Dodge ball tournaments and dinners are just two of the ways Lipscomb students have been sharing the love of God on a remote island in the Caribbean.
Saba is a 5-square-mile island in the Dutch Caribbean that is home to only 1,600 people—that’s less that the number enrolled as undergraduate students at Lipscomb.
Every spring break, Lipscomb sends a mission team to this small island. The team begins mission work after landing in a 15-passenger plane on a 400-yard runway, the shortest commercial strip in the world.
“The main goal of this trip is to foster relationships with the people on the island. The culture is not a religious one, so we are there to be living examples of someone with morals and a relationship with God,” said Virginia Burkhart, a junior from Brentwood, Tenn.
Though Saba is small, it is safe. Crime is nearly nonexistent—in fact, there are only 12 police officers. “The Saba natives are very hospitable; they smile every time they see you,” said Alex Rector, a senior from Columbia, Tenn. “Plus, they are great cooks!”
Lipscomb students have the opportunity to sign up for the Saba mission trip again when Commitment Week comes around Nov. 5-9. This is the week in which the registration process for mission trips begins.
While in Saba, the Lipscomb team visits the only school during the day and holds island-wide events each night. These events range from a dodge ball tournament, to a cookout, to an NBA night.
“We just want to show them love, and one of the ways we do that is through activities,” said Shelton Brewer, a senior from McMinnville, Tenn.
“Though most of the time we’re there is spent with the kids, we try to incorporate the adults as much as we can.”
In the midst of building relationships with the natives, the team tries to strengthen families and teach service and love through their interactions with the residents.
“It’s not like most trips where people need shelter or food; they need love,” Brewer said. “So we try to show them our love and the love of Jesus while we’re there.”