In a spontaneous contribution of almost $8,000, Pacific Union College students joined a project headed by alum Jake Scheideman, owner of a Napa Valley bicycle shop and an active member of the local Rotary Club.

During a February presentation to an all-school colloquy at PUC, Scheideman shared the story of how he began building homes in Nicaragua. After graduating with a business degree in 1990, Scheideman took a bike trip through Central America. He fell ill in the small village of Empalme de Boaca in Nicaragua and was nursed back to health by a local family. Promising to return someday, Scheideman went home to start his career.

But it wasn’t until Hurricane Mitch ravaged Honduras and Nicaragua eight years later that Scheideman was compelled to look up his old friends in Nicaragua. He went back to visit and soon was immersed in a plan for a simple baseball field in Empalme de Boaca.

When the field was done, Scheideman tackled housing. “I don’t know anything about building a house, but it is the most obvious need,” he said. Scheideman goes to Nicaragua at least once every other month to keep working on the project, and he also organizes opportunities for sponsors to visit and help with construction.

The St. Helena Rotary Club, which is dedicated to supporting local programs for youth and international service projects, has taken on the Empalme de Boaca venture. It is now a $500,000 housing project supported primarily by Napa Valley residents.

Scheideman never really expected to become involved in such a massive project, but his philosophy is simple. “If you see a need, fill it. If we each did that, it would make such a difference.”

He feels that being surrounded by the Adventist culture while growing up cultivated this philosophy. “The Adventist culture had a huge influence on my not thinking twice about doing this.” Scheideman explains that this attitude isn’t universal: “[Adventists] grow up hearing about Maranatha trips and ADRA, but that isn’t the case for a lot of people.”

Within the Adventist community, Scheideman has discovered an inspiring can-do attitude toward service projects. “Whenever I talk to Adventists,” he says, “they’re immediately on board to help.” PUC students proved him right in an unexpected end to the colloquy program.

After Scheideman concluded his story, PUC Church Senior Pastor Tim Mitchell took the mic, pledging a donation towards the project and asking the audience to join him. “People really want to give, and if there’s a leader to step up and take the initiative, people will be very generous,” Mitchell commented afterward.

Students, faculty and staff followed his lead, and $7,861 in pledges and donations was collected that morning. “I saw it as a way of positively contributing to one of the most basic needs,” said senior Jean Aldinger, one of the students who contributed.

Scheideman was taken completely by surprise by the spontaneous collection. “I’m beyond words,” he said. “It’s just totally humbling to see something like today happen.”