Summer missions moves UMHB students out of ‘comfort zones’

Posted: 8/24/07

Summer missions moves UMHB
students out of ‘comfort zones’

By Jennifer Sicking

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor

BELTON—Summer Caniglia heard stories about missionaries who spent years in Japan and never saw anyone come to faith in Christ. So, she was warned not to expect to see great results during her summer missions internship in Tokyo.

“In Japan, I had expectations that it would be hard—that there would not be any fruit,” she said.

But Caniglia, a University of Mary Hardin-Baylor senior management/Christian ministry major from Houston who served this summer as a missions mobilizer with the International Mission Board guiding short-term teams through the streets of Tokyo, met 20 people who made professions of faith in Christ, saw six baptisms performed and experienced two church starts.

“I learned not to put limitations on God,” she said. “He is mighty to save.”

Caniglia served as a summer missionary through Go Now Missions—a program UMHB Baptist Student Ministry Director Shawn Shannon highly recommends to students.

“Jesus himself lived a life of missions, crossing the greatest cultural divide there ever was, and those of us who follow him are walking in the overall pattern of his life,” she said. “This will lead us out of our comfort zones into dependence on God. I see students grow the most when they participate in one or more of the following—service, leadership and missions.”

Kristen Grogan, a senior business management major from Cedar Hill, wanted to return to Tokyo where she spent part of her Christmas vacation. Instead, she was sent to Boston and thoroughly enjoyed it.

“I loved that during the summer, we were able to experience a variety of ministries in the New England area,” she said. “We were able to work alongside Haitian churches, an Arabic Evangelical church, collegiate church plants and many others.”

During her two months there, she participated in prayer-walking, painting houses, performing yard work, participating in vacation Bible school and backyard Bible clubs and teaching conversational English to international students.

“The Lord allowed me to see that one of the reasons I was there was simply to serve,” she said.

Kristin Bauer, a junior early childhood major from San Antonio, learned about fellowship within the Wolfenbuttel, Germany church while she ministered among youth in that city.

“In Germany, after the fifth grade, the students are separated into different schools by grade,” she said. “It was sad to go to the different schools and see the discrimination and segregation in them. One student at the Hauptschule, the lowest school, asked why we were there and why we cared about them. This was an opportunity to share God’s love with them and to let them know that we care about them and that we’re there for them.”

Relationships Bauer built in Germany have continued after she returned to the United States, including one with a Muslim girl who’s family emigrated there from Turkey.

“At one school, one Turkish girl really wanted a picture with me. As I saw her in the halls during passing periods, we were able to talk and swap e-mails,” she said. “Now, we’ve been e-mailing each other and I can see God’s work in progress. Even though we’re not over there, we are still able to share God with everyone over e-mails.”

Each of the students said they realized that if they are called to go by God, they must go and share the gospel message.

“God has a place for all of us to serve whether at home or abroad. It’s an act of obedience,” Caniglia said. “It’s not a choice. It is what we are told to do.”