Asbury Students Use Spring Break for Mission Work

March 21, 2018

WILMORE, Ky. — Each spring break, many Asbury students forgo the beach and quality time with family to embark on mission trips locally and abroad. This year, students headed off on a variety of trips to places as far as Budapest, Hungary and as close as Louisville, Ky.

Worship Arts major Bailey Rasmussen ’20 led a student trip with One Mission Society (OMS) to Budapest. Rasmussen first went to Hungary for a summer 2017 OMS trip, during which she taught at an English camp.

This time, Rasmussen said the OMS team in Budapest had them help with a broader scope of tasks in order to get a clearer picture of everything the team is doing in Eastern Europe. These tasks involved working with children, assisting currently established churches with their specific ministry needs and teaching English.

While she’s not sure that she’d pursue long-term missions as a career, Rasmussen said she loves participating in Asbury’s short-term trips and has learned so much from the trips she’s gone on. During her summer 2017 trip to Hungary, Rasmussen worked with and got to know a woman who was curious about the Christian faith and in a season of questioning.

“She wasn’t a Christian. She worked with this Christian English camp but had never actually pursued her own faith,” Rasmussen said. “Her biggest hurdle was that she felt the church felt far off and unattainable because the church often puts on a face of composure. What I’ve really learned was when you’re real with people and when you’re vulnerable with them, it makes it a lot easier for them to see Jesus in you.”

In addition to Rasmussen’s Hungary team, OMS also sent teams to Ireland and Ecuador.

Standia Civil ’18 led a trip to Highgate, Jamaica with New Hope International. Civil’s team, which included three other students, led devotions for preschoolers and built a house for a homeless family. During her time at Asbury, Civil has gone on a variety of mission trips, including a social justice trip to Chicago and an inner city trip to Camden, N.J., her sophomore year.

“During my time here at Asbury, missions have helped me to see who I am as a person, not only for myself but who I am in the image of God,” said Civil. “Missions has a big place in my heart now because of that.”

The University’s Tumbling Team also went on its annual spring mission trip where it put on clinics and participated in service projects with local ministries at community centers, churches and schools in Louisville, Ky., Evansville, Ind. and St. Louis, Mo. Among these stops, the team visited Semple Elementary School in Louisville where they read stories to the students as well as painted and cleaned the school.

Meanwhile, Dr. Jim Shores took a group of Media Communication students to Haiti and, Salvation Army Majors Earl and Janice Fitzgerald led a group of students to Jamaica.

Civil encourages others who have not yet been on a mission trip but are looking to be God’s hands and feet in the mission field, whether on a short or long-term trip.

“Don’t be scared. It’s OK to be vulnerable,” Civil said. “And, don’t be afraid of doing missions in the United States first. I feel like there’s a stigma against that but, missions in the United States is as crucial [as it is] if you were to leave the United States.”