Report on Baylor Missions 2014

In 2014, Baylor Missions commissioned 405 students, faculty, staff and alumni to serve in 13 countries as part of 25 different mission teams. Through their Baylor Missions experiences, students connected faith, learning and service by working alongside Baylor’s global partners in discipline-specific ways that met community needs and illuminated the calling of each participant.

Belize
Childhood Development students worked with preschool and early elementary teachers and children, hosted parent workshops in the villages of Silver Creek and Santa Teresa and spent a day in Punta Gorda touring local preschools and meeting with representatives from the Ministry of Education.

Dominican Republic
Members of the Multicultural Association of Pre-Health Students served on a medical brigade in Santiago in partnership with Christian Medical Missions. A men’s leadership team served at Esperanza Means Hope in Esperanza by teaching business practices to small organizations, consulting with local businesses on sustainability, teaching English as a Second Language classes and helping the host organization develop a marketing plan.

Eagle Pass, Texas
Through a partnership with Literacy ConneXus, a Baylor team provided books and reading instruction to children living in communities outside the city.

El Salvador
Student members of Baylor Religious Hour Choir performed in various musical concerts and church services in San Salvador. A medical missions team of pre-med students assisted with vital signs and patient care on hospital rounds and a medical brigade with doctors and medical students from Universidad Evangelica de El Salvador. Students from the Honors Residential College entertained children and facilitated arts and crafts workshops at the Fernando Llort School in San Salvador.

Ghana
A medical leadership team served at Kwame Nkrumah University Hospital by accompanying doctors on rotation, observing surgeries and extending hospitality to the patients. A community health and education leadership team provided educational and medical support by teaching English, science and wellness at a school in Kyerekrom, where they also assisted with community development activities. A community development team partnered with Shoot 4 Life ministries to teach basketball workshops at schools in Kumasi, as well as spending time playing and reading with the children at All Nations Charity Home.

Greece
An outdoor recreation team traveled to Athens to mentor Albanian youth by hosting a five-day camp that focused on leadership and outdoor recreation.

Guatemala
Members of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority led activities and shared goodwill at Village of Hope and Hermano Pedro Hospital, a multi-service facility in Antigua that provides shelter and care to the elderly, orphaned, mentally challenged and chronically ill. Members of the American Medical Student Association assisted and observed dentists and physicians at local medical clinics and taught basic hygiene techniques to village children in Quetzaltenango.

Haiti
Student members of Engineers with a Mission, Baylor Chapter, traveled to Ferrier, where they partnered with Mission Waco. Using their engineering skills, the team assembled and installed a solar photovoltaic system to provide electricity to a community-training center. They also performed water quality tests and made GPS maps of electric power lines.

Malaysia
A team of 26 student musicians presented workshops, gave concerts and worked with various church communities in Sabah, where they experienced the power of music to transcend cultural barriers.

Mississippi
Students of Baylor’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing served at the Cary Christian Community Center in the Mississippi Delta region, one of the most economically challenged rural areas in the United States, by assisting with medical check-ups, nutritional education and afterschool care.

Uganda
In Jinja and Kampala, Accounting students taught vocational seminars on business consulting and micro-lending, partnered with Uganda Christian University and Pastors Discipleship Network to provide workshops for a pastors conference and served with Global Hands of Hope. Members of the fraternity Kappa Sigma hosted a conference on financial stewardship in partnership with the Pastors Discipleship Network, conducted business leadership seminars in partnership with Global Hands of Hope and participated in sports ministry with children at God Cares Orphanage. Members of Phi Kappa Chi served in Jinja with iloveorphans.com, the fraternity’s official philanthropy, and Arise Africa International. In Bukaleba, they ministered to children in schools, provided food and clothing to local villages and helped construct an educational building and dining facility at an orphanage – a project they raised over $40,000 to complete.

Peru
The Programming and Community Development team served in Kawai with Latin America Mission (LAM) by providing maintenance at Casa Girasoles, a home for boys, and leading Bible studies and vacation Bible school activities in local churches. In the outskirts of Lima, students from Baylor’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing provided a simple medical clinic, where they saw over 400 families and shared the love of Christ.

Vietnam
Students of Baylor’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing, in partnership with FBC Keller, served with local hospitals and a nursing school in Nam Dihn.

Washington, D.C.
Students explored hunger in America and the different types of interventions used to improve food security, such as emergency food assistance, federal nutrition programs and advocacy. They volunteered at various hunger ministries, including D.C. Central Kitchen, Maryland Breakfast in the Classroom, the United States Department of Agriculture, Capital Area Food Bank and Bread for the World.

Zambia
A team of MBA students and faculty partnered with Northrise University in N’dola by teaching a two-week business course. They also visited local businesses and conducted training for micro-finance organizations. A sports ministry team of student athletes hosted community sports clinics in Ndola, in partnership with Northrise University and Arise Africa, sharing the love of Christ through the common language of sports.