The Omnibus

Issue date: 2/1/08 Section: In the Spotlight

Media Credit: Franklin Kilpatrick Cassius Silumande tests his photography skills on members of the SBU Zambia Mission Team and Zambian teachers after a True Love Waits rally. Promoting sexual abstinence as "The Wisest Choice for Youth," Silumande works through True Love Waits Zambia to encourage sexual purity among Zambian youth. He arranged for several rallies during the team's January trip. About 60 youth signed cards pledging sexual purity.

Media Credit: Jessica Oliver An SBU mission team led by Director of Missions Diana Gallamore (far right) to the Philippines poses with a group of students. The team helped lead conversational English activities at college campuses. The Philippines team was one of eight mission teams SBU sent around the world this winter. [Click to enlarge]

ecember and January, eight mission teams consisting of Southwest Baptist University faculty, staff and students traveled around the world helping missionaries and mission organizations spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Teams met weekly throughout the Fall 2007 semester for training.
These mission teams served in many different capacities from ministering to orphans to conducting research for the North American Mission Board.
This year's winter mission trips also offered several new destinations including trips to East Asia, Peru and New York City.
Return locations for SBU mission teams were Zambia, Thailand, Philippines, Guatemala and Houston, Texas.
The East Asia team was led by Director of Discipleship Ministries Nicky Ward.
This team left Dec. 14, 2007 as soon as finals ended and returned Dec. 31, 2007 spending their Christmas abroad.
In East Asia, the team formed three smaller teams and visited middle schools, high schools and college campuses in several cities sharing the story of Christmas.
"My favorite part of [East Asia] was climbing to the top of Horse mountain with 30 students," said senior Abigail Garrett. "High school students go to school from 7:30 in the morning to 10:30 at night so they don't have much free time. This made spending Sunday afternoon enjoying God's creation with them the high of the trip."
Several students traveled to New York City under the leadership of Associate Director of Admissions Amanda Pierce and her husband Paul. The team's mission worked in conjunction with the North American Mission Board by conducting research on the many different people groups now living in the city.
The information gathered by SBU's mission team will help the NAMB build foundations for reaching these people groups. In order to accomplish this, the mission team divided into smaller teams of two or three that would study different people groups and engage them in conversations.
A team of SBU students left for Guatemala Dec. 28, 2007 and returned Jan. 16. This trip was led by seniors Aaron Weaver and Lauren Monte. The team's focus was Casa Bernabe, a children's home. The students played and interacted with children of all ages and served the home through service projects as well.
A team was sent to Peru, a brand new location for University Missions and Ministries. The trip was created from the overflow of students desiring to go on the Guatemala trip. Junior Phillip Peak and SBU graduate Alesha Curry led the team to Lima where they ministered to a children's home through interaction with the children and service projects.
Ben Kilpatrick and Dr. Shelley Kilpatrick, assistant professor of psychology, led a team of SBU students to Zambia where they worked with churches, orphanages and schools directing VBS ministries and True Love Waits seminars.
SBU graduate Andy Snyder took a team to Thailand where they had several ministry opportunities. Like many of SBU mission teams this January, the Thailand team split into three smaller teams. The team prayer walked in Buddhist temples and the red light district of the city. Along with prayer walking in the red light district, a ministry focusing on women and children in prostitution trained the mission team. The team also worked in elementary schools and college campuses.
Director of University Missions Diana Gallamore led a team of SBU students to the Philippines. The team's main focus was leading conversational English activities at a college campus, but the team also distributed Bibles and Bible studies as well as encouraged local churches.
"My favorite part of the trip was being able to hand out Bibles in a truly impoverished area," said senior Holly Stockard. "It was great to see the joy on their faces to have something to read in their own language and just to own something."
Juniors Tyler Wilkins and Martha Thomas led a team to Houston, Texas to work with First Baptist Church of Houston. The team served in several different capacities including helping with the FBC Houston Missionary Training Center, Kids Clubs, tutoring and helping in the clothes closet and food pantry.
Altogether, SBU sent out 115 students, faculty and staff around the world to serve others in the name of Christ.
"To my knowledge, this is the largest amount of team members that we have ever mobilized during a January term," said Gallamore.
SBU continues its tradition of missions and ministry throughout the rest of the year with three mission trips traveling during spring break and six teams traveling this summer. Spring break teams include Brazil, El Salvador and Tuscon, Ariz. The summer teams will travel to Utah; Miami, Fla.; Detroit, Mich.; Kenya; North Africa and Eastern Turkey.

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