by Amy Estepp | Sep 30, 2010 | News Slider
Forty trips, seven states, 21 countries. Lipscomb University’s variety of mission opportunities for its students seems endless. The Missions Fair, taking place on Oct. 5 this year, will allow students the opportunity to learn about all of Lipscomb’s mission opportunities. There are several different types of trips that are offered during the fall, winter, spring and summer breaks. Some trips are major-specific, while others are limited to gender, but the majority of the trips are open to all. An engineering trip scheduled for winter break will take 16 students to Coban, Guatemala. This year’s team will be working to build a mechanical lift system to help the community. The mission department says this batch of mission participants will be “comprised of students who will help assist training water committees as a part of the Community Water Project Plan of Action.” The trip is scheduled to take place Jan. 1-8 and will cost about $1,300. Applications are still available. Contact Kristopher Hatchell at: kristopher.hatchell@lipscomb.edu for more information. There are 22 mission trips scheduled for spring break. The Dallas/Fort Worth trip is in its third year of service to the area. The team works with a Hispanic church to provide any kind of work or fill the needs of the congregation and community. In past years, the groups have worked to renovate the church, community work and outreach and have a traditional community fiesta. “It is a small trip, so you get close to the people you go with,” says Charli Shelby, a junior English major and veteran of this trip. Shelby points out that a part of the work simply...
by Tyler Cothron | Apr 14, 2010 | News Slider
Saturday March 13 As the van pulled up to the Morant Bay Church of Christ in Morant Bay, Jamaica, I was excited to see the faces of the brothers and sisters I have had the opportunity of knowing for the last several years. This is my fifth visit to Morant Bay Church of Christ, and because of the love, kindness, and hospitality the church has shown me in the past, I truly consider the brothers and sisters of the church to be my close friends and a part of my family. I am thankful that the members of the mission team who are visiting the church for the first time have the opportunity to meet and to commune with the people who have greatly impacted my life and outlook on the world. As the team entered the church building, the preacher, his wife, and other members of the church greeted everyone, even those they did not know, with smiles and hugs. They welcomed us into their family, showing us that love has no boundaries. We spent a majority of the day in fellowship with the members of the church. Although a main purpose for the trip is to serve, our service is meaningless if we do not build relationships with the people. Because of the relaxed atmosphere of the Jamaican culture, a lot of time is spent just sitting and talking. Some of the greatest relationships that I have formed in Jamaica have been made through taking the time to sit down and to talk with someone, to learn who they are and to realize that although we are...
by Wade Funderburg | Mar 30, 2010 | News Slider
“The first thing that strikes a visitor to Paris is a taxi,” said comedian Fred Allen. Thankfully the eight Lipscomb students who spent spring break in France as part of the course “Paris as Classroom” have far happier memories of their times spent at The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Arch de Triumph, and other famous attractions in Paris. Professor Cliff Tierney led this group from Sunday, March 14, to Monday, March 22 as they traveled from Nashville, Tenn. to Paris, France, where they stayed in Mary’s Hotel outside the tourist-oriented area of Paris. The students were there specifically to study art, but also learned much more about Paris. Every day in Paris, the students had a scheduled time to go somewhere as a class, such as a museum or park, and then free time to experience the city on their own. Joe Ernst, a sophomore studio art major from Stratford, Conn., had never been out of the country before, but embraced the culture, lifestyle and food of the city. Ernst said Paris felt very different than the U.S., but in a way he couldn’t quite explain. “The experience as a whole was eye-opening for me as it was my first time being immersed in a non-American culture and learning how to navigate a non-English speaking city,” Ernst said. Katie Dillard, a junior art major from Hyattsville, Md., also encountered several differences between the U.S. culture and that of Paris. “The way of life was very different [in Paris],” Dillard said. “It’s a fast paced city that you have to slow down to enjoy. Everyone seemed to be smoking...
