2008 Woodie Awards
Intercultural Studies students prepare for semester abroad
Jessica Oliver
Issue date: 5/9/08 Section: In the Spotlight
Four groups of students enrolled in Southwest Baptist University's Intercultural Studies program will spend six months abroad throughout the next several months.
Juniors Lydia Powers and Emily Iler will teach English as a Second Language (ESL) at universities in Chiang Mai, Thailand and will prayer walk in the red-light district in the city. The girls will leave on June 3 and return in December.
"I really want to be spiritually prepared for this trip," said Powers. "There are no known Christians in the village we are going to. The missionary told us that there will be a lot of spiritual warfare, and we need to be prepared."
Juniors Andrew Frisbie and Alec Atchison plan to spend six months in an undisclosed country in the Middle East. At the time of publication, Frisbie and Atchison were still raising funds. While abroad, this team will spend time learning Arabic and building relationships with locals.
"I hope to learn written and spoken Arabic, how Middle Eastern people think, what their goals and motivations are, who their heroes are, what their fears are and how they view the world and other cultures," said Frisbie. "I hope to understand their standpoint in the world then work to connect with other cultures. There are so many communication and relationship barriers between Middle Eastern Arabs and Westerners."
Senior Brian and alumna Sheena Ball will head to South Asia in January 2009 to work among Buddhist people. While abroad, the couple will trek through mountains and distribute literature. Their primary task will be church planning. After this trip, they plan to make a career as missionaries to Buddhist people.
"The main thing we are taking out of [this trip] is gaining missionary contacts and the practical application and integration of what we have learned into missions," said Sheena.
Juniors Nick and Cheryl Clinton are set to do chronological Bible storying and relationship building with the Fulani people in West Africa beginning in July.
"We pray that God will use our ministry in West Africa to open doors for the Fulani to know Christ," said Cheryl.
In order to prepare for their six month journey, these students have taken several ICS classes geared toward evangelism and ministry as well as phonetics, ESL and safety training.
To read journals from these students while they are overseas, visit www.sbuniv.edu/ics.
Juniors Lydia Powers and Emily Iler will teach English as a Second Language (ESL) at universities in Chiang Mai, Thailand and will prayer walk in the red-light district in the city. The girls will leave on June 3 and return in December.
"I really want to be spiritually prepared for this trip," said Powers. "There are no known Christians in the village we are going to. The missionary told us that there will be a lot of spiritual warfare, and we need to be prepared."
Juniors Andrew Frisbie and Alec Atchison plan to spend six months in an undisclosed country in the Middle East. At the time of publication, Frisbie and Atchison were still raising funds. While abroad, this team will spend time learning Arabic and building relationships with locals.
"I hope to learn written and spoken Arabic, how Middle Eastern people think, what their goals and motivations are, who their heroes are, what their fears are and how they view the world and other cultures," said Frisbie. "I hope to understand their standpoint in the world then work to connect with other cultures. There are so many communication and relationship barriers between Middle Eastern Arabs and Westerners."
Senior Brian and alumna Sheena Ball will head to South Asia in January 2009 to work among Buddhist people. While abroad, the couple will trek through mountains and distribute literature. Their primary task will be church planning. After this trip, they plan to make a career as missionaries to Buddhist people.
"The main thing we are taking out of [this trip] is gaining missionary contacts and the practical application and integration of what we have learned into missions," said Sheena.
Juniors Nick and Cheryl Clinton are set to do chronological Bible storying and relationship building with the Fulani people in West Africa beginning in July.
"We pray that God will use our ministry in West Africa to open doors for the Fulani to know Christ," said Cheryl.
In order to prepare for their six month journey, these students have taken several ICS classes geared toward evangelism and ministry as well as phonetics, ESL and safety training.
To read journals from these students while they are overseas, visit www.sbuniv.edu/ics.
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