As the end of the semester rapidly approaches, many students on campus will be busy with final projects and exams.

One group of 10 students will be doing that, but they also will be preparing for the Mexico Immersion Experience (MIE), a trip taken every semester by students in Campus Ministry.

That’s why the MIE group is having a yard sale Nov. 17 at 320 Brahan Blvd. It will take place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

In recent weeks, the MIE group has been asking for donations for the yard sale from the Lake community. Donations can be left in the Campus Ministry office, on the second floor of the Walter Center. The group hopes to sell clothing, household items, toys, and possibly furniture.

“So far we have gotten donations from professors and expect more to come in,” said Scott Saavedra, a junior in the MIE.

The MIE consist of a group of students who travel to Mexico every semester in order to help a parish, La Luz, in Guadalupe. This year the trip will take place during the first week of January.

The yard sale proceeds, along with other money raised throughout the year, help pay for the bus trip and other expenses as well as provide monetary donations for the parish.

During the weeklong trip, the group helps out at the parish by eating with the elders, hosting parties for the children, and going to Mass with the community.

“We go there expecting to give to these people, but we always find that we leave with a lot more knowledge and faith,” said Saavedra, who first participated in the MIE in 2005. “The experience is one that students never will forget. It opens your mind and your eyes to the strength of faith in adversity.”

Lourdes Sias, a junior from Monterrey, Mexico, will be going on her first trip.

“I want to humble myself. We take a lot of things for granted,” said Sias. “I want to be able to appreciate what we have here.”

The yard sale is one of the many fundraisers that MIE does in order to raise money for the trip. MIE has also left soda cans throughout campus offices to gather spare change. Earlier this semester, MIE held a pizza sale and plans to have another one Nov. 29.