May 1, 2012
For Immediate Release
By Christina L. Kern, office assistant
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky.— Two groups of students from Campbellsville University will travel to Africa for summer mission trips: one to Niger for two weeks and the other to Ghana for two months.
The Niger team will work with Mark and Parker Hill Phillips, both 2002 graduates of Campbellsville University who have served in Niger for a few years. Prior to their appointment by the International Mission Board, they were living in Franklin, Ky., where Mark served as youth minister at Living Hope Baptist Church.
In Niger, the team will work to upgrade a local school building and utilize a chronological Bible storytelling method they call C2C (Creation to Christ).
“Our time in Niger will be the hottest time of the year with daily high temperatures averaging 120 to 130 degrees,” Ed Pavy, director of campus ministries, said.
John Harbold, a senior of Hopkinsville, Ky., leaves two days after his graduation to travel to Niger. Harbold has been on other international mission trips to Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.
“Missions, whether international or local, is something we are called to do,” Harbold said. “I feel that God has placed international missions on my heart, and I just want to fulfill God's calling. Having the opportunity to share the name of Jesus with people who have never heard His name before and seeing their reaction to what He did for us is something that words cannot express.”
The team leaves May 7 and will be in Niger for two weeks.
The Niger team includes: Ed Pavy, director of campus ministries of Campbellsville, Ky.; Megan Parson, a senior of Greensburg, Ky.; Tyler Tucker, a freshman of Greensburg, Ky.; Haley Probus, a sophomore of Lebanon, Ky.; Kaela Vessels, a senior of Vine Grove, Ky.;
John Harbold, a senior of Hopkinsville, Ky.; Kevin Metzger, a senior of Richmond, Va.; Lauren Barr, a freshman of Ekron, Ky.; Kristen Large, a sophomore of Lewisburg, Ky.; Trent Creason, campus ministries intern of Campbellsville, Ky.; and Alexa Moore, a sophomore of Clarksville, Tenn.
Three other Campbellsville University students will leave May 15 for a two-month mission trip to Ghana. Those going are: Olivia Brainard, a graduating senior of Somerset, Ky.; Hillary Anderson, a senior of Campbellsville, Ky.; and Anna Stepp, a junior of Grayson, Ky.
The Ghana team will live across the street from an orphanage supported by “Feeding the Orphans.” They will work with the orphanage, and more specifically help with the feeding programs.
“Feeding the Orphans” was founded by the O'Leary Family, who Brainard and Stepp met last summer through CU Crew working Vacation Bible School in Casey County.
“After that week of VBS, I tried every way to work Ghana into my schedule,” Brainard said. “In October, God told me to go to Ghana. At first it was just me by myself which made me super nervous, but over time, Hillary and Anna both came to me separately wanting to go to Ghana.”
Living Grace Church in Campbellsville is hosting a flip-flop drive for the team to bring with them to Ghana.
Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 3,500 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.