A few months ago, a friend who teaches kindergarten told me about the “Christmas miracle.” Each year after Christmas break, her students return with more knowledge than they had when they left—as if over the break, everything they learned the previous semester sunk in. At Tyler Junior College, we experienced a “spring break miracle.”
Lauren CartwrightDuring spring break, I led a small team of students to Vermont on a missions trip. They had the opportunity to do evangelistic outreach in a culture much different than their own. We spoke with many students at a university campus who claim to be atheists.
We explained who Christ is and the love he has for them. Many were astounded to hear that Jesus just wants a deep, meaningful relationship with them. They thought they would have to learn a lot of traditions and how to live by them. We informed them that being in a relationship with Jesus changes a person from the inside out. Following Jesus each day does include spending time in God’s word and loving the people around you, but over time, those are things you want to do.
Before we left Vermont, the students were disheartened that we had to head home. They wanted to continue the work they had been doing there. I started praying they would see the need on their own campus as we returned and that the passion they had then would continue to grow into action.
As we came back to school, students who went on the trip began discussing their experience with others, and the excitement grew like wildfire. Within the next couple of weeks, our worship leader worked with several others to do an outreach on campus using music to draw people in and hand out flyers. During our weekly pancake night, our students have continued to build relationships with the lost and hurting. It has been amazing to see the students applying what we have been encouraging them to do since August.
Lauren Cartwright, a graduate of Tarleton State University, is serving as a campus missionary intern at Tyler Junior College through Go Now Missions.
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