Local Edmond churches provided various mission opportunities for Oklahoma Christian University students over spring break, specifically both the Edmond Church of Christ and Memorial Road Church of Christ.
This year, Edmond Church of Christ members traveled to McAllen, TX and worked in the summer camp Loma De Vida. Memorial Road Church of Christ members spent time serving at Capitol Hill Church of Christ in Oklahoma City, OK and spent the last three days on a retreat to Mountainburg, AR.
Junior Ashley Holland attended the mission trip to McAllen. According to her, McAllen provides the unique opportunity to impact and serve through different facets
“McAllen is a place where I can see my work through Christ and have an impact on those I am serving,” Holland said.
With a daily sign-up board, the students were encouraged to sign up for different jobs, including vacation Bible studies, construction sites, visiting the local school and serving in the kitchen.
“Being able to do something for someone, and immediately see their gratitude or see it affecting their life positively, is just something that is rewarding and reminds you that God is greater than all of us and that we are here to serve others through the love of Christ,” Holland said.
Senior Jack Odell also attended the McAllen trip and said he often finds his faith growing the most when he serves by physical means—like installing electrical work at the church in McAllen and helping the kitchen crew.
“The mission trip does a lot of good spreading the gospel,” Odell said. “This year, there were crews sent out to a local school to spend time with the kids and just get to know them and talk to them about our beliefs.”
Although spending a week serving in McAllen does not directly apply to Holland and Odell’s major—they both said ministry is important for all disciplines.
In a similar vein, Memorial Road Church of Christ spent their first four days of spring break at Capitol Hill Church of Christ in Oklahoma City, OK and the rest of their break in Mountainburg, AR for a retreat. Senior Zachary Waugh said, at Capitol Hill, his jobs varied from helping the kids in vacation Bible school (VBS) to working on various projects inside the church.
“My job varied throughout the week,” Waugh said. “My duties ranged from painting and organizing clothes to picking up kids for the VBS. I especially enjoyed picking up the kids in the morning and seeing their joy on their faces, because they were excited for VBS.”
During the second half of the week, Waugh said they spent time together to relax and rejuvenate by doing activities such as hiking, cooking, playing games, hammocking and watching March Madness.
Senior Alan Garner said he enjoyed attending the ministry at Capitol Hill alongside Memorial Road’s campus ministry. Specifically, Garner said the trip reminded him of the importance of communal services.
“There is a lot more need in Oklahoma City than we see, so it was good to be involved with helping these children,” Garner said. “These children need to be loved and they need to be shown what the love of Christ looks like.”
Garner said he will never forget his time at Capitol Hill and was glad Memorial Road provided a service outlet during the week of spring break.
“On field trip day, we went to a local park and played with the kids all morning,” Garner said. “One of the kids named Leonard decided he wanted to call me a chicken nugget that day and forced me to chase him all over the playground—that was a good time.”
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