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The Mendonsas are helping raise the next generation of leaders in Kenya. These Baylor alumi are the founders of Naomi’s Village, a children’s home that’s not your average orphanage. When they moved to Kenya full time in 2008, Bob (BU’88), a doctor, and Julie (BU’89), a teacher, had to rethink how the typical orphanage was run. According to UNICEF, 70% of boys who age out of orphanages end up in crime and 60% of girls end up in prostitution. While the average orphanage provides the basic necessities of food, clothing, and shelter for children who have been rescued off the streets in hopes of giving them a better future, in order to truly succeed, children need more. “There’s a lot that goes into changing the identity of a child who’s always viewed themselves as poor, as orphan, as victim,” Julie said. And the goal of Naomi’s Village is to do just that: to work redemption in the lives of their children, changing their identities to ones that are not orphans, but who have been rescued and who truly belong.

Classroom setting at Cornerstone, the community school Naomi’s Village founded in 2013

Bob and Julie met at Baylor as undergrads; Bob was Bio/Pre-Med and Julie was an Education major. After graduating, Bob went on to Med School and eventually joined a private practice. Their lives were orderly, predictable, and safe—until they became Christians. “We gave our lives to Christ and got baptized, and everything about our lives changed,” Bob said. About two years later, Bob was asked to go on a mission trip. After traveling to the Philippines and to Brazil, he said, “God really opened my heart and showed me so much about his purposes for my life outside of what I was accustomed to, which was this really organized, structured, safe, figured out life that I had as a private practice orthopedic surgeon.” At the time, Julie struggled with fear, not wanting to go on a mission trip with Bob. But after worship at church one day, something unexpected happened. Bob explained,

“We’re in church in 2002 and our pastor, after worship was done, stood up and went forward. He didn’t ever do this, it was something we’d never seen him do, and he didn’t know [Julie] wasn’t interested in going on a trip and about that tension that was there. He had us stand up kind of unexpectedly and said, ‘while I was worshipping I saw the two of you; you were ministering together, you were wearing safari clothing, you were in a warm, tropical climate. I saw you coming and going together, and I just felt like that was something the Lord wanted you to know.”

After this experience, Julie began to wonder if maybe God was calling her out of her comfort zone to take a trip to another country after all. These thoughts were confirmed when two weeks later, they received a phone call. “The medical director of Kijabe Hospital in rural Kenya asked if I would come work there for a month because the orthopedic surgeon was gone for a year and they were looking for people to cover,” Bob explained. Even more interestingly, the director described the climate of the hospital’s surrounding area not as flat, dry, and dusty—what people typically think of when they imagine African climate—but as a “warm, tropical climate” up in the mountains. So Bob, Julie, and their two children, who were four and five at the time, went to Kenya for a month.

During that time, Julie and their children, Emily and Will, decided to venture down into the Great Rift Valley. “This is really where everything about our lives started to change,” said Bob, “when Julie got out of her comfort zone and went and saw what was happening.” Leaving the hospital gave Julie the opportunity to see the everyday lives of those living in the Valley. “It was the first time that I had ever come face to face [with suffering], had been invited into somebody else’s suffering on that level,” Julie explained. “It’s one thing to see it in a picture or read somebody else’s story,” Julie explained, “but when you walk into it, all of your senses are engaged and it becomes real—they are real people and real families and real children.”

Julie saw firsthand how the AIDS epidemic in Kenya was destroying families and leaving children as orphans. “It just broke my heart,” Julie said, “I was just overcome with this orphan crisis.” Julie and Bob wanted to know the big picture of what was going on in Africa and discovered that the continent was in an orphan crisis. “There’s over two million orphans in Kenya alone,” Julie said. She offered a staggering statistic: “700 Kenyan children every day hug their parent for the last time, one every two minutes.” Julie said the Lord now had their full attention:

“Although I had never wanted to go to Kenya in the first place, at this point the Lord had my attention. I felt like he was just asking a very simple question, which ‘was what are you going to do with all of this now that you’ve seen and now that you know that these are real people?’ I told Bob, ‘I think the Lord is asking us are we going to say yes or no,’ so we said yes, not understanding and not knowing the fullness of what that meant at the time.”

God continued to affirm the work he was doing in their hearts. When they shared their desire to do something about the orphan crisis with some of their Kenyan friends, Julie said their friends responded with, “Well, imagine this, we have a five acre piece of land down in the Valley that we always thought would be used for orphan care.” This plot of land would become the home of Naomi’s Village. The Mendonsas moved to Kenya in 2008 and in January 2011 they opened Naomi’s Village and brought in their first child, Joshua, whose name means “the Lord saves.”

