Baylor Students Serving the World Through 2019 May Minimester BUMissions

Media Contact: Lori Fogleman, Baylor University Media and Public Relations, 254-710-6275
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WACO, Texas (May 22, 2019) – This month, Baylor Missions is sending 15 teams of 247 students, faculty, staff and friends of Baylor University who will be integrating their faith with their academic disciplines and hands-on service at locations in Ecuador, England, Guatemala, Kenya, Romania, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, Washington, D.C., and the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.

Each Baylor University Missions experience fosters informed global engagement that brings together faith, discipline-specific learning and service that contributes solutions to real-world challenges at home and abroad. The May mimimester mission trips this year include a new team experience in Ecuador for students interested in Deaf education in the developing world.

“These thoughtful initiatives are allowing for students to present their respective academic perspective and passions to enhance and diversify the way we approach community challenges and solutions around the world,” said Holly Tate, assistant director for global missions-student engagement at Baylor.

To document each teams’ journey, students are using the hashtag #BearsOnMission on Instagram & Twitter. Photos also will be posted to www.facebook.com/bumissions and on Instagram @BUMissions.

2019 May Minimester BUMissions Teams

Ecuador Deaf Education Team: This inaugural team of 11 Baylor students and faculty will serve the Deaf community in Ecuador. Through preparation and trainings this spring, the team is equipped to host Bible clubs, tutor kids, train youth, help with accessibility remodeling efforts and learn together about the educational, cultural, visual and spiritual struggles that Deaf communities in developing countries face. Students also will be exposed to an additional sign language through immersion in Ecuadorian Sign Language (Lengua de Señas de Ecuador or LSEC) and experience working alongside local teachers to create new accessible media resources and materials.

England Business as Missions Team: A 12-member team from Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business will partner with existing Business as Mission organizations to further their ministry while helping students grow in their understanding of living on mission as business professionals. The team will divide into three consulting groups to offer advice and encouragement to for-profit and social entrepreneurs throughout Manchester, England. Students will grow in understanding of vocation as Christian business leaders, increase awareness of international business operation, and learn how businesses and business leaders can be on mission in the marketplace.

England Business Interdisciplinary Team: This team is a follow-up to last May's business consulting mission trip with church-sponsored, ministry-focused coffee houses in Brighton and London. Eleven Baylor Accounting students and faculty will be working in London and the Shropshire city of Shrewsbury. In London, Baylor students will consult with the newest of the two Kahila coffee houses located in the financial district of Aldgate. In Shrewsbury, the team will consult with Palmer’s of Shrewsbury coffee house, which is a ministry of Shrewsbury Baptist Church. This trip is part of a continuing effort to build a long-term relationship with ministry-focused endeavors that allow Accounting students to utilize their skills in mission-oriented consulting work.

Guatemala Kappa Kappa Gamma Team: Fifteen Baylor Kappa Kappa Gamma members and two Baylor faculty leaders will travel to Antigua, Guatemala, to work with malnourished children through One More Child Global. According to a study done by UNICEF, the chronic malnutrition rate for children under five years old in Guatemala is 50 percent – the fourth highest for any nation in the world. The sisters of KKG will work alongside nationals to help meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of children in various stages of malnutrition at a center dedicated to combatting this tragic epidemic. These students will assist with many activities of daily living and also will work with older children in the community – sharing more about health and sanitation as well as participating in home improvement projects to help break the cycle of malnutrition and provide families with healthier living arrangements.

Guatemala Pre-Vet Team: Baylor Pre-Veterinary Medical Association is sending a group of 10 students and two faculty to Sumpango, Guatemala, to assist the largest animal rescue organization in the country – Animal AWARE (Animal Welfare Association, Rescue and Education). AWARE’s mission is to provide shelter for the homeless animal population in its community, as well as offer education of the importance of animal welfare. The Baylor team specifically will be handling day-to-day operations of animal care and assisting AWARE’s five employees with more than 350 animals.

Kenya Communication Sciences and Disorders Team: A team of 12 Baylor Speech-Language Pathology students and two faculty are traveling to Nairobi to provide speech, language and feeding assessments and intervention at the Acorn School, a residential and day school for children with special needs. Students will work with teachers, parents and the local university, where they will use their discipline-specific skills in a multicultural setting and learn how to integrate their faith with career and service.

Kenya Education Team: This team of 15 Baylor students and two faculty leaders will spend 14 days in Kenya focused on supporting education initiatives with global partners. The team will spend the first week working with teachers, students and caregivers at Naomi’s Village, modeling and mentoring teaching strategies and delivering professional development. The second week will be spent in Nairobi working with other global partners like the Acorn Special Tutorials School and other local organizations to empower women and children to lead productive lives.

Kenya Music and Missions Team: A team of 31 Baylor students, three University guests and two Baylor faculty will sing, dance and drum their way into the hearts of the people in and around Nairobi, Kenya. After months of learning uplifting songs in Swahili, this group will perform for numerous local congregations and schools both in Nairobi, Nakuru and surrounding villages. In addition to performing, the students will engage with the local communities through service and relationship building, giving out new clothes and other items to the Komolion village children.

