Around the State: HSU students volunteer at Joni and Friends Family Retreat

Physical therapy students from Hardin-Simmons University volunteered at Joni and Friends Family Retreat at Camp Allen in Navasota. Volunteers were paired with campers who have disabilities. (Photo courtesy of HSU)

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A shaving cream war was one of the popular activities at the Joni and Friends Family Retreat at Camp Allen.

Physical therapy students from Hardin-Simmons University recently volunteered as short-term missionaries for Joni and Friends Family Retreat at Camp Allen in Navasota. Joni and Friends offers an annual retreat for families who have members with disabilities. Volunteers are paired with campers who have disabilities, and they spend the majority of the retreat together as they get to know each other, worship together, and participate in activities such as fishing, swimming and crafts. The retreat was part of the “Beyond Suffering” curriculum the physical therapy students are studying. As part of the curriculum, the students will continue working with Joni and Friends and its Wheels for the World initiative, as they travel to Thailand to help provide wheelchairs for people in need.

East Texas Baptist University student athletes prepared and distributed nearly 170 meal packages and 75 children’s goodie bags on the streets of Paris. (ETBU Photo)

The East Texas Baptist University men’s and women’s tennis teams traveled to Paris, France, in June as a part of the Tiger Athletic Mission Experience program. Led by Lisa Seeley, director of the Great Commission Center and global education, Head Coach Jeff Bramlett and Assistant Coach Drew Lambert, the group partnered with the International Sports Federation and Youth with a Mission in evangelism and ministry surrounding the French Open at Roland Garros. Student athletes served the homeless, volunteered in local churches, worked at the YWAM base and attended worship services at a refugee ministry. As part of an outreach event hosted by the refugee ministry, students prepared and distributed nearly 170 meal packages and 75 children’s goodie bags on the streets of Paris. Working with various churches who hosted an outreach festival in the French Alps, the ETBU student athletes set up booths for games, face painting and other activities. They also attended the French Open and visited historical sites such as the Basilica du Sacre’ Coeur, Notre Dame, Louvre and Eiffel Tower.

Paisano Baptist Encampment will continue a century-old tradition with its annual cowboy camp meeting, July 21-26. The camp meeting begins with a Sunday evening meal and continues through lunch on Friday. Phil Christopher, pastor of First Baptist Church in Abilene, and Todd Still, dean of Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University, are the camp preachers. Duane Brooks, pastor of Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston, will lead the adult Bible study. Jim Cleaveland, retired minister of music and media at First Baptist Church in El Paso, will lead worship, with Nancy Russell of Lubbock at the piano and Russell Gunstream of El Paso on the organ. Marina and Mark Sprinkle will discuss their experiences as teachers in Moscow. Kelly Barnett, a licensed marriage and family therapist, will lead the family hour, as participants examine the life of the Apostle Peter as an example of spiritual growth and emotional health. The camp meeting includes preschool, children’s and youth activities, as well as recreation and family time. Paisano Baptist Encampment is located in Paisano Pass between Alpine and Marfa in far West Texas. For more information, click here.

Anniversaries

35th for Rodney Watson as pastor of Lytle South Baptist Church in Abilene.

10th for Patrick Voce as pastor of Ovalo Baptist Church in Ovalo.


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