Tag: Spotlight

Transforming Lives with Caring Hearts Ministries

Some of the International Missions trips offered are more immersive in nature than project based. This means that, the trip itself is a chance to be immersed in a local culture outside the U.S., to grow in one’s understanding of the cares and concerns of those communities, and to promote fellowship and mutuality in your interactions with others. In other words, while there are opportunities to serve and complete projects, the emphasis is on learning and relationship. While some international missions trips have a really clear objective, some have more of a projected outcome that teams likely will not see manifested within the short period of time that they are there.

A child from Oasis Boy’s Home

This spring break, a team of students and Fit Rec faculty will travel to San Luis Mexico to partner with Caring hearts ministries in a community development initiative.  Caring Hearts Ministry is an interdenominational non-profit whose mission is to be a blessing to the people in the extremely poor border town of San Luis Rio Colorado in Sonora, Mexico. Currently, this is being accomplished through short term missions trips and a permanent local Church. This local church partners with our other ministries such as  Oasis Boys’ Home, Medical Outreaches, A Soup Kitchen, Drug Rehab Center, and Blind Center. In these really amazing partnerships, a variety of special needs arise for programming.

A group praying with the shut in ministry

The Belmont team will invest in San Luis Mexico by practically applying health and wellness knowledge to empowering those in need physically and spiritually with the following ministry opportunities.  Students will implement a food garden at the Caring Hearts Soup Kitchen where 150 kids come daily for meals and tutoring.  Further, the team will teach the basics of nutrition and meal preparation at the church and in the community, that are culturally accurate and in line with the available resources in San Luis, Mexico.  The team will also lead a 5-day exercise course for the kids at a soup kitchen, men at a rehab center, churches in the community, and the Oasis Boys Home.  Some unique ministry opportunities include visiting the individuals in the community who live at the Garbage Dump and the sick families in the shut-in ministry.  The team will also conduct a small work project for a family in need (painting, fixing a roof, etc), which will provide some basic assistance to allow the community members to access and harness their opportunities to thrive.

An image from “The Lord’s Watering Hole”

This trip will provide students with a really real look at the beauty of communities unlike the ones that we are used to.  If you have any questions about Caring Hearts Ministries or other Belmont on Mission Trips, check out global.belmont.edu and reach out!

Trip Spotlight: DOOR Network – Denver, CO

Earlier this semester, we posted a host partner organization spot light on the DOOR Network.  DOOR is an amazing ministry which connects students and teams with their broad network of nonprofits and churches in cities around the country to cultivate long lasting, impactful, and effective change.  DOOR has multiple programs located around the country in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, and Miami.  Each program base has specific curriculum that brings the cultural context into account.  This spring break, we have two opportunities to serve with DOOR.  One group will travel to Atlanta, GA and one group will be traveling to Denver, CO.

Denver, CO is a very interesting city, home to a large population of refugees as well as a very welcoming community.  Political leaders have made it a goal for the city to support as many refugees as possible, and it is through the work of volunteers through organizations like DOOR. DOOR is “dedicated to providing life-changing experiences for our participants rooted in relationship and solidarity with local communities and neighborhoods.”  Belmont on Mission is so excited to be partnering with such a great organization.

While in Denver, students will spend time serving with a variety of local agencies and ministries and learning through evening speakers and activities. The experience is about more than preparing a meal at a soup kitchen or playing with children at a day camp. It is an opportunity to work alongside local community members, to learn from local leaders, and to listen to the stories of neighbors, clients, and churches.  Students will be working in a young, thriving neighborhood which, unfortunately, it is not immune to the issues of poverty, police brutality, and low performing schools.  In this, Belmont gets to partner with DOOR in community development and immersion in such a beautiful community.

If you have any questions about DOOR or any upcoming Belmont on Mission trips, please reach out!

Program Spotlight: Athletic Missions

Happy Homecoming Week!

