By Angelina Burkholder | Echo
Every January, Taylor University sends numerous students abroad to spread the gospel in various parts of the world. These trips, known as Lighthouse, give students the unique opportunity to immerse themselves into a new culture while providing an example of godly love to the native people.
Junior Geoff Nelson saw the impact of Lighthouse trips firsthand through his sisters, who both attended Taylor and participated in Lighthouse. After witnessing their experiences, he was eager to claim his own personal encounter and signed up for the Nepal trip last year.
"For me, it was never a question of 'if' I would do Lighthouse, but rather 'when.'" Nelson said. "My experience in Nepal has greatly impacted my life and nearly a year later, I am still learning many valuable lessons from my time there."
After returning from Nepal, Nelson discovered a deep passion for the program and signed up to serve as the Lighthouse Co-Director alongside fellow junior Morgan Storrer.
"I work for Lighthouse because it radically changed my view of God, the world, and the Great Commission," Nelson said.
This year, Lighthouse sent six different teams around the world to places such as Guatemala and Ethiopia. Each team has a specific purpose and Nelson hopes the experience is life-changing for each student.
"God calls all of us to share his love with those around us and those far away from us," Nelson said. "How one person serves can look totally different from how another person serves, but we are all called to go."
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Below, see the descriptions of what each team is doing in their part of the world, along with their specific prayer requests, provided by Geoff Nelson.
[gallery ids="5748,5753,5749,5752,5751,5750"]Guatemala
They are doing a lot of hands on sustainability projects for the people in Guatemala. Pray that they will have plenty of physical strength as well as many opportunities to engage with the Guatemalan people.
Spain
During their trip they will be taking Contemporary Christian Belief and putting it into practice by sharing the Gospel with college students. Pray that God would give them boldness and direction as they minister to these fellow students.
Nepal
Nepal is a very spiritually charged country and our students will be learning about many horrible injustices. Pray that God would would provide protection from the spiritual warfare and that our team would be encouraged by the many things that God is doing in Nepal despite these injustices.
Peru
This team will be working at an orphanage as well as leading VBS programs. Pray that God would infuse them with His love and that this team could be an incredible light to these children and this ministry.
SE Asia
This team is serving in a predominantly Muslim culture, which can make sharing one's faith a bit dangerous. Pray that God would would provide ways for relationships to be formed between our team and the people on the islands.
Ethiopia
This team is teaching English to 1st through 3rd graders. Many of the people on this trip are not education majors, and the team recently discovered that they will each have their own classrooms to teach. Pray for confidence for each of the students that they would be able to find ways to reach out to these students and be effective teachers.
Thumbnail photo courtesy of Lighthouse (Ethiopia team).
