By Sondra Rodriguez, Student Reporter
Worldwide Witness presents students with the opportunity to experience global mission work and to see God in new ways through summer internships.
The program is led by Gary Green, missions coordinator, and Wimon Walker, professor of missions and Bible. Students are sent anywhere from Denver, Colo., to Zagreb, Croatia, in time spans ranging from six to 10 weeks. Participants complete an application that will be accepted into January, participate in a retreat, take a Maymester missions course and raise adequate funds for the trip.
“Fundraising is often the main reason people feel they can’t do this, but over all the interns they’ve had over the years, they’ve had two that couldn’t make the money,” said Linly Stowe, sophomore Spanish major from Nashville, Tenn., and former Worldwide Witness participant to Mexico City. “They help you with a lot of the fundraising,”
Walker acknowledged the process as tedious.
“We help you put together letters and packets. Fundraising is tough, but it’s a faith affirming process of what God provides,” he said.
Prior to departure, students spend time in preparation for the internship. This includes weekly Chapels separated by internship location, a weekend retreat, general activities planned by Green and Walker and frequent follow-ups to make sure the students are going to the location they want.
“Leaders will work with you to find the best place for you,” Stowe said.
Once the internship begins, participants are immersed in the culture and serve local missionaries and churches. Adjustment to the new culture encourages each participant to discover the role of missions in his or her life.
“We’re hoping that some of the people will feel a call by God to dedicate their lives to cross-culture ministry,” Walker said. “We realize not everyone will, but we believe that even those who don’t go longterm will become people with a much greater sense of the world, much more compassion for the world and will celebrate what God has given us.”
For Stowe, the experience provided relationships that started by the spreading of God’s love.
“I feel like God was giving me the opportunity to say ‘God is love. I just want to be friends with you. I don’t want to get anything from you. I’m here to love you and tell you that there is a God of love, grace and mercy.’ I was showing people love wherever I was,” Stowe said.
Worldwide Witness forces its participants “out of your comfort zone, where you learn to depend on God in new ways,” Walker said.
This experience is available to all majors. Information meetings, applications and classroom presentations are all in progress.
