Many of us will spend our spring breaks road tripping or relaxing at home, but several Union University students will be boarding planes to fulfill the work God has put before them. Global Opportunities Trips, or GO Trips, allow students to go on short-term ministry trips with peers and faculty members.
There are 12 total GO Trips taking place in 2019, and among these twelve is the team set to travel to Honduras during spring break this year.
A team of 11 will be packing their bags for Honduras, where they will spend time with the children of Orphanage Emmanuel and perform service projects to benefit the orphanage. Josh Gunter, a sophomore education major, explained that although the orphanage receives visits from sending partners every week, the 500 children do not get the one-on-one contact with adults needed for child development.
Joe Ball, Union’s director for discipleship and ministry, is going on the trip as a team leader.
“Two of the most important things that we can accomplish as a team is encouraging and supporting our ministry partners at Orphanage Emmanuel and really spending quality time with the kids,” Ball said.
Gunter, who went on the Honduras trip last year, selected the trip as his first choice after seeing what a dark place the orphanage is and knowing he has good news to share with the people of that area. He is excited to pick up where he left off by spending time with some of the kids he met last year.
The team attended training last weekend along with the other GO Trip teams. They were provided with the opportunity to learn how to share the gospel and have meaningful conversations. This all led up to a chance to practice sharing their faith in a staged coffee shop filled with Union faculty, friends and alumni playing the roles of customers from all different backgrounds.
“When Union trains us, they don’t train us just for one trip,” Gunter said. “They train us to continue to go throughout our lives on mission.”
The team asks for prayers for safe travels, opportunities to share the gospel and that they would be an encouragement to the staff at Orphanage Emmanuel.
For more information about GO Trips, visit www.uu.edu/oum/mobilization/go-trips.cfm.
Enjoy your trip, Bro