Romania BRH Team: This May, the Baylor Religious Hour Choir is sending 25 students and two faculty leaders to Romania to serve local churches through Hope Romania. The students will lead worship and perform concerts to highlight the churches in the area. In addition to performing, the students will minister to children and pass out New Testaments.

South Africa Sports Ministry Team: Twenty-one Baylor student-athletes along with three staff will be traveling to Johannesburg to partner with Athletes in Action South Africa. The primary purpose of the trip will be to help global partners expand their campus outreach to athletes and coaches at the University of Johannesburg and Wits University. The team will also spend a day serving a church or orphanage in the Soweto township. Missions experiences have been reflected on as being the highlight of the student-athlete experience for many past participants. Baylor Sports Ministry hopes to continue building our partnerships to provide fulfilling experience for our student-athletes, assisting in their spiritual and personal growth.

Uganda Accounting and Interior Design Team: Baylor Accounting has partnered with Baylor Interior Design to serve the Pastors Discipleship Network (PDN) to equip local business leaders with practical business skills and consulting services. For two weeks, 16 Baylor business students, two interior design students and three faculty members will lead a variety of business projects from designing and financially planning a hotel to starting a bakery to employ young women. These students will learn about God’s goodness by empowering pastors to engage in business, equipping young people with life skill, and experiencing the beauty in all God’s people.

Uganda Engineering (BUV) Team: Baylor Engineering students, including members of the student group Baylor BUV (Basic Utility Vehicle), will partner with Village of Hope (VOH), Uganda to build a BUV at the vocational training school housed at the VOH site just south of Gulu, Uganda. Nine Baylor students will team with about 20 VOH vocational students to fabricate the BUV from parts and supplies sourced locally in Uganda. VOH students are former child soldier refugees from recent civil wars in that country. Baylor students will apply their background in engineering to design the vehicle while VOH students will use welding, fabrication and automotive maintenance to build a running vehicle during the visit. The students will gain the experience of working in a culture that is different than their own while VOH students will be part of building a vehicle that can be used across rural Uganda, aiding families as they haul crops, water, people, medical supplies and more. The goal is to have a running vehicle by the end of the trip and to foster a long-term partnership that helps the children of Uganda with marketable skills and possible business opportunities.

Valley (TX) AMSA Team>: A team of nine Baylor students involved in the American Medical Students Association (AMSA) will travel to the Rio Grande Valley to participate in a Baylor Missions trip in partnership with organizations and churches in Harlingen, Olmito and McAllen, Texas. The purpose of this trip is to introduce students to the concept of medical missions through shadowing and volunteering at clinics in underserved areas through the principles of science.

Washington D.C. - Hunger in America Team: Addressing food insecurity is a challenge that requires collaboration between federal and state agencies, nonprofits and faith-based organizations. A group of 11 Baylor participants in partnership with Baylor’s Texas Hunger Initiative will spend a week in Washington, D.C., to learn how Baylor is building and supporting public-private partnerships to end domestic hunger. Students will have the opportunity to dialogue with thought leaders at think tanks and nonprofits, advocate for effective programs on Capitol Hill and meet Baylor alumni who are making a difference. Faculty and students will explore the scope, causes and impact of hunger in America. They also will learn about different types of interventions used to fight hunger such as emergency food assistance and federal nutrition programs. Along the way they will have unique opportunities to put these interventions into practice by volunteering and serving at organizations such as DC Central Kitchen, Church of the Epiphany and the United States Department of Agriculture. The trip culminates with a day on the Hill, when students meet with their home offices.

Zambia Business Consulting Team: This team of 11 students and two staff leaders will partner with Family Legacy, a high-impact non-governmental organization (NGO) that gives Zambian orphans a home, love and an education. The team will work with students who are graduating from high school in the Excel Beyond program, helping them chart the next stage of their lives. Many of these young people will work in business in the future but have had little exposure to business. Baylor students will coach students in personal and professional development and how to prepare for the next stage of their careers, as well as consulting on the basics of communication, marketing, customer service and entrepreneurship. One-on-one conversations, small group discussion, classroom exercises, role plays and field trips will give Baylor students an opportunity to mentor these bright young people. They welcome the chance to walk out in faith while mentoring them, sharing how faith, service, persistence and hard work are the keys to their success.

ABOUT BAYLOR MISSIONS

BU Missions seeks to create tangible opportunities for students to understand how they can use the knowledge and skills they gain here at Baylor University to love people around the world and in the Waco community.

As part of the Office of Spiritual Life at Baylor, our Mission is to nurture theological depth, spiritual wholeness and missional living in the students, staff and faculty at Baylor by offering integrated formational programming, transformative missional experiences, competent pastoral care and worship that is responsive to the Christian Tradition and sensitive to the culture.

Global Missions collaborates with faculty and staff from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds along with our global partners to implement spiritually rich and challenging experiences for our students. It is our hope that the students who participate in our trips not only enjoy the experience (which is important), but also discover a sense of vocation and calling as they see first-hand how they can use their discipline to serve.

Learn more at www.baylor.edu/missions.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.