nearby stream used to mix mud to help secure the rocks that formed the base of the house's foundation.

"We had no power tools. We used a pick axe and a shovel," Maitlen said. "It was really eye-opening. We dug the footings for the foundation. Then we would go to a big pile of rocks, and carry them over to put in the footings. Then we'd fill it back in to level off the ground."

The crew then started laying bricks for the walls.

"We built the walls up on a fairly small house," Maitlen said. "But in that area to have brick walls and stuff, it would be considered a nice house."

Solsma, who had never accompanied his mother on a Tanzania mission trip, was struck by the smiles he noticed when the new residents saw where they would live.

"The look of surprise and joy on the face of the 'mama' when we turned on a light bulb in her new home is something I will have ingrained in my mind forever," Solsma said in a Morningside news release. "That was just one example of the times we helped the people meet a basic need and we were overwhelmed with their gratitude."

Village visit

The group also visited a village in the mountains on a weekend. The day after attending a Sunday service in a small mud-constructed church, they visited a school for an activity day. They were met by nearly 500 eager children.

"We had all those kids out there in this huge grass field," Maitlen said. "The grass was up almost to your knees and there were cows and goats standing over in the corner. We tried teaching them American football. But, even the translators didn't understand American football, so it was difficult. They just tried to go with it. I think they just enjoyed playing with us."

Later, the football players got in a pickup soccer game with some older native students and were humbled, despite their experience as American collegiate athletes.

"None of us had played soccer in high school, and those kids took it to us pretty good," Maitlen said. "I think everyone had a lot of fun. We gave some candy out, which is a huge deal there, and we gave out some Morningside gear."

Each Morningside participant was responsible for raising about $4,000 to cover expenses for the trip.

"When Kelli first started talking about the trip I was curious because I went down to Guatemala a couple of years ago on the mission trip led by Wayne Hanson, and I knew I would love the experience of a mission trip to another country. I sent out letters to family and friends," Maitlen said.

Many fellow parishioners at First Baptist Church in Creston donated to the cause, and Maitlen presented a short program on his experience during services on Sunday.

"The members there gave me quite a bit of money to help me out," Maitlen said. "There were a lot of generous people."

The group also went on a wildlife safari and saw elephants, lions, zebras and other species walk casually within feet of their vehicle.

"It was a great experience, and it's cool to know that we helped those kids live in a better place as a family," Maitlen said. "I'm really glad I went."