Naomi’s Village housing

The goal of Naomi’s Village is more than just keeping children off the streets: “It’s a home that’s meant to raise leaders,” Bob said. Bob and Julie believe the change that needs to happen in Kenya has to come from within. “God’s call to us was to raise an army of kids that become adults and take up this work and do it themselves,” Bob explained. In order to do that, he said, “We had to raise them with everything that you would raise your own child with, and constantly charge them, encourage them, and equip them with the call to do likewise.”

And they begin the charge to “go and do likewise” from a young age. The middle and older-aged kids go out every weekend to do ministry in their community. Bob and Julie hope to teach the children that not only have their lives changed by no longer being an orphan, but now their lives can work to change the lives of those around them. It’s a redemptive, hopeful, and life-giving work.

Staff and children at Naomi’s Village 

Naomi’s Village is more than just an orphanage—it’s a home. The children are raised with the care, resources, and relationships that any child would have growing up in a traditional family. “Really what everybody needs is a sense of belonging,” Julie said. “Hope begins when a child belongs.”

If you’re interested in working with Naomi’s Village, check out our Kenya Community Development trip happening this May mini-mester. If you would like to support Baylor’s partnership with Naomi’s Village financially, visit our website to give to “Kenya Community Development.” To learn more about the ministry of Naomi’s Village, go check them out on Facebook!

Freshman year is a whirlwind--it’s new and exciting and there are so many opportunities to take advantage of yet so little time. While this may seem like just another opportunity, it’s one you won’t want to pass up if you’re a freshman guy looking for a way to connect with other men, learn about cross-cultural engagement, and serve brothers and sisters in need in the Dominican Republic. Baylor Missions asked Martin Hall Director and trip leader JD Newman about what makes this trip different and why students should join. Check out what he has to say:

What is this trip?

A mission trip to the Dominican Republic for first-year Baylor men.

When is the trip?

Spring Break – March 4-11

What is the cost?

$1500

What will you be doing?

Building a house with the organization Casas Por Cristo.

Why did you want to do a trip for all guys?

Part of our goal for doing this trip with all guys is to discuss what it means to be a Christian man. We are excited to be working with our hands, and our hope is to discuss masculinity through self-reflection and fellowship.

What do you think freshmen guys will get out of this trip? Why should they go?

First off, we are going out of the country for about $1500, which is a steal. Ask anyone who has studied abroad or traveled abroad and they will tell you there is something special that happens when you experience a new culture. If you have never been abroad, this is a great time in life to experience this for the first time.

Not only are we experiencing a new culture, but we are able to help an impoverished family build a house. We get to be a part of a team that completely changes the life of one family by providing them with a safe home.

Beauty from ashes.

That seems to be the theme of the Harvey Relief Baylor Missions trip in Houston over Fall Break. When 50 students and 3 faculty members arrived in the neighborhoods of Houston, they described a strange volcanic-like ash that had settled over the lawns—sediment left behind when 4 feet of water receded after standing for 10 days. Debris cluttered the streets, giving the neighborhoods a sense of abandonment. Josh Lui, Electrical and Computer Engineering major, described the scene he saw upon arriving in a neighborhood in Houston:

“I went in thinking that months have passed and there can’t be much left to do for cleaning up, but I was genuinely surprised when we pulled into the neighborhood. The entire street was basically wiped out. All the lawns had patches of dead grass, trash was everywhere, houses were partially torn down, and siding of houses was ripped off. It was a melancholy atmosphere.”

Yet among the debris, there was life. People had returned to their homes, working and sleeping among what was left of their belongings.

“The lady we were helping out was in the middle of her living room sleeping on a pullout couch. All the walls were taken out, and she had condensed toward the middle so that we could work,” explained Ben Phillips, Humanitarian Engineering major. Ben and Josh are a members of Engineers with a Mission, an organization for students with an engineering mindset who want to use their skills and abilities to help other people. This group partnered with Baylor Missions for the Harvey Relief project.

Baylor Missions’ Jill Hatcher, Project Coordinator, organized and helped lead the trip after hearing the response from students ready to help. “Immediately following Hurricane Harvey, a number of students were ready to just get in their cars and drive down to the Houston area to start providing relief,” she said. “However, we are not trained or prepared to do that, because that requires things like water rescue.” But seven weeks later, Baylor students were ready to provide relief using skills they already possessed—or skills they could quickly learn. “We were very careful about the timing of this trip,” Jill explained. Fall Break provided the perfect opportunity for students to be of help to the ongoing relief efforts in Houston. “People were hanging dry wall, people were moving and cleaning out debris, doing things that they were capable to do because the time was right,” Jill added.

