Asbury Math Department Sponsors Mission Trip to Guatemala
September 28, 2018
At Asbury University, service meets academics to foster growth in both scholarship and faith. That’s why students are given a cornucopia of opportunities to serve locally, nationally and abroad through University and partner organization trips.
From Sept. 26-30, Dr. Cheryll Crowe ’03, associate dean of the School of Science, Health & Mathematics, will lead a team of five students as they participate in mission work in Guatemala.
The service opportunity will mark the first-ever Math Department-sponsored mission trip. The group will use their time in Guatemala to hold professional development trainings for local teachers.
The idea for the trip came about after Crowe, who has served in Guatemala City for several years, spent time observing schools in the city last year. During which, she learned that many teachers in the country lack access to training and are oftentimes placed in classrooms without experiencing any preparation programming.
“I brought the idea back to the Math Department and the support for a mission trip was overwhelmingly positive,” Crowe said. “It is rare to have an opportunity to serve in mission specifically related to our calling in mathematics.”
Additionally, the group will work with Hope for Tomorrow, a children’s home in Guatemala City with offices based in Lexington, Ky.
The students will spend two days holding the professional development training in mathematics and the remainder of the trip serving at the children’s home where they’ll prepare lessons and activities for the kids.
Crowe hopes the trip will encourage and strengthen the mathematical knowledge and faith of the teachers in Guatemala City, in addition to helping transform the lives of the elementary students as their teachers become better equipped to teach mathematics.
Crowe asks that the Asbury community join her in praying for the nearly 200 elementary school teachers who will be attending the two-day training.
Amanda Lee ’20 is one of four Education majors going on the trip and is looking forward to experiencing the culture in Central America.
“I’m hoping I grow both as a teacher and as a person through this trip,” Lee said. “I can only imagine what God has in store for me, for this trip and for my fellow classmates who are going as well.”
For Spanish major Bailey Crouch ’20, the Guatemala visit will mark her eleventh mission trip. She’s excited to use the language skills and cultural understanding she’s gleaned in her Spanish classes to make an impact with Hope for Tomorrow.
“Every time that I experience a different culture, I think that it widens my perspective on the world,” Crouch said. “It is my deep desire to be able to stretch my mind always past what I am used to, because I think that this is what we are called to as Christians. If I am to love others as God loves them, then I first have to be able and willing to see the world as they do.”
Kamry Wells ’20 anticipates that her time in Guatemala will be an experience of growth and learning.
“I hope to gain knowledge from working with these teachers,” Wells said. “I also hope to speak with the kids in a language we both understand: love. I hope I display Jesus throughout my time in Guatemala and that the kids never forget the experience they had with the students from Asbury. I also want to become more comfortable with sharing the gospel with others, and hopefully this experience will give me wisdom and hope that I can spread the good news of Jesus wherever I go.”
This is just one of many mission trips offered by the University and its partner organizations. For more information on how to get involved with service opportunities, visit asbury.edu/service.