March 11, 2016
For Immediate Release
By Josh Christian, student news writer
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. — As the winter months come to a close,
spring is on the horizon, and it is coming just in time for Campbellsville
University’s Spring Break March 14-18.
Students and teachers will rush to
beaches and vacation spots to enjoy this new season. However, instead of
enjoying the warmer weather and relaxation, 30 CU students and faculty members
are rushing to serve orphans, prison inmates and their fellow spring breakers.
A Florida
Prison Mission team, in cooperation with Sports Reach and composed of CU
students and faculty, departed for Lake City, Fla., at 6 a.m. on Thursday,
March 10. Campbellsville University students and faculty are planning to visit prison
facilities during their trip.
“This team
will visit multiple facilities and play up to six games per day for the opportunity
to share the Gospel with the inmates,” the Rev. Ed Pavy, director of campus
ministries, said.
Jim Hardy,
CU assistant athletic director, has asked for prayer over the course of the break,
as they will visit different prisons each day.
This team
includes: Jim Hardy, CU assistant athletic director; Andrew Franklin, director
of residence life; Will Snyder, of Campbellsville; Ryan Gratton, CU sophomore
of LaGrange, Ky.; Bradley Bates, CU junior of Campbellsville, Ky.; Cody Jones,
CU sophomore of Glasgow, Ky.; Frank Gaskins, of Campbellsville; Khalil Baker,
CU sophomore of Hopkinsville, Ky.;
Justin Ramos, CU sophomore of Paris,
Tenn.; Caleb Queen, CU senior of Campbellsville, Ky.; Matt Atwood, a CU
football coach, of Campbellsville; Braydon Russell, CU freshman of
Lawrenceburg, Ky.; Lucas Humphrey, CU sophomore of Shepherdsville, Ky., and
Michael Jackson, CU graduate student of Lexington, Ky.
A Beach
Reach mission team, composed of CU students, will travel to Panama City Beach,
Fla. This team is a part of Lifeway’s ministry to collegiate spring breakers.
“Their ministries will include street evangelism, providing van rides at night,
serving up free pancake breakfasts every morning and spending time in prayer,”
Pavy said.
This team includes: Devan Bishop, CU
graduate student of Columbia, Ky.; Lucas Pepper, CU senior of Hodgenville, Ky.;
Jesus Berlanga, CU senior of Lebanon, Ky.; Ruari Staton, CU freshman of Elizabethtown,
Ky.; Elvis Ufuoma, CU sophomore of Nigeria, and Mason Miniard, CU junior of
Russell Springs, Ky.
A mission
team, also composed of students and faulty, will travel to Neply, Haiti over
Spring Break. This team will be working with “myLIFEspeaks,” an orphanage for
special needs children.
“Their ministry will include a feeding ministry to over 1,000
children, leading worship, some simple construction projects, leading
life-skills classes, prayer walking, spending time with the children at the
orphanage playing, leading their elderly program one day and simply building
relationships with the residents,” Pavy said.
This team
includes: Pavy; Aaron Smith, CU sophomore of Sharonville, Ohio; Austin
Stillwell, CU sophomore of Hodgenville, Ky.; Dylan Johnson, CU sophomore of
Lexington, Ky.; Danielle Johnson of Lexington, Ky., Steeley Shacklette, CU sophomore
of Elizabethtown, Ky.; Anna Nowicki, CU freshman of Forreston, Ill.;
Taylor Harvard, CU freshman of Elizabethtown,
Ky.; Stephanie Morgan, CU sophomore of Hartford, Ky.; Mitchell Saget, CU freshman
of Elizabethtown, Ky., and Michelet Saget of Elizabethtown, Ky.
Dylan Johnson
said his goal was to make God’s love known to the orphans in Haiti.
“The
Haitians don’t all receive love like they should, and I want to give them that
kind of love,” Johnson said.
“I am going
to Haiti on a mission trip because we are called to go as Christians. I want to
make an impact outside of my local community and nation. I want to see God and
Christianity on a different and larger scale than I have ever experienced it,”
Johnson said.
Prayers are
asked for all teams and other students as they travel over break.
Campbellsville
University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more
than 3,500 students offering over 80 programs of study including 24 master’s
degrees, seven postgraduate areas and eight pre-professional programs. The
website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.