Much of the Baylor community felt the devastation of hurricane Harvey firsthand. For Josh Wells, a Houston native, Hurricane Harvey literally hit close to home. It added to the homesickness he was already feeling as a freshman adjusting to life in Waco. As he watched the event unfold, he kept thinking, “This is happening in my city and I’m not there.” Josh’s family has seen many floods sweep through Houston—to be exact, five in the last two years—but somehow their house has survived all of them. In August, the floodwaters were at his back porch but left no damage. However, about 70 families from his church, South Main Baptist, either lost their homes or were directly impacted. Knowing that so many others suffered the same fate, he felt a sense of obligation to get back to Houston over Fall Break and help out in any way that he could, deciding to join the trip. Josh’s church ended up housing the 53 members of the trip.

Photo of Wells’ neighborhood from the New York Times

Sophomore Raj Landry was moved to act in Harvey relief efforts because of the outpouring of support his family and the New Orleans community received after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. When Raj was a child, his family’s home was ruined by three and a half feet of standing water, taking months to repair all of the damage. Raj explained his experience of preparing for that hurricane and the worst-case scenario that no one expected:

“What a lot of people don’t realize about New Orleans and places like [Houston] is that when they tell you a hurricane is coming, it’s like when a fire alarm goes off: you assume something is wrong but you don’t actually think there’s a fire. They say there’s a hurricane coming, you board up your houses, you go to a hotel for the weekend, you get Monday off of school, and when you come back everything is fine. I remember thinking that it was going to be another one of those types of things. Nobody was prepared for that amount of devastation.”

Many people in the path of Harvey dealt with the same shock, unprepared for the devastation that took place. “Believe it or not,” Jill explained, “seven weeks later people are still reeling from the effects of the Hurricane. The recovery efforts in the Houston area are a long process. They are looking at months, if not years, to get things back to where they were.”

Yet through it all, there is a sense of gratitude and hope among the residents of Houston. Ben noticed that the people whose houses he was working on never complained, but gave their concerns to God. “They weren’t necessarily happy, they weren’t necessarily comfortable, but they just trusted God. They had so much faith after having no control,” he explained.

Many saw God at work in the midst of devastation, bringing renewed hope to Houston residents. Raj spoke with a homeowner who told him that the hurricane had actually brought back her faith. Seeing the outpouring of support and the community coming together was just what this homeowner needed to restore her faith in God’s goodness. “To me, that’s the church,” Raj said, commenting on all of the non-profits, communities, and people working together. “When you go like you’re called to do, that’s the church.”

Students with Houston homeowner and his artwork

Josh also noted hope in the midst of chaos. Rather than describing the atmosphere in Houston as “devastating” or “depressing,” he described it as “hope for the future.” One story that illustrated his point was of an artist whose house he helped work on. This man decided to paint what he saw upon returning to his home after the hurricane. “After a hurricane, in most neighborhoods the debris is so high you don’t even see the houses, you just see the piles of debris,” Josh commented. The painting depicts an American flag draped over the piles of debris in the neighborhood. But it’s no ordinary painting. “What impacted me about [the painting] is that the easel it’s on, the counter door the painting is on, and all the paint and the brushes—that wasn’t his. He literally found all of that in the debris.” This painting served as a sign of hope and restoration among destruction. Josh reflected on this, saying, “Even in our suffering, the Lord provides us with what we need.”

Painting by Houston art restorationist

If you would like to support future relief efforts for Harvey, click here.

If you’re a student looking for ways to continue work post Harvey, check out BU Missions’ Hunger in Texas Spring Break trip, where students will get the opportunity to assess the effects Harvey has had on food insecurity in Texas.

Andrew (BU’14) and Mariava Phillips (BU’14) would call themselves, “unlikely missionaries.”  When they attended Baylor as undergrads, they were both a part of the Religion department’s Ministry Guidance Program, knowing that they wanted to do ministry in some capacity.  Andrew was studying Religion and Mariava Public Relations.  They both had a heart to work in the church, but they had no idea what that would look like until God called them to the United Kingdom.  They are currently missionaries in Manchester, England.  They are about to launch Apogee Coffee, a café church aimed at “finding people where they are, outside the church’s doors” and “sharing the gospel in these third spaces.”

Attending Baylor was a huge part of both Andrew and Mariava’s call to ministry. At the same time as she was in the Ministry Guidance Program, Mariava was an intern for Baylor Missions, working with the Global Missions initiatives.  “The Ministry Guidance Program taught me mission strategies and philosophies,” she said, “and being a part of Baylor Missions allowed me to see how missions worked practically and logistically—how to interact with ministry partners on the field was a key learning tool for me.”

Andrew said his professors and the Baylor community played a major role in his call to ministry.  While going through the Ministry Guidance Program, he became convinced that he probably wasn’t going to be a pastor, but would likely end up doing business as missions in the U.S.  After graduating, Andrew said that he and Mariava began to feel discontentment toward what they saw happening in the business community and what the reality of the church was. They saw that “the local church had separated itself from the world of people’s life spaces and community.” Andrew said, “The church is not a building; the church is its disciples.”  Andrew and Mariava recognized a need for discipleship within the church, and both began to separately feel a calling to do that abroad, in a place they had never even visited—the United Kingdom.

