September 16, 2002
GLOBETROTTERS:
Tallowood youth on global mission
___By George Henson
___Staff Writer
___HOUSTON--Youth from Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston nearly took the Great Commission's admonition to go into "all the world" literally this summer. They served in six simultaneous mission projects on five continents.
___The 156 teens and their sponsors fanned out to Alaska, Russia, the Ivory Coast, Brazil and China, while one team served at home in Houston.
LAUREN GENTRY (center) and Lynnette Anderson (right) were among a group of 27 students and sponsors from Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston who traveled to Recife, Brazil, for ministry with children this summer. Other Tallowood youth traveled to Alaska, Russia, the Ivory Coast and China.
___While the locations varied widely, the primary mission was the same--to minister to orphans, the homeless and street children.
___Student Minister Jerome Smith coordinated the far-flung projects, and he saw the effort as a God-given opportunity.
___Planning began in January 2001 and intensified in August of that year.
___Then came Sept. 11, 2001.
___Some parents didn't want their teenagers flying at all, much less flying to foreign countries.
___Nevertheless, plans progressed, and in October, letters describing the trips went out to parents.
___While fears persisted, Smith said he felt divine leadership to continue.
___"Even until the day we left, we didn't know if something would happen that would change everything, but we kept preparing," Smith said. "It was as if at each stage God kept saying: 'Move forward. Don't let anything make you shrink back from what I called you to do.'"
___After months of fundraising and training, the first group of Tallowood teens left for St. Petersburg, Russia, at 5:30 a.m. July 17. The last group left the Houston runway at 3:20 p.m. July 19 bound for Anchorage.
___By the time they all returned to Houston 10 days later, the Texas Baptist youth had changed lives the world over--including their own.
___"Their perspective on their world was expanded far beyond what we could teach them here," Smith said. "You just have to be exposed to a culture firsthand to really have any idea what it is really like."
___The groups in Russia and Urumqi, China, worked with Buckner Orphan Care International representatives, enhancing the lives of the children in orphanages.
___The Alaskan travelers worked with junior high boys at a Baptist children's home, leading the in Bible study as well as fun and games.
___In Brazil, the teens helped a Baptist missionary who ministers to street children and also served at an orphanage for girls.
___In Danané, Ivory Coast, the students worked with Liberian Christians and went to surrounding villages sharing the gospel.
___Meanwhile, 50 students holding down the fort in Houston led Vacation Bible Schools in neighborhoods each day.
___"It was an awesome experience," Smith said. "It's amazing to see what God did all around the world in one-on-one conversations. It was all just an amazing thing that only God could make happen."
___The services rendered to others has engendered a passion that is continuing to percolate in the souls of the young people who made the trips, he added. "A number of kids have been making some major changes in the ways they are spending their time since they have returned home."
___And many are looking for a way to return to their ministry points. "It's as if they are saying, 'I didn't finish what I started,'" Smith reported.
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The Baptist Standard
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