Students helped show God’s love across the globe

Submitted Photo

From Bible studies in Bulgaria to service projects in rural America, Oklahoma Christian University students left their mark across the globe during the summer.

“Short-term mission projects change lives – not just the lives of those whom students serve, but the lives of our students as well,” said Ben Langford, director for Oklahoma Christian’s Center for Global Missions.

Senior Stephen Langley was a member of the Rural America Missions program—a newly created mission effort serving churches in western Oklahoma. This ministry recognizes a need of spiritual revival in the heartland of America.

“It’s different because it’s in rural America, which is not something I’m used to,” Langley said. “It’s a different mindset that you have to have, due to the fact that we always think that we have to go somewhere to teach about Jesus and we have to go somewhere to have a mission trip, but in all reality it’s that God is needed in our backyard.”

The RAM team ministered to five communities in three counties in western Oklahoma as they worked along ministers to reach out to children, teenagers and young adults. They were based out of Cordell, Oklahoma and went to surrounding communities, such as Mangum and Carnegie.

“That’s what RAM is trying to show you – that God is needed and it’s about being a community and being a neighbor,” Langley said. “It helps you to realize that everywhere you are you should be working with the spirit, and helping wherever you can.”

Many Western Oklahoma church memberships are dwindling. The RAM mission was to get young people interested in church again.

Halfway across the world, Oklahoma Christian had missions efforts with different themes.

Oklahoma Christian established the Presidential Scholars Program in 2006 so the top students in the Republic of Rwanda could come study in the U.S. In 2013, Oklahoma Christian added Health4Rwanda to their partnership, which improves health care services through medical missions and basic health education.

Grace Umutesi, an Oklahoma Christian student from Rwanda, led a team back to her home country. In Kigali, Oklahoma Christian students shadowed doctors and studied how they treated problems that were prevalent there.

As an assistant to Memorial Road Church of Christ Helpers in Missions program, sophomore Daven Hart spent part of her summer break in Vienna, Austria, encouraging local church members.

“It was really different, there was a lot of ‘let’s go get coffee and talk about why we love Jesus,’” Hart said. “You don’t get that perspective when you’re around people that obviously need Jesus and who are physically distressed, as opposed to people who are doing really well and just don’t know anything about him.”

Hart, along with junior Vivian Edmunson, met with church members in Vienna to help encourage the members’ faith. They assisted and met with the members, conducted Bible studies and immersed themselves in the Christian culture in Vienna.

“I learned that culture plays a big part in how we view worship,” Edmunson said. “Like here we get up on Sunday morning and we go to church and we’re at church for two hours, then we go to lunch. The structure over there is not like that—when you’re with people, you’re there for the day. You fellowship with them and eat with them – it’s an all day kind of thing.”

The mission in Vienna has two programs for children, the Sports Kids Club and the English Kids Club. Hart and Edmunson assisted with the programs, and created curriculum for the upcoming year. They also undertook a variety of service including gardening, spending time with people in the nursing home and simply letting people know they’re not alone in their faith.

“There would be so many times when people would say ‘I just didn’t know God had that kind of personality,’” Hart said. “It was humbling and mind-blowing all at once because I forget people don’t know Him. We’re so used to people knowing this stuff, but it’s not a part of their culture.”

Through 50 students in 15 countries across five continents, Oklahoma Christian students helped show God’s love across the globe.

“When students go and serve around the world, their faith is both affirmed and challenged in ways that do not happen on campus or at home,” Langford said. “When OC students follow Jesus into the world, they are being formed into the image of God.”

00