• Students skip skiing for spring break service

    2013 Baylor Freshman Spring Break Mission Trip at workWhile the cliche remains that every college student spends spring break hitting the slopes or partying at the beach, hundreds of Baylor students spent their week off in a very different manner: serving others.

    In addition to the many who headed out with local church college groups, six teams of students organized by Baylor’s Office of Spiritual Life hit the road to put what they’ve learned in the classroom to practical use benefitting others:

    • The Multicultural Association of Pre-health Students sent a group to Panama City, Panama, where they observed and served in free local clinics under the supervision of doctors from Global Medical Training International.
    • An American Medical Student Association team traveled to Guatemala to work with Global Community Health Evangelism, observing and serving in local clinics and teaching basic hygiene techniques to village children.
    • Students from Baylor’s medical humanities program visited Universidad Evangelica de El Salvador, the country’s national university, where they observed and served in the university hospital and local clinics.
    • Baylor School of Nursing students went to Lima, Peru, to work with a local church, offering health education and physical assessments. They also researched local health practices in Peru.
    • An urban mission team traveled to Eagle Pass, Texas, to partner with Literacy Connexus and Texas Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. There, the group sponsored family reading fairs and literacy projects, worked in community gardens and performed light construction.
    • A team of 20 freshmen worked with Eight Days of Hope, a disaster recovery group, helping with relief efforts and doing light construction in LaPlace, La.

    “These students are giving up their spring break to serve others,” noted Rebecca Kennedy, Baylor’s director of missions and an  associate chaplain. “That speaks volumes to the spirit of the Baylor student who seizes opportunities to serve God and neighbor. Many of our trips are discipline-focused, which allows students and faculty to integrate faith, learning and service into their mission experience.”

    To see photos and read more about these students’ spring break experiences, check out @BUMissions on Twitter and visit facebook.com/BUMissions.

    Sic ’em, Baylor students!