During the Spring break of 1997, several Hardin-Simmons University students took mission trips locally and internationally. The Brand published articles by Kathy Muramoto, Jake Long and Joy Evans about the stories the missions teams brought back with them.
The first story, titled “BSM missions spreads gospel across Texas," and written by Muramoto, the then managing editor for The Brand, was about a team of students involved in BSM that stayed in Texas and partnered with nearly 200 others from Arlington Mission to help the community.
HSU students participated in a variety of outreach projects such as distributing clothes and running backyard Bible clubs for local apartment complexes. Through this they were able to reach out to children who lived there, at one point having nearly 52 attend at a time, and get them connected with Arlington Mission. The group also went to Houston to do a similar ministry of clothing and food distribution.
The second story, written by Long, is about a group of students's mission trip to Canada. In the article, he describes how the team took on two major roles while serving there. Firstly, the team helped to renovate a Baptist church, called Ridgecrest Baptist Church, the church has since moved from this building, but the old building is still standing although permanently closed. The other ministry the team provided was a college outreach. The students visited five different colleges, but found it difficult to share with the Canadian students about their faith since, as Steve Able, a member of the team, said, “Canadians only talk about their beliefs in private.” Nonetheless, Long wrote that the students did not feel discouraged and instead said it provided a good opportunity.
The third story, written by Evans, the then features editor for The Brand, is about Beach Reach, a mission trip that is still facilitated by several students from HSU. The team went to Padre Island to minister to college students who had come over spring break. The group's outreach consisted of giving people van rides, handing out sunscreen and even making breakfast for some of the vacationing students. There were many challenges for the students on this mission that required them to not only share but also defend their faith.
While spring break is a wonderful time to just relax and reset before jumping back into school, it can also be a wonderful opportunity to reach out to your community. Each of these teams had their own obstacles to overcome and challenges to take on, but every one of the articles spoke about how gratified and blessed the students felt for getting the opportunity to participate.
In 1997, there were several trips students from HSU went on, but spreading the Gospel can be as simple as sharing with your own friends and being a light for them here and now.
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