Jan. 17, 2013
For Immediate Release
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| Campbellsville University mission group members who returned recently from East Asia are from left: Front row — Sarah Scott, Louisville, Ky.; and Andrew Neal, Harrodsburg, Ky. Back row — Trevor McWhorter, Campbellsville, Ky.; Rebekah Carl, Houston, Texas; and Devan Bishop, Columbia, Ky. |
By Rebekah A. Southwood, student news writer
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. — Five Baptist Campus Ministry students from Campbellsville University spent their Christmas and New Year in East Asia presenting the celebration of the true Christmas story to the people in the small city in which they visited.
Senior Rebekah Carl of Houston, Texas; sophomore Devan Bishop of Columbia, Ky.; graduate student Trevor McWhorter of Campbellsville, Ky.; sophomore Andrew Neal of Harrodsburg, Ky.; and junior Sarah Scott of Louisville, Ky. were the mission team.
Carl, the team leader, was on her second mission outreach to East Asia and she aspires to return in the summer of 2013.
Carl, speaking at the university’s Oasis, Baptist Campus Ministry’s weekly student-led worship service Jan. 14, said the mission team’s knowledge was transformed by the farther understanding of the true Christmas story.
She said, “This story can be shared here in the United States or overseas and its importance remains.” Sharing the Christmas story was their avenue to sharing the gospel with the numerous loss of East Asia. They helped create prominence to an otherwise inconsequential holiday.
Neal revealed his broken heart for the vast “lostness” of the people. He said they bow down and serve idols relentlessly and the majority are clueless of who the one true God is.
He said, “They are hardened to the gospel, but God softened their hearts and now they are persistent about sharing their faith. God is at work and we want to encourage you to share your faith.”
He suggested that students start by building relationships, serving and sharing their lives with others to amplify the kingdom of God.
Conveying how God transformed her life Scott said, “God opened my heart so wide, telling me, ‘Sarah, these are my people and they are beautiful!’”
While on the trip she thought continuously, “What am I doing in America to tell people about Jesus?” The missionaries there are tenaciously sharing their faith, she said, undaunted by the persecution they could suffer.
They encountered various obstacles including living in a 30 to 40-degree apartment, inability to speak the language, financial expense and food discrepancy between nations.
The students said they were victors; they overcame the obstacles and had unbelievable life changing experiences. They encouraged all to participate in sometime in their life.
Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 3,600 students offering 63 undergraduate options, 17 master’s degrees, five postgraduate areas and eight pre-professional programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.