As students return to campus to reunite with friends and begin preparation for another semester, memories of the previous four months are still fresh in their minds. For several students, the summer was filled with global travels, mission opportunities and “once-in-a-lifetime” experiences through the Oklahoma Christian Study Abroad Office.
For seniors Emily Souza and Emily Lobley and juniors Anna Dindak and Molly McQuirk, summer consisted of an internship at the Chimala Mission Hospital in Chimala, Tanzania through the Center for Global Missions.
“This trip gave us stronger cultural awareness and sensitivity because we were there long enough to really get acclimated to the culture,” Souza said. “It is going to help prepare us for future jobs because of the medical experience we gained.”
According to Souza, her team alternated through the different wards of the hospital during their time in Tanzania, including the OB, Female, Minor Theatre (ER), Male and Child’s Wards, while also spending time in the RCH, with the pregnant mothers. In addition, they worked in mobile clinics in the villages testing for HIV and administering cervical screenings.
“The biggest differences between Tanzania and America was the poverty and the limited resources in the hospital,” Souza said. “People wait until the very last minute to come into the hospital, which is often too late. There’s also a prevalence of malnutrition, HIV, malaria, cryptococcal, meningitis and cholera, which are a few examples of diseases uncommon in America. We had to experience the tragedy of death often, which was fairly foreign to us.”
Their time in Chimala was not marred by sickness and death, however. The girls traveled into the villages for church on Sundays and Wednesdays and attended local football games.
“This is a great experience if you are interested in medical missions,” Souza said. “You meet so many wonderful people and form great friendships.”
Freshmen Kayla Cleaves and David Weston also traveled abroad this summer, taking advantage of Oklahoma Christian’s First Class program to meet other incoming freshmen during their 10-day trip to Vienna, Austria in July. Cleaves said she heard about the trip from Vice President for Admissions and Marketing Risa Forrester.
“I thought it would be a great place to meet people before school started and a gateway into studying abroad in the future,” Cleaves said. “It gives me a lot of confidence because I already know a lot of people who are going to be in my classes and it started a lot of friendships, which will hopefully continue to grow as school starts.”
The trip also included an unexpected stop in Paris, France, after the group’s flight to Atlanta was delayed, causing them to miss their connection in Paris to Vienna.
“Stopping in Paris was stressful, but amazing,” Cleaves said. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and just a great place to form friendships because we were placed in a slightly stressful situation that ended up being enjoyable.”
Stops on the Vienna itinerary included Schonbrunn Palace, the royal Habsburg families summer home and different churches located throughout the city.
“I had never been out of the country and it seemed like a good time to go ahead and get some experience and college credits done,” Weston said. “My favorite part of the trip was the aquarium they have there in Vienna. It is built inside a Nazi Flak tower.”
The First Class students also received two hours of college credit for the trip, by taking the freshmen Bible course, “The Christian Scholar” taught by Dean of Spiritual Life Jeff McMillon.
“It was very eye-opening to things I did not know about the book of Matthew,” Cleaves said. “Jeff is a great teacher who knows so much and class was a great way to start each day. It was really cool to go to the museums and see how they played into what we were learning in class and it helped me learn how to take notes effectively, which will help me in my future classes.”
Senior Rylee Jones and six other Oklahoma Christian students accompanied Professor of Family Studies Bobby Kern and his wife Lisa on a Family Studies mission trip to the North Shore Church of Christ in Auckland, New Zealand for three weeks of the summer.
The group spent the first two weeks helping around the church and participating in prayer walks, while spending time with their homestay families on Saturdays.
“We did two prayer walks around the city and through the neighborhoods, just praying for whomever we saw, whatever we saw and specifically for the city itself,” Jones said. “We prayed for all the churches we passed and that Jesus’ light was able to shine through them.”
The final week of the trip was spent hiking in the Kaimai Ranges of New Zealand for five days. According to Jones, her time spent in the mountains was her biggest takeaway from the trip, as no one from the group was physically prepared for the journey.
“We hiked in the rain, through lots of mud and hiked four hours in complete darkness with the only light coming from our tiny flashlights, all while going straight up a mountain, dodging rocks and tree roots,” Jones said. “We talked about how the path is tough and hard to get through at the moment, but with God on our side, we can make it.”
As Jones reflects on her experiences, she said her time abroad was able to make her feel joyful again, as she was able to let go of a difficult spring semester.
“I laughed so much more than I did in the previous year and it gave me a sense of relief,” Jones said. “This trip was life changing and I urge people who want to be challenged to the fullest to go on it. I loved going to New Zealand, I loved this trip, I loved experiencing Jesus with people and I loved getting to serve Jesus and a country where they need Him.”
0
0
Be First to Comment