By Danielle Waddell
Intern, The Alabama Baptist
Spring break often means a chance to travel but for many Baptist Campus Ministries (BCM) students, the travel is tied to a chance to serve and do missions.
Reports from BCM groups across the state are beginning to surface (see story, page 4) while one story from a trip leading into the current spring semester is still on the minds of many.
Lee Dymond, campus minister for Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM), has been intentionally developing a relationship with the AUM athletic department.
Those intentional roots led to a quick agreement when Dymond approached athletic director Jessie Rosa about a joint missions trip between the BCM and AUM athletics to help with hurricane relief in Texas during Christmas break.
‘It just made sense’
Warhawk Relief, the team’s name, worked in Groves, Texas, with Texas Disaster Relief through the North American Mission Board.
“We’re looking for people to go and the athletic department is looking for ways to help out, so it just made sense,” Dymond said.
AUM students showed just as much excitement to join in and help out hurricane victims. Junior Carly Smart, a communications disorders major and volleyball player from Columbus, Georgia, said she quickly jumped on board when she heard of the opportunity.
Helping in any way
“My dad is a coach and has always used athletics for a bigger purpose,” she said. “My family encouraged me to go and help out in any way I can.”
Nursing major Arri Torres said he tries to take advantage of any missions opportunities he finds, so when Dymond mentioned the upcoming trip, it immediately sparked Torres’ interest.
He recalled stories from local church members about losing everything and opening the church doors to neighbors whose homes had been destroyed or filled with water.
“It was a humbling experience, to see what they lost and be thankful for what we have,” Torres said. “As Christians, we’re called to reach out and help those in need, not for others to look and applaud, but just to obey.”
For sophomore and fellow nursing major Ramsey Grimes, she knew immediately that she wanted to help when she heard about the hurricanes. Grimes said the trip opened her eyes to the significance of service, big or small, and the impact it has on those affected by things like natural disasters.
Dymond said the local churches poured out gratitude to the teams that worked alongside them.
“If it wasn’t for groups like ours coming in, they wouldn’t have been able to get it done,” he said.
Both Dymond and the students said relationships were formed during the trip that have lasted past the trip’s expiration date.
New relationships
The students now join one another in supporting their new friends at athletic events and competitions. Torres said he enjoyed integrating different groups on campus through a trip, a sort of win-win.
“It was so good to just come together with one mind and one purpose to help people who lost everything,” Grimes said. “Whether we’re doing something small like installation or sweeping, God uses each of us in big and small ways to better His kingdom.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — AUM’s BCM spent spring break doing missions in New York City and Puerto Rico.
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