“We need to become global Christians with a global vision, for we have a global God,” the Rev. John R.W. Stott told delegates at Urbana 76. Each year InterVarsity students across the U.S. head overseas to develop their global vision by participating in staff-lead Global Projects and Global Urban Treks.
This summer over 30 groups are heading out to projects in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Several more groups are working on American Indian reservations. By the end of the summer as many as 600 students may have participated, according to Global Projects Director Scott Bessenecker.
Some students have already done their ministry trip on spring break, such as the 14 students who accompanied UCLA campus staff member Eddy Ekmekji to Nagapattinam, India, in March to work on tsunami relief.
They worked with UESI, a sister movement of Christian students, and had several opportunities for ministry. They visited an orphanage to meet children who had lost parents and family in the tsunami and visited schools to offer supplies to needy children. They also distributed chairs in a village where “everyone lost everything.” They were hosted by Paramesvaran, president of the UESI graduate fellowship in Nagapattinam. Paramesvaran and his wife lost a son and two daughters in the tsunami.
“As a team we thought that they needed our muscles,” Eddy wrote. “What we discovered was that they wanted our ears to listen to the stories, eyes to see the devastation, hearts to care for the loss, and mouths to share the stories and testify to God’s work in the area.”
He said that six members of the team have committed to further involvement to help address the needs created by the tsunami. Six more say they believe God has called them to ministry in India.
Photos from India Global Project can be seen at http://ivcf.ekmekji.net and http://ivcf.ekmekji.net/Henry.
For additional information go to the Global Projects website. The Global Urban Trek website features reports from the students about their experiences.
The Christian Post also has a story on Global Projects.
