By Mike, CBF field personnel
At the beginning of summer, we hosted 34 students and faculty from Baylor University’s Church Music program. They came, they sang, they learned and they left. Well, most left.
For the 10 years we’ve been serving in Indonesia, we have regularly hosted college students for summer learning and serving opportunities. This summer was no different. But, with 30 Baylor students committing to two weeks in Southeast Asia, we figured why shouldn’t a few of them stay for the whole summer. Full schedules and other commitments meant that most could not extend, but two did and two have said they’d be back to serve at other times. We picked up one more student from Puerto Rico and yet another Baylor student later in the summer.
The four students were able to experience more than just the parachuting in experience of a short-term trip. They got to experience what it means to live in a different context for an extended period of time, enough to deal with sickness, both homesickness and physical sickness. They also got to engage in conversations and reflection about what life and ministry could look like in a context drastically different from their own, challenging, yet beautiful. This pondering helped students to further discern where and how God was calling them to serve, one nearer to home, one to continue to seminary, the others’ calling refined and a clearer connection to global service.
Mike and his wife Brooke are field personnel in Indonesia. They serve as ministers and educators supporting local churches and schools in the area.