Cedars, September 2018

September 2018 8 COVER STORY Students on Mission Cedars explores how students used their talents for missions over the summer by Breanna Beers E very year Dr. Thomas White (jok- ingly?) threatens seniors with a withheld diploma if they attempt to walk across the stage at graduation without having gone on a missions trip during their 1,000 days at Cedarville. This summer, stu- dents from several majors had the chance to fulfill that goal and minister across the globe using their specific fields of study. These trips allowed students the chance to see how their unique skills and profes- sions could be applied in a ministry con- text. Ahna Mellinger, a sophomore theatre design major who helped run drama camps at an international school in Penang, Malay- sia, described how just being a Christian in theater is its own form of ministry. “Theater isn’t all what you see in New York,” Mellinger said. “There’s another side to theater — there’s just having fun and be- ing with each other and learning about a different culture, maybe through a character or, like we did, through visiting other places and helping them. For me, theater is about relationships and learning about people ... the friendships that you form and the family that you become by the end of the show.” These trips provided students a unique opportunity to see how their skills could be used in other cultures. Mackenzie Mayse, a senior nursing major who served in various clinics in Honduras, described how working in a different culture could bring challenges and frustrations. “The cultural differences were very hard,” Mayse said. “The culture is very dif- ferent. Everything is very laid-back and chill. They view time very differently there.” She described waiting in a lobby for hours before a clinic was ready to receive the team, a driver who arrived to pick themup 45 minutes later than requested and still needed to refuel, and a clinic that didn’t want to say no to the students coming in, which led the team to come in to work on a day the clinic was closed. However, Mayse also witnessed how cultural variances could allow a differ- ent type of ministry than would be possible in an American hospital, shifting her view of what nursing could be. “They’re very open to spiritual conver- sation there,” Mayse said. “It’s not like an American hospital where that’s kind of a banned topic. We had some cool opportuni- ties to pray for patients at the clinic. Nurs- ing is more than being just task-oriented; the relationship-building part of it is equally important too. Honduras does a really good job of caring for all aspects of the person, in- stead of just what appears to be wrong with them. There’s more to a person than just their high blood pressure.” While Honduran culture allowed great- er freedom for spiritual conversations, stu- dents in some other countries had to be more cautious due to cultural barriers to Christianity. Meghan Largent, a junior En- glish major who ministered to local children through an ESL camp in Italy, described how Italian culture was less favorable to open Christian ministry. “It’s all heavily Catholic over there, so [Protestant] Christianity is seen as a cult,” said Largent. “So they can’t be as outspoken- ly Christian around non-believers. It’s like as Christians sending your kids to a Jehovah’s Witness camp. You don’t want them trying to influence your kids with Jehovah’s Witness doctrines, but if it’s just a fun day camp teach- ing themEnglish. So it was more working and teaching them about Christ by example rath- er than specific Bible-related things, because [the directors] are still working to build com- munity and relationship right now.” Whitney O’Brien, a senior business management major who presented lead- ership seminars to community leaders in southern India, had to be similarly sensitive Photo provided by Global Outreach Senior nursing majors Abigail Brighton (left) and Mackenzie Mayse unload medicines at a mobile clinic in Honduras.