Belmont is a service-centered community.  From the classroom to student organizations to mission trips, serving the world in which we live is valued highly.  The sports teams here at Belmont are also very service minded.  Whenever their game and practice schedules allow, our athletes can often be found on the mission field.

Ryan Neises, the coordinator of academic services and sports ministry, works to create and cultivate impactful missions experiences.  Just like Belmont on Mission, the aim of athletic mission trips is to make lasting, effective change.

As a result of busy team travel schedules, it is difficult for members of the athletic community to participate on a spring break trip, like many other Belmont students.  Bearing this in mind, Mr. Neises works tirelessly to make sure that all the athletes have the opportunity to serve on a trip; many athletes have expressed their gratitude for this.  Many teams go on trips over winter break, at the start of the school year, and when school gets out in the spring.

If you have any questions about athletic ministry or Belmont on Mission, please reach out! Be sure to take advantage of the Missions Monday homecoming activities throughout the day!

Trip Spotlight: CHS Guatemala and CoffeeMed

In addition to the immersion and international Belmont on Mission trips over spring break, many colleges within Belmont hold discipline specific trips. The College of Health Sciences routinely runs international trips to conduct health screenings for the people they serve. Over the past few springs, CHS has travelled to Guatemala to serve in this way.

In March, students and faculty in nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, and social work will be travelling to Antigua, Guatemala to provide some basic health care to the workers on Guatemalan coffee plantations. Students and leaders will provide health screenings, patient teaching programs, and medicines and vitamins to the citizens in Antigua. In providing this vitally important aid, the plantation workers are reminded of their humanity in the midst of less than ideal working conditions.

Students are expected to raise the funds to pay for this trip via the CoffeeMed program. The CoffeeMed program is a really important interdisciplinary partnership that enables interaction between the commercial coffee industry and the healthcare industry. Students sell coffee from Kafes Guatemals in their local communities to fund the trip, which covers the cost of medical supplies and more. Here is a video of Belmont student’s involvement with CoffeeMed from March 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OePGDG4wZA

If you have any questions about upcoming mission trips, or the CHS Guatemala mission, please reach out!

Host Partner Spotlight: Praying Pelican Missions

Each spring, Belmont students travel with Belmont on Mission all over the world to serve the Kingdom of God. While some teams stay in the United States to serve more locally, many teams travel abroad. In doing this, it is really important that groups partner with organizations that are well established in that area because those organizations know the context that students will be stepping into. In doing this, Belmont students are able to effectively serve and have a lasting impact.

This march, a group of students will be traveling to the Dominican Republic to serve with Praying Pelican Missions. Praying Pelican Missions connects the local church on a global level through short-term mission trips. Praying Pelican Missions acts as a catalyst for groups who wish to serve. They organize groups to work directly alongside local ministries where they can work to meet the real needs of the community. Praying Pelican Missions has the goals of genuine, long-term impact in healthy short-term mission trips. This is achieved through genuine partnerships, long-term relationships, and sustainable ministry.

In just over a month students will be in the Dominican Republic beginning their ministry. Students will do a variety of service projects with many different organizations in the community. If you have any questions about Praying Pelican Missions, or any upcoming International trips, please reach out!

Host Partner Spotlight: Casas por Cristo

Over spring break, many Belmont students spend a week serving with Belmont on Mission. Groups of Belmont students travel to numerous locations both in the United States and abroad. International trips are a chance to be immersed in a local culture outside the U.S., grow in understanding of the cares and concerns of those communities, and promote fellowship and mutuality in your interactions with others. In other words, while there are opportunities to serve and complete projects, the emphasis is on learning and relationship.

This spring, a group of students will travel to Acuña, MX to partner with Casas por Cristo in the mission of building a house for a family who needs to be reminded of God’s love for them. For over 25 years, Casas por Cristo has been fulfilling their mission of building and serving the kingdom of God; there are now over 5,000 CPC homes in the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, and soon Nicaragua.

