Students reach out all over the world through summer missions
Posted by The Skyliner on September 1st, 2010Anthony Reese
Staff Writer
Greece Student Mission Team at the Parthenon. Photo by Dr. Allen Mcwhite.
North Greenville students covered the globe as mission and outreach teams headed out this summer. More than 20 different countries and five continents were reached by the people here on the campus.
More than 100 students and faculty members traveled across the country and abroad with numerous organizations. From living in villages in the mountains of Honduras to leading a soccer camp in the heart of New York City, the opportunities were endless.
Keris Patterson, senior interdisciplinary studies, traveled this summer to Guacamaya, Honduras, with a team led by Weston “Prof” Warren of the foreign languages department. All together, this L.I.G.H.T. team was there for five weeks.
For three weeks, they took classes in Spanish conversation and culture. Afterwards, they lived in Opimuca, a small mountain village, where they helped with a mission organization’s medical clinic. They worked as translators and administrators of minor medications.
“Hands down,” says Patterson, “my favorite part about the trip was in the first three weeks. We lived with Honduran families who spoke no English at all. We were absolutely submerged in the culture.”
Chad Gfeller, head men’s soccer coach, also led a mission team this summer. Gfeller, Jesse McCormick (head women’s soccer coach) and five students traveled to New York City with Spread Truth Ministries to lead people to Christ.
His team of seven was there for a week in the heart of Spanish Harlem. Each day they hosted a soccer camp targeted towards children living in poverty. Afterwards, they led a devotional and watched as Jesus worked in the lives of the children there.
“There was this one particular boy that my guys had been working with all week and on the last day of the trip, just as we were leaving, I got to lead him to Christ,” Gfeller says. “That was definitely my favorite part of the trip.”
Both of these L.I.G.H.T. teams were led by groups from NGU; however, many students went on mission trips not sponsored by the University. Brian Stephens, senior Christian studies, was one of these students.
Stephens traveled to two different areas this summer, Ukraine and East Asia. While in Kiev, Ukraine, Stephens worked with WinShape International, which is an entity of Chick-Fil-A, Inc. He taught English classes with other Chick-Fil-A employees and had multiple opportunities to share the gospel.
Aside from his time in Ukraine, Stephens also traveled to East Asia with Impact Sports International. While there, he reached out to children and teenagers while playing ping-pong.
“We would play for nearly four hours. By the end of playing, we had created relationships with the students,” Stephens says. “I would arrive in the countries with my plans already made. But soon, I found myself in situations that I did not foresee. I found people behaving in ways I did not understand. Then when all my plans failed, God began working His plans right before my eyes. God showed me that my plan never mattered.”
Are you looking for a way to get involved in missions? NGU’s Allen McWhite, Director of Missions, is the person to talk to. L.I.G.H.T. teams travel throughout the semesters and on nearly every break.
In addition, there are numerous mission organizations that make their ways through our campus looking for students just like you. During Global Missions Week, which is coming up soon, look for opportunities to serve.
Tags: Fall 2010, Vol. 111 Fall - Issue 1