However, they didn’t share this call they were feeling with each other for around six months.  Mariava explained this experience:

“God placed the United Kingdom on Andrew’s and my heart separately. While we were engaged, we went out for Valentine’s Day, and I told Andrew that I thought God was calling us to move to the U.K. He was shocked because he felt the same way. It was unexpected because neither of us had ever been to the U.K. and we didn’t know what missions would look like in Europe. Little did we know at the time that Europe is one of the top post-Christian areas of the world.”

Andrew talked about his experience of being called to the U.K.:

“It was like feeling homesick for a place you’ve never been to.  At first I denied it, but that response never really works with God.  I would have gone longer without telling [Mariava] had she not brought it up.”  Andrew added that, “We wouldn’t have been able to respond to the call had we not had such a formative experience here [at Baylor].”

“The Church in the United Kingdom is dying—really, is dead,” Andrew said.  The UK is now considered to be a post-Christian society.  Most of the old church buildings that have been vacant for at least a decade have been turned into hotels or nightclubs.  Andrew told of one old church building that’s been turned into a nightclub with the catchphrase, “Come be as sinful as you can.” This is the culture of Manchester, where Andrew and Mariava are planting their café church.

Manchester is the second largest city in the UK, behind London.  The current population is young and very diverse, 18-35 years of age being the largest demographic.  In the past several years, the city has seen a shift from industrial to more professional and service-oriented careers.  Marketing, PR firms, and Production companies have begun to pop up all throughout the city.  Recently, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) moved its headquarters to Manchester. Manchester is also home to around 100,000 undergraduate students, and less than 1% of them are Christians.  Andrew and Mariava recognize the challenge of reaching these young, busy individuals, having limited access to their workplaces and universities.  But by opening up a coffee shop in the hub of Manchester, they won’t have to worry about that—the people will come to them.

Their coffee shop, Apogee Coffee, will be situated on Oxford Road, one of the busiest bus routes in Europe.  There are also three universities on this road, all within walking distance.  There is no doubt the coffee shop will attract young professionals and students, and when they come, the Apogee team will get to build relationships and share their faith.  But they won’t just hope this happens naturally; they will do this strategically, through a loyalty program, intentional conversations, and through the product itself.  Apogee will provide the best coffee from fair-trade sources and invest all of their profits back into community programs helping with homelessness, ex-convicts, and women coming out of domestic abuse.  Their mission will be common knowledge to the customers. 

Since church is not a part of the culture in Manchester, “no one is asking questions about what salvation means,” Andrew explained. “They’re asking practical questions, like ‘why do I need to be ethical in business?’” Because of the core values and mission of the coffee shop, Andrew says these conversations will come naturally, and this will give the Apogee team opportunities to be “unapologetic and unashamed about the gospel” as they explain why they do what they do.

The goal of the coffee shop is not just to train disciples. They want to go further, by training disciples who then train other disciples. Mariava said they hope to “provide funds and space for church plants to start across the city.” Their ministry goals go far beyond one coffee café. They also hope to “show others why business and missions should collide through social enterprises,” as Mariava put it. “Missions isn’t just for missionaries,” she said, “it’s a call that God places on everyone’s life when they become a Christian. We are supposed to be His light in all aspects of our lives—even the workplace.” Andrew would agree, “I’m not really doing anything special,” he said. “This is what we’re called to do.  I’m just doing it in the UK.”

Baylor Missions will get to partner with Mariava and Andrew’s ministry by sending a team to Manchester at the end of July 2018! If you are a Business Major, Christian Ethics and Leadership Scholar, or Christian Business Leaders member and want to learn about Business as Missions, visit the BU Missions website to learn more and to apply for the trip!

If you would like to learn more about Apogee or support their ministry, click here to visit their website.

Name: Sarah Lairmore Major: Medical Humanities Year: Senior Years of Service: 3

This week, we get to hear from Sarah, a member of the Urban Missions Advisory Council and a volunteer at the Kate Ross Kings Club.  Each Thursday, this group gathers together to provide a safe environment for kids to have fun and learn about Jesus in.  Their goal is to “be examples of God's love to kids who desperately need it by forming relationships with them, teaching them about Jesus, and being a positive, consistent influence in their lives.”  Here’s what Sarah had to say about her time of service with Kings Club:

I first got involved with Urban Missions during my freshman year, when a friend of mine spoke warmly about her experiences at Kings Club and invited me to join her one week. My first time there, I could see how much the program meant to both the children and the volunteers. I was a bit overwhelmed when I heard the Baylor students calling each of the many kids by name, but I soon fell in love with the program; I have been volunteering there consistently ever since.

