Missions & Study Abroad

Transcript

Okay, let’s hear from Amelia, a senior from Carmel, Indiana with an occupational focus in film. The Institute for Global Outreach Development’s missions program gives students practical opportunities to implement lessons learned in the classroom in four regions of the developing world. Over the course of their undergrad, several international trips are taken, culminating in over 12 weeks of experience on the mission field. Take it away, Amelia.

– Thanks, Alex. At 13, I knew I wanted to be a missionary, but I didn’t wanna just hit the field and learn by trial and error, nor did I wanna be stuck in a classroom reading about it. The Institute’s missionary program prioritizes learning God’s plan for missions through biblical studies while developing a team dynamic and a sustainable strategy through community building. The program gives us tools for navigating cross-cultural experiences, puts us in situations for developing team dynamics, all while giving us an occupational focus for skills development we can actually use on the field. With campuses in Latin America, East Africa, India, and Southeast Asia, I’ve been able to go to both El Salvador and Uganda. Being on mission with like-minded friends and professors has been life-changing. I’ve taught in schools, planned youth conferences, performed the arts, dug wells, served widows, played with orphans, assisted the disabled, and encouraged the poor. Taking what I’ve learned at school and doing it in the real world makes learning way more than some hypothetical exercise in the classroom. I actually get to bring change to real people’s lives. The Institute has given me so many opportunities to practice what I’ve learned before I take it abroad. I feel so prepared to spend the rest of my life serving and using this education to do good in the world. When I graduate, I’ll be debt free, equipped with the skill I can use in the developing world, have a job offer with a business or nonprofit doing missions and a knowledge of God’s Word to be confident in my approach. I’ll be a missionary. Your turn, Alex.

– Thank you, Amelia. I’ve done a lot of traveling myself and there’s nothing like having your eyes opened by the variety of experiences you get when you visit people around the world. The Institute for G.O.D. missions program sounds like an awesome synthesis of learning and doing. Thanks again for sharing your story.