Recently, I had the opportunity to participate in the Office of University Ministries’ first round of Go Trips over spring break. Several students stayed in Jackson to engage in a week of prayer, study and service centered on local and global missions.
In the past, Union students travel domestically and internationally for Go Trips (hence the name Go Trips). However, this year the OUM faced a difficult situation with COVID-19 – a serious barrier when it comes to travel. Much organization and diligence go into preparing these annual trips, and during the planning process, there were many travel restrictions and bans. There was no telling where the situation might be when it came time for the teams to be sent out.
Staying in Jackson for spring break, rather than risking the further spread of COVID-19, was the obvious answer. It made sense considering students would already be here, and little travel would have to happen. There seemed to be only one problem for students like me: I was expecting to go somewhere.
I was expecting God to send me somewhere I had never been, meet people I had never met and do things I had never done. I had already experienced the cancelation of last year’s Go Trip due to COVID-19. So now, in some ways, it seemed I missed out on another trip. I have lived in Jackson for three and a half years. What did God expect me to do here in a week?
I won’t go too much further into my thought process going into the week, because frankly, I’m embarrassed by how little I expected. I was quickly humbled by the effort put into making this a productive and worshipful week.
Our teams have met up since the fall semester to get to know each other and grow in team unity, but something about the anticipated time finally being here allowed my team to immediately connect. From Saturday evening to Friday afternoon, we were almost always together. Early that first day, I was reminded of how much deeper I can grow with my brothers and sisters in Christ. All distractions from school and work were forgotten for just a moment, and all the students were fully dedicated to growing in their experience and understanding of missions work.
If connecting with my fellow students over something as important as spreading the Gospel was all that happened that week, it would have been worth it. But God (and the OUM) had more planned for us.
Perhaps some of the most convicting moments of the week were the times spent partnering with organizations in Jackson. My group was able to help an organization called Keep My Hood Good. Keep My Hood Good is a program started by Juanita Jones for children stuck in generational poverty. They provide transportation, a place to learn, a place to have fun and (maybe most taken for granted) a place to be safe. I had no idea a program like this existed in Jackson.
We also had the opportunity to help out at the Care Center, a haven for homeless and abused women and their children. We spent our time there moving frozen meat into a walk-in freezer. Much of the work we did with separate organizations was very simple work. The organizations just needed the volunteers to help out. Seeing what was already happening in Jackson, off Union’s campus, was both uplifting and humbling.
Another highlight of the week was a dinner prepared by the Go Trip students for the international students still on campus. I don’t know why I assumed there was no one else on campus after classes let out on Friday, but by the turn-out of the dinner, there were plenty. There were people there from at least three different continents and who knows how many languages were spoken. Again, I was humbled at the number of people God brought from around the world right here to Union.
What started out in my head as a week that would lack productivity quickly turned out to be the exact opposite. In fact, by comparison, the last three and a half years I’ve been at Union seem less productive. It’s only been in the last year or so that I’ve been able to get involved deeper with what the OUM is doing. Still, I think I may have lost something from my earlier years of college. A thin protective layer of cynicism (under the guise of realism) has grown on me recently- one that makes me forget about the wide range of possibilities God is constantly putting in front of me. By spending most of my time focusing on graduation and what comes after that, I came very close to missing out on what this week had to offer.
Looking back, it may not have even been possible for me to participate in this as a freshman or sophomore for one reason or another, but God knew what He was doing when He made this trip available. It turns out I didn’t have to go very far to be somewhere I had never been, meet people I had never met and do things I had never done.
A lot more happened during the week that I can’t write here. But if you’re interested in finding out more about Go Trips and how you can serve, or if you are just looking for more information on what God is doing in our Jackson community, step into the OUM or click the links below.