Urban Missions was so important for me as a young college student, because it gave me the opportunity to see faith put into action at a time when I was wrestling with some big questions. College is a time when we learn a lot in the classroom and about ourselves, but serving in the community is what took this to the next level for me.

Because I have been serving at the same location for 3 years, I have built strong relationships with the people at Kate Ross. I have seen the kids grow up, and have been humbled by their openness, adaptability, and maturation into bright and caring young people. I have also learned about my Waco neighbors who live differently than we do in the Baylor bubble. Serving with Urban Missions uncovered a passion for serving and connecting with others that has spilled over into every area of my life. Not only have I looked for other opportunities to serve, but it has taught me to be a more genuine and dependable friend and more inquisitive student. As a pre-med student, my goal to become a physician has been challenged and expanded; I plan to continue to prioritize service as a physician.

Spending time with the kids is the highlight of my week, and helps me to keep life’s stresses in perspective. School is important, and it can take a lot of our time and energy, but I have found that taking some time to invest in others helps to center me and realign my priorities.

My experience with Urban Missions has taught me that mission work does not always manifest itself in a dramatic way. In this instance, demonstrating to people of my community that I care for them was something I could do right now, in my local community. In this way, missions became something much more accessible and applicable to everyday life.

Are you ready to break out of the “Baylor Bubble” and serve in your community?  Why wait when you can start now!  Check out our website to find out how you can make this possible!

Name: Audrey Dodds Major: Biology Year: Senior Team: Salvation Army Team Years of Service: 4; 2 as a student leader

Audrey, like many college students, has a busy life.  The fact that she switched her major to Biology later on only made her schedule even more packed.  Between trying to fit in classes to graduate on time and spending summers doing internships, Audrey didn’t have a lot of free time.  After switching her major, she knew she wouldn’t have any time to go abroad for missions trips, but she still wanted to serve and be a part of missions at Baylor.  She joined Urban Missions because it could be incorporated into her schedule without taking up a huge block of time all at once like other trips required.  Although she is so busy, Audrey made time in her schedule to serve.  “I have found that my schedule is more flexible than I think it is,” she said.  During the week, her schedule is really packed, but weekends are freer.  So she simply shifted her schedule to prioritize serving.  She does more homework and studying on weekends than she used to do so that she can serve each week.  “If you put it in your mind that you’re going to be there every week, it’s not difficult to make it happen,” she said.  “But you can’t make it an option.”

The team Audrey leads at the Salvation Army works with the Children’s Character Building program on Thursday nights.  One of the most eye opening experiences for Audrey during her time serving came from one of these Character Building programs.  She said they recently did a unit on drugs for the 4th graders.  “I was thinking, ‘there’s no way they need this already,’” she said.  “But they do.”  What Audrey’s team and the Salvation Army are doing is working to prevent and counteract problems like this that the kids are already dealing with.  Before this program, Audrey didn’t really think about what was going on in the children’s home situations.  Since then, she has realized how important it is to keep showing up and putting on programs like this for the children.  “This could be the most consistent thing they see all week,” she said.

Before serving with Urban Missions, Audrey never thought she would want to work with kids.  “I was convinced that I didn’t want kids and didn’t like kids.  But when I started serving with them, I realized how cool they are!  I now know them as individual people who have a lot of value,” she said.  Recognizing the value of those you’re serving is something Audrey is very passionate about.  “We’re trying to bring Christ’s love into a community that is broken,” she said, “and it’s important for us to know that those we are serving are just as valuable as we are.”  Audrey said that Urban Missions has caused her to confront her human tendency toward a “savior complex.”  “If I wasn’t doing missions weekly and consistently, I wouldn’t worry about having a ‘savior complex,’” she explained.  “I wouldn’t have a fear of feeling better than anyone else—I wouldn’t even notice it.”  Consistency has caused Audrey to confront these prideful tendencies we all struggle with and allowed her time to work on these problems.  “I want to impart value on the children I work with, but in order to do that I need to make sure that I know these people are just as valuable as I am.  And I have to be humble in order to do that.  I wouldn’t think about being humble if I wasn’t intentionally trying to be humble.”  Through her experience with Urban Missions, Audrey has been able to follow in the footsteps of Christ and learn how to become a better servant leader.

Oftentimes people assume that in order to live missionally as a Christian, you have to have a career with the word “Ministry” tacked onto it.  Audrey recognizes that this is not always the case.  Through her experiences with Urban Missions, Audrey has seen God soften her heart and shift her career goals.  Although before she never thought she would want to work with kids, now she’s considering using her Biology degree to go into medicine as a Pediatrician.  “This service has added something to my life that I was afraid of and didn’t want to look at,” Audrey explained.  “My major hasn’t completely changed because of it, but it’s changed the possibility of what type of medicine I want to go into.”

