To close out our Spring Break mission, we posted a photo album on our Facebook page and include here a few final thoughts from the students who participated on the trip. Huge thank you to Hoffmantown Church for putting us up in Albuquerque, Mercy Hill Church for welcoming us on their journey in Phoenix, and the SRBA churches who support the BSU ministry year in and year out. Without y’all, this wouldn’t have happened.

MONICA—God showed me that I need to build relationship with people to make them feel like they are welcomed. This could later on lead to me being able to share Christ with them. Another thing God showed me on the mission trip was how many ways you can show Gods love through the community. Many times I just pass this by, but in Joplin, there are many opportunities to minister in our community.

ASHLEY—What God has tough me throughout out this trip was that not being judgmental of other people circumstances in their lives even if they have a iPhone or a nice car, we don’t know what the other problems maybe in each person’s life; and that we has a person should help the people out when they are having issues and not bring them down by dismissing their needs.

NEAL—This mission trip reinforced the belief that showing love to all people regardless of their status or appearance is a top behavior that Christians should have.

MATTI— On this trip, I really felt God telling me to reexamine my own life. 2 things really stuck out to me: one was when the pastor at Hoffmantown Church said that you have to read God’s word to eventually know God’s will for your life. 2nd, was the four questions at the community garden: Who am I? Where am I? What’s the problem? And what’s the solution? Another thing was to not judge by outward appearance and to establish relationships with people you normally wouldn’t because you have no idea what their life story is. Overall, God taught me to love everyone and is helping me reexamine my own life to make that happen.

KAITLIN—In reference to what I learned this week, this trip gave me a lot to mull over. I don’t think I will ever just have a concrete answer to this question, but what stuck out to me was how close the areas heavily populated by homeless were to the areas which are considered to be on the good side of revitalization. Somehow I pictured the city progressing from very rich down the gradient to the homeless. Instead, the people who are physically the most in need can see the wealthier population go about their daily business. This also prompts me to think about what Jeff [Skeens] said about redistribution of connections. I think everyone has an opinion about the redistribution of wealth, but I have never really pondered the redistribution of knowledge that often seems common. Often, the only people who get a leg up are the people who know people in powerful positions. Going along with the saying “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish he eats for life,” how can we equip the people who are in need around us to face their problems? This also prompts a purposeful look at the world around us. One great example was how the missionary made a conscious decision to connect both his son and his lower income peers with the same connections. This thought applies to both physical and spiritual needs. The same juxtaposition of needy and gifted prompts me to wonder how many people I have overlooked in my daily life who need help in some way, and how to find those needs to better equip them to face life.

GRANT— God really showed me that I need to see things through a kingdom perspective and not through a political or cultural perspective.