During their time in Acuña, students will be building the Kingdom of God in more ways than one. Casas por Cristo seeks to build homes, relationships, and opportunities for growth. In striving to build the Kingdom, CPC cultivates opportunities for growth in structured experiences. Through these structured experiences, CPC builds relationships between people who, otherwise, would never have met.

The service that Casas por Cristo provides to so many communities is amazing. Through the building process, there are unique opportunities presented to us by God to serve each other. CPC’s guiding statement is as follows: “We are dedicated to meeting the physical need of better housing as a ways of also meeting the spiritual need for Jesus Christ.”

Belmont on Mission is so excited to be partnering with such a wonderful organization. If you have any questions about upcoming mission trips or Belmont on Mission in general, please reach out!

Host Partner Spotlight: Border Servant Corps

Each spring, many Belmont students choose to spend their spring breaks on a mission trip with Belmont on Mission. Some students participate in Immersion trips, which are a chance to be immersed in a local culture and to grow in understanding of the cares and concerns of communities here in the United States. Students have the opportunity to see what God is doing through domestic churches and ministries, and join them in awareness and mission.

In just under two months, students will work with Border Servant Corps in promoting and demonstrating justice, kindness, and humility. This will be achieved through the exploration of community, simplicity, social justice, and spirituality in the U.S./ Mexico border region. In every interaction, Border Servant Corps functions out of the call in Micah 6:8 to “Do justice. Love kindness. Walk humbly.”

Students will travel to El Paso, TX to experience accompaniment-style immersion, during which they engage relationship and first-hand educational experiences about border issues, and community engagement, ensuring that members of the community are also engaged and immersed in the education and service of the borderlands.

Border Servant Corps seeks to love those who are in the midst of trying times, and educate those who have the ability to serve them. If you have any questions about Border Servant Corps or upcoming Immersion trips, please reach out!

Host Partner Spotlight: DOOR Network

Every spring break, Belmont students have the opportunity to serve on a mission trip with Belmont on Mission. One type of trip that Belmont on Mission has to offer is an Immersion trip. Immersion trips are a chance to be immersed in a local culture and to grow in understanding of the cares and concerns of communities here in the United States. Students will have the opportunity to see what God is doing through local churches and ministries, and join them in awareness and mission.

 

 

This March, students will join with Door Ministries in Denver and Atlanta as they discover new and exciting opportunities for outreach and reflection in two growing cities. The DOOR Network is a faith-based nonprofit that works throughout the nation to cultivate flourishing communities. They are “dedicated to providing life-changing experiences for our participants rooted in relationship and solidarity with local communities and neighborhoods.”

As a unique opportunity to learn and serve, Door’s Atlanta and Denver programming helps groups to spend time serving with a variety of local agencies and ministries and learning through evening speakers and activities. The experience is about more than preparing a meal at a soup kitchen or playing with children at a day camp. It is an opportunity to work alongside local community members, to learn from local leaders, and to listen to the stories of neighbors, clients, and churches.

The Atlanta experience is centered around the question “who is our neighbor?” Door uses teaching from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as well as other writers and theologians, to look at this question in biblical context. Students will learn about the role of Atlanta in the Civil Rights movement, and even get the chance to visit the King Center to see how, today, Atlanta remains one of the greatest centers of social justice, activism, and human rights.

The Denver experience will give students the opportunity to gain a better understanding and broader perspective on the roots of problems plaguing the Denver area like poverty, police brutality, and low performing schools. Students with work with various agencies that Door has connected with in order to best serve the community, and “make a change to bring heaven to earth, through love and justice.”

 

Door’s mission to open the door for individuals and groups to “encounter the city through the eyes, ears, and heart of God” is perfect for any student wishing to learn more about his or her place in God’s Kingdom. If you have any questions about the DOOR Network, or upcoming Immersion trips, please reach out!