So, what is there to lose by joining an Urban Missions team?

Nothing, Audrey says.  “Urban Missions has taken nothing from me.  The only thing I could have possibly lost is watching a couple hours of Netflix.  But it has given me so much more life.”  If you don’t think Urban Missions is for you…well, it is.  However, Audrey recognizes that it’s not always easy at first.  Audrey actually started Urban Missions serving with a different team, but after a year of serving, realized that area of service wasn’t the right fit for her.  She said that if after committing to a team for a period of time someone finds that they don’t click with the type of service that team is doing, sometimes they just need to find a better fit.  “Urban Missions has so many opportunities, you don’t need to leave the organization to find somewhere you fit, she said.”  However, that doesn’t mean you should always “team hop.”  “You get what you put in,” she said.  “But at the same time, explore your weaknesses and explore what you’re truly called to do.”

Are you ready to make room in YOUR schedule to serve in Waco this semester? Check out our website for a full list of places you can be a good neighBEAR every week with Baylor Urban Missions. 😊

Name: Destiny Reynolds  Major: English Year: Senior Team: Blue House Team  Years of Service: 4; 3 as a student leader 

As a freshman, Destiny came to Baylor with a passion to serve. Throughout high school, she was the president of the National Honors Society and was always setting up and leading service projects. Coming to Baylor, she couldn’t let her passion for volunteer work go to waste, and when she found out about Urban Missions at Late Night, she decided to check it out. She knew she wanted to work with kids, and the “Blue House” Urban Missions team provided her with an opportunity to both hang out with kids and focus on their education. The Blue House was started many years ago by Crossroads Fellowship Church. In the Blue House, they host regular programs for children and their families. Destiny leads Urban Missions’ partnership with the Tuesday and Thursday evening programs, which focuses on helping kids with homework and playing educational games, all while building relationships with the children.

Destiny described her first day serving at the Blue House to me: 

“I was nervous,” she admitted. The Blue House has many rooms, splitting the kids up into age groups—little ones through high school. That day, she walked around the house looking into rooms, trying to decide what age group she wanted to work with. She had already made up her mind that middle school was out of the question. But as she walked by the middle school room and peeked in, a little girl yelled at her, “Are you afraid to come back here!?” “I couldn’t show her that I was!” Destiny said, “So I went into the room and have been there ever since.” 

After being at the Blue House with the same children for four years, Destiny has been able to form relationships with the children. Where before they would try to intimidate her, now they embrace her and enjoy having her come. “If you miss a week, kids are asking where you were,” she explained. “They’ll say, ‘I was waiting for you!’ or ‘I was here on Thursday and you weren’t!’” The kids are a big part of what keep her coming. Destiny has a big heart for the Blue House group because she shares a special connection with some of the kids there. She talked about how most of the kids she works with are growing up in government housing, and as a kid, she also lived in government housing. “Growing up, I would have loved having older people coming and showing me that I can succeed, that there’s a better life,” Destiny explained.

Destiny has also recognized the importance of long-term service and commitment to effect change. Over the past four years, she has seen a lot of growth in the children. She told a story of an Easter egg hunt her team gets to do with the children each year. One year, a little girl ended up coming late, and all the Easter eggs were gone. Without prompting from the student leaders, the other children rallied together and collected eggs from their own baskets, making sure the little girl didn’t leave empty handed. “These kids would not have done that eight years ago before the program started,” Destiny said. Seeing this happen affirmed to her that she and the other volunteers were actually making a difference in the kids’ lives, even when they don’t always recognize it.

Most of what Destiny does with the Blue House group is focus on education—another one of her great passions. Destiny talked about how education is so important to guarantee success for these children. Since serving at the Blue House, Destiny has become much more passionate about education and helping these children with homework. She said since getting involved, she has had more of an urge to speak up about developing education and finding more funding for public schools. “If we just fix education, everything will get better,” she said, “because education creates more intelligent citizens.” Destiny’s experience as a student at Baylor has also helped to shape these passions. “The University makes you a more well-rounded person,” she said. “You come into contact with people of different religions, races, and cultures. They’re sitting right next to you in class, and you have to get used to it and learn how to relate with them.” The focus the Blue House Team puts on education is extremely important to Destiny. “We’re teaching them to work, then play,” she explained. Through this, they’re teaching the children to prioritize their education over other activities.

