By Samantha Stevenson, student news writer

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. — Spring break is one of the most anticipated vacation times for anyone in school, particularly for students in college. For most college students, spring break either means a relaxing time at home, earning money at work or going out to vacation with friends. For several students at Campbellsville University, however, they anticipated their spring break for another reason.

Approximately 50 students set out and served in six locations during the first week of March in Panama City Beach, Fla.; Northern Florida; Mexico; Haiti; Belize; and Tanzania.

They did everything from serving pancakes to those on the beach, to ministering to those in prison and teaching English to students in Belize.

Students from CU's Baptist Campus Ministry organization took to the beaches to minister to college students staying in Panama City Beach, Fla. Jasmine Barnett from Greensburg, Ky., Adam Durham from Lancaster Ky., Fontez Hill from La Center, Ky., Michaela Parker form Hopkinsville, Ky., Kathryn Thomas from Elizabethtown Ky., and Zack Wright from Summerville, Ky., spent their spring break participating in one of Lifeway's many ministries, Beach Reach.

Beach Reach is a ministry that attempts to share the gospel through their breakfast preparation and transportation services to teens and 20 year olds in the Panama City Beach area.

In the mornings, approximately 200 Christian college students made and handed out free pancakes to spring breakers eating at Rocket Lanes, a local business that is Christian-owned and operated. This ministry alone reached over 600 people each day.

When they weren't out advertising for their nighttime ministry, the remainder of their days were spent together in a prayer and worship service. The students handed out cards with a telephone number on it that connected to a control center that then transferred the information to several vans, who picked up anywhere from one to eight spring breakers during the night. The van ride is the second major opportunity to have gospel conversations with the passengers.

This ministry led to six decisions of faith from vacationers staying in Panama City Beach.

Jasmine Barnett, a BCM intern from Greensburg, Ky., said that the highlight of her trip was presenting the gospel alongside her peers to an atheist for over an hour and a half.

“He was genuinely interested in what we were saying, and I could tell he didn't want to leave. He didn't get saved, but we definitely planted a seed,” Barnett said.

Several Campbellsville University's football players also spent their spring break serving in Florida. Players Wes Cain from Alachua, Fla., Blake Cordell from Elizabethtown, Ky. Rodrick Dickerson from Memphis, Tenn., Anthony Douglas form Chattanooga, Tenn., Dylan Hale from Tompkinsville, Ky., Michael K. Jackson from Lexington, Ky.,

Erik Krivitsky from Elizabethtown, Ky., Cameron Looper from Paducah, Ky., Seth McFerrin from Old Hickory, Tenn., Eli Mitchell from Elizabethtown, Ky., Caleb Myers from Ferdinand, Ky., Bryan Parnes from Dania Park, Fla., and Adam Robertson from Knoxville, Tenn. traveled to prisons in Orlando, Fla. alongside their coaches Hunter Cantwell, Josh Dye and Jim Hardy.

The players spent four days sharing the gospel and playing softball with inmates in maximum-security prisons in Florida. They spent one of their last days painting and restoring a Habitat for Humanity Center in the Orlando area.

Another group of students partnered with Project Fortify and traveled to Mexico to work with low-income families and orphans. CU students Brad Clem from Scottsburg, Ind., Cassidy Flowers from Kevil, Ky., Michael Jennings from Edmonton, Ky., Mikey Hatcher from Campbellsville, Ky.,

Sadie Mills from Hardyville, Ky., Aaron Nosich from Radcliff, Ky., Lucas Pepper from Hodgenville, Ky., Carissa Royer from Marion, N.C., Maggie Vaughn from Glasgow, Ky., and Mallory Vest from Fruitport, Mich., spent their time delivering supplies and repairing an orphanage in Mexico. The CU students also got to spend time with the children by teaching them, playing soccer with them and sharing the gospel with them.

“I had an amazing time, I left my heart in Mexico!” Sadie Mills said. This trip sparked a missionary call on her life, and Mills intends on spending more time in serving in Texas and Mexico in the years to come.

Neply, Haiti was another area of the globe impacted by Campbellsville University students this spring break. Dustin Ford from Campbellsville, Ky. spearheaded a trip to Haiti through “My Life Speaks,” an organization that ministers to the needy, particularly special needs children.

Ford was joined by his fiancé Kayla Howard from Frankfort, Ky., and Bethany Bugg from Wilmore, Ky., Dena Clements from Campbellsville, Ky., and Marc Workman and Savannah Workman, both from Fort Gray, W.Va.

Campbellsville University's School of Education and School of Nursing also took mission trips to different parts of the Southern Hemisphere. Education students Hannah Allen from Liberty, Ky., Courtney Cain from Mintonville, Ky., Monica Canada from Woodbine, Ky., Rita Curtis from Campbellsville. Ky., Nakita Gavre from Harned, Ky., Mary Hodgen from Springfield, Ky.,

Campbellsville University School of Education students worked with these school children in Belize over spring break.

 

Emily Scott from Eddyville, Ky., Shannon Shippee from Elizabethtown, Ky., Kaitlyn Skaggs from New Haven, Ky., Arianna Snyder from Mt. Sherman, Ky., Ariella Snyder from Mt. Sherman, Ky., Tammy Snyder, secretary to early childhood education, from Mt. Sherman, Ky., Courtney Spurling from Mt. Washington, Ky., and Hayley Beth Taylor were joined by their professors Dr. Lisa Allen, assistant professor of education, and Dr. Sharon Hundley, associate professor of education and chair of the early childhood education program in Belize.

While there, they put their teaching skills to good use by teaching English to the students in their schools. They also brought over school supplies and clothes to the orphanage.

Mary Hodgen, a sophomore from Springfield, Ky., said her favorite part of her experience was visiting the orphanage.

“Their faces lit up when they saw all of the clothing supplies that we brought them! They were all very excited to have us and the children were very respectful,” Hodgen said.

Angie Atwood, assistant professor of nursing at Campbellsville University, held a baby in Kigoma, Tanzania, during a mission trip during spring break.

Angie Atwood, assistant professor of nursing, traveled with two nursing students, Kisha Tarter and Jessica Cross, both of Russell Springs, Ky., to Kigoma, Tanzania.

They worked in the Kigoma Baptist Hospital with International Mission Board American missionary Dr. Larry Pepper. “We served the Tanzanian people both medically and spiritually,” Atwood said.

She said, in addition to utilizing their nurses' skills, they led morning Bible devotions for the healthcare providers to encourage them spiritually.

Atwood also shared a postoperative nursing care lecture to hospital staff. “The healthcare workers were eager to learn nursing practices utilized in the United States,” she said.

Students in the School of Theology also had an opportunity to travel to the Holy Land in Israel and Jordan
with several of their professors, CU alumni, family and friends. While there, these travelers got to tour some of the famous sites

in the Bible, including the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized, the Sea of Galilee and the tomb where Jesus is said to have been placed after his crucifixion.

At the site of the tomb, BCM president Noah Blackburn of Proctorville, Ky., and president-elect Joey Bomia of Marion, Ky. led their peers, professors and fellow travelers in a meaningful worship service and communion.

Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 3,600 students offering 63 undergraduate options, 17 master's degrees, five postgraduate areas and eight pre-professional programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.