Late in February I was driving to see some friends and I heard on the radio about the spread of COVID-19 to Italy and Iran. We had already cancelled one mission trip and I remember jokingly telling my friends, "who knows, maybe we won't be sending any mission trips this year." The next week as a global missions team we discussed, "how would God reveal to us that we aren’t to send mission trips?" We discussed this question never imagining that just over two weeks later we would in fact be cancelling all of our summer mission trips.
In my last update I had shared that our mission trip numbers were dramatically down for 2020 and my heart was asking the question, "Lord, what are you doing with mission trip numbers?" I now believe that part of the answer to that question lies in the reality that COVID-19 was coming and we weren't going to be able to send any mission trips.
I don't want the reality of COVID-19 to overshadow the fact that we did run two mission trips during reading week in February. 11 students and staff went to Honduras for a week to partner with a small ministry called Adventure in Missions. Together with the local missionaries they did village outreach, helped at health clinics, planned a science fair at the mission run school and led an evangelism training at a church.
In addition, another 11 students and staff participated in a music based mission trip in Montreal. These staff and students used music to connect with students on campus, they did Worship Busking at Metro stations, and they hosted a house worship event that 2 muslim friends attended. Praise God for the opportunity to send these students on mission.
Now What?
In May and June, our campus teams will be running a "digital semester" for students to stay connected to community and support during this time. Our global missions team is planning to give students the opportunity to participate in an online mission trip that will help them grow spiritually and give them opportunities to do digital outreach. Please pray for creativity and good team work as we plan this opportunity in a relatively short amount of time.
You're Still Invited!
to a time of stories and encouragement online,
an adapted version of the P2C-Students annual fundraising and celebration event
Friday, April 17th
Live broadcasts at 7pm Eastern Time and again at 7pm Pacific Time
(You can choose the time that works best for you)
Join @ p2c.com/students
As you know, all of our Annual Events across the country have been cancelled. BUT!! This adapted online event is meant to be short (45 minutes), encouraging, and hope filled. There is no obligation to give. Come be inspired!
Thanks for standing together with me and helping to make ministry possible during this time of uncertainty and change.