Through Urban Missions, Destiny has seen God at work in her and in the lives of the children she works with. She has felt God give her patience when the children are difficult to work with, and has seen the reward of her service through the growth in the children. Destiny’s passion comes from moments like that. “You’re going to be living in this area for at least four years,” she said, “why wouldn’t you want to sew good seeds in the area that you’re living?” Destiny explained how she sees the goal of Urban Missions: “We reach out to people that are right here next to us. We live in a ‘Baylor Bubble,’ but right next door is poverty. We try to pour into the kids as best as we can, but also let them affect our lives.” She explained that you don’t have to go far to be a part of Missions. “Kate Ross is literally right across I-35; you can get there in two minutes,” Destiny said. “If you don’t start now, you’re never going to. If you want to start living that life of service, step out your front door, and it’s right there.” 

If you are interested in serving alongside Destiny and her team at the Blue House, click here to learn more. For information about ALL of the Urban Missions experiences available this semester, visit our website.

Read stories and see pictures from our 2016-2017 teams HERE

Our final group of students has recently returned to campus after a summer of serving others, rounding out a year of Baylor Missions service opportunities throughout the world.

Through the generous gifts of friends, family, and alumni, our students are expanding their worldview and living out Baylor's mission.

The missions experience is captured best by student participants, like Guillermo Gonzalez, a student in Instrumental Music Education and member of the Kenya Men’s Choir team, who shared the following reflection:

"Through this Baylor mission trip, I realized that I want to improve the lives of those around me. We can't go on missions trip every weekend, but we can surely do the same work back home. As a future teacher, I am even more passionate about education and giving a voice to those who otherwise might not be heard."

Baylor University is planning for a day when 1,000 students travel with Baylor Missions each year to serve others through their areas of academic interest and to discern their calling. The University continues the pursuit of endowed funds for Baylor Missions to support this work and the students who could otherwise not participate in these life-changing experiences. Your support is propelling us toward these goals that are vital to Baylor's mission to educate men and women for worldwide leadership and service by integrating academic excellence and Christian commitment within a caring community. Because of you, our students are making a difference throughout the world.

My name is Tanaka Tava, and I am an incoming Freshman at the Baylor University; also known as the only guy on the 2017 BU Missions Guatemala Trip. Over the past six days I have had the absolute honor and privilege to serve alongside some of the most humble and enthusiastic group of individuals in my life so far. When applying for this trip, I had no idea what the “mission” was or who I would be working with, but I understood the importance of it. It provided all of us with the opportunity to build relationships, grow spiritually, and lay down the foundation for transitioning to college.

           Working with Orphan’s Heart was rewarding due the interaction with the children and staff. The Nannies possess hearts of angels by exemplifying love and stability for their counterparts. They are living proof of the ideology “Loving without any expectation.” That is demonstrated by putting the needs of the children or their co-workers before themselves, while it is without question that being selfless is “the right thing to do”; it takes humility and a strong sense of vulnerability to allow yourself to do it. The traits of Servant Leadership that Baylor emphasizes on a daily basis was evident in the Line Camp leaders, Craig and Jennifer Willie, Hannah Schwarz, Kaley VanValkenburg, Meagan, Wittner, and Erin Wingerson. A typical group of college students would not have taken their own time, in the winding weeks of Summer break, to serve a group of amazing children. However, it has been proven time and time again that Baylor is not a typical environment. The school embodies a pride and pedigree of life-long student leaders with aspirations to change the world, leave an impact, and give glory to God above all else.

           Personally speaking, this has been one of the most uncomfortable positions I’ve been placed. Not just being the only male student of the group, but ministering outside of the United States, specifically in a country I have never set foot. Keep in mind, I am a first generation African-American with heredity roots from Zimbabwe. It should be acknowledged that the most amount of growing comes from being caught in uncommon circumstances.

           Lastly I want to say thank you. Thank you for Baylor University for this chance to be an extension of your campus, thank you to the staff of Orphan’s Heart for allowing us to come into your homes and share Christ with you (but honestly, you have done so much more for us than anyone would like to imagine.) Thank you to my boys for allowing me to love you. You will always have a special place in my heart. Shout out to my real ones Luis, Erick, and Freddy for being real bros and letting me talk real stuff and zip-lining.

 This has been real.

Today has been a huge blessing. It was our third day to work at the malnutrition center. We began our day with breakfast as a team at 6:45, then headed down to the cabana to have our worship and devotion time. Today we were encouraged by Craig to think about the world as God would want it to be instead of how we envision it should be. We also discussed how we are to be spiritually disciplined in our lives in order to discern God’s will or calling for our life. Individually, we reflected on our time here in Guatemala and how that would affect our future relationships with God, friends, and family. It was just what we needed to focus our minds on why we are here and what we are here to accomplish.

