InterVarsity's StudentSoul.org

Living in a slum community in a foreign country may not be your first choice for how to spend a summer, but that’s what some college students decided to do. We’ve chosen three blogs from students unpacking their experiences as they serve Jesus and witness his transforming love in people and communities far from their college campuses.

In Thailand, Egypt, India, Mexico and the Philippines, students lived and worked with the urban poor as part of the Global Urban Trek. Here are some of their stories.

Empty Privilege

If you ate dinner last night, you’re privileged. Not everyone is so fortunate, as Kellie Hirata contemplated when she was preparing to leave for Cairo, Egypt to live and work among Sudanese refugees. Kelly was in Mexico City for a week of orientation when the issue of world hunger — and hungry people — became deeply personal for her.

Merienda Mercy and Life-Giving Laundry

The little boy who was teased mercilessly by the other children caught the attention of Grace Schrock Huerst. All the children had come to the center with their mothers who worked as prostitutes to support them. The boy, mentally handicapped with an eye disease, was being targeted by the others. “Yet this little child of God still had the grace to share his merienda (afternoon snack) with the very children who were teasing him,” said Grace Schrock Huerst in her blog. “In moments like these, we find God in the brokenness of Manila.”

Grace adds, “We are also learning more about finding joy in simple, daily tasks. We fold into the daily life-rhythms of our communities: laundry, dishes, cooking, going to the market, sweeping.” Here is a story to remember when you’re doing your laundry.

The Thai that Binds

When Ann Ferguson signed up to go to Thailand for the summer, she didn’t know much about the Thai language, and wondered how important it would be in her ministry there. She learned about the importance of language in relationships from a missionary friend who told her, “Language is a social exercise, not an intellectual one.” Here is more of Ann’s journey into Thai culture, language and friendships with people she meets along the way.

Read more from students who are integrating what they’ve experienced this summer as they return to their homes and campuses this fall.

Here are other Trek stories from previous summers.