After that, we loaded up on the bus and headed toward the center.  On our way, Meagan shared about her experience as a freshman at Baylor and some things to keep in mind as we begin the same journey. She told us that there will be challenges and hard times, but that the good times will far outweigh the bad. She encouraged us to be authentic in our relationships with one another and to reach out to others so that we make the most of the time that we have. She read to us from Proverbs chapter 27 verse 17. It says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” This was just the reminder we needed to prepare for our mission at the center.

Today was a big day because it was “sponsorship day”. Sponsorship day is for all the children who have gone through the malnutrition center and returned home to their families. They come back on this day to receive bags full of things such as rice, sugar, oats, beans, oil, formula, grains, pasta, and corn flakes as well as a crate of eggs. During this time, Olivia and Alejandra shared The Message of Christ and the reason for the love they have for these children. While they were sharing, our team took shifts carrying bags and eggs for each family. Although the language barrier made some situations difficult, there were many positive interactions between our team and the Guatemalan families. It was amazing to see the joy and appreciation on their faces as they received these gifts. There were many moments when I was able to take a step back and see the Lord’s faithfulness, whether it was through the team members that surrounded me or the sweet little children that we cared for.

This evening, when we arrived back at the hotel, we made goody bags for the nannies, cooks, and other staff that work for Orphan’s Heart. We are planning to hand them out tomorrow, which will be our last day with the kids. We also got to experience a little culture tonight in that we wore traditional Guatemalan clothes to dinner. While we were eating there was a group of Guatemalan men who played music for us such as the Guatemalan National Anthem and Despacito. Afterwards, we had a fashion show amongst the team members and the winners were awarded prizes. It was a very fun time that reflected all the diversity and personality within our group.

Overall it was a really great day full of reflection, friendship, and unconditional love. So far, this week has made me more confident in my ability to take on my freshman year of college, more open about who I am and the things I love, and more amazed by the Great God we serve and the things he has done and is doing in each and every one of our lives.

-Lyndsey

Today was the team’s second day at Colonial Infantil here in Guatemala as well as Jennifer and Craig’s second wedding anniversary and my eighteenth birthday! We started the day off with a group prayer and everyone laid hands on Jennifer, Craig and myself to pray. I did not know anyone from the team before I met them at the airport on the way to Guatemala, but the love they showed me on my birthday was limitless. Everyone embraced me and treated me like family which made my heart swell with joy! After our prayers, we went to the nutrition center to begin helping the nannies take care of the children. I was honored to feed a four month old baby her bottle and it amazed me how frail she is. It reminded me that we all were once vulnerable and how God makes us strong. After feeding the little baby, I realized that God gave us our strength so that we can help those who haven’t found theirs yet. I discovered on my eighteenth birthday that helping others is part of the bigger picture in my life.  

At lunch time, we were surprised with a birthday cake and anniversary cake! Having all my new friends sing me happy birthday and surprise me with a cake from a local bakery complete with eighteen candles was the best present I could have received on my birthday! My day was filled with laughs, tears, hugs and many more great things. Thank you to everyone on the team who made my birthday the best birthday a girl could ask for. I haven't even had my first class at Baylor and my life has already been changed! 

At 6:45am we were up and ready for a day filled with new challenges. We were venturing into a world unknown and had no idea what to expect, which was honestly a blessing. From 9:00 to 4:30 we worked to help the nannies care for the children at the center. We broke up into 4 groups to care for the kids, which each brought its own challenges and joys.

And along with each challenge, we taught the freshmen important traditions. Everything from singing the fight song to screaming the whisper cheer, these 18 freshmen are definitely prepared for their first football game.

We finished the day introducing 18 new members to that Good ole Baylor line. Looking over the beautiful city of Antigua, we welcomed the incoming freshmen by singing that Good ole Baylor line loud and proud for all to hear. Although the setting wasn’t Independence, Texas, the view was breathtaking and the atmosphere was filled with Christ. He was there for sure. God is working this week and we are so excited to see how he transforms the hearts of all.

Today our group had a wonderful day touring Antigua. The first thing we did was take these jeep type vehicles to the Filadelfia Coffee Plantation where we then took a ride up the side of a mountain to begin ZIPLINING! The Zipline crew helping us out thought it was really neat that our entire group was participating, and everyone who did it claimed it was an incredible experience. According to Ashton, one of the students, “I thought it was really inspiring how even though we just met each other everybody was really encouraging to me because I was a little apprehensive about doing it. I had such a great time and I am so glad I got over my nerves.” After we finished our ziplining, we ate at the World’s Most Beautiful McDonald’s (in our opinion). Then the Orphan’s Heart leaders took us to different historical parts of Antigua, where we learned a little bit more about the history of Guatemala. Finally we visited the market where a lot of people purchased some neat souvenirs for their family and friends, and it was such a cultural experience to see all the venders and the special things they sell. Please keep us in your prayers tonight/tomorrow as we have our first day at the Center ahead of us.