CONWAY, Ark. (July 10, 2009) – This May, ten Hendrix students and two faculty leaders flew to Vietnam for ten days of service and exploration. Accompanied by six Vietnamese students, they constructed houses in an isolated village.
Shortly after arriving in the airport of Ho Chi Minh City, the students learned their first lesson about Vietnam: it’s not easy to get around. It took the students and their faculty leaders six hours to traverse the 120 miles from the airport to their hotel in Chau Thanh, in southern Vietnam. Getting to the work site at Giuc Tuong Commune each day required an additional 1.5-hour trek by bus and boat.
The students worked for four days, laying floors, constructing brick walls, and finishing the roof. The trip, sponsored by Hendrix’s Miller Center for Vocation, Ethics and Calling, also emphasized intercultural connections. One evening, the group attended a cultural exchange with community members and leaders at the commune.
Toward the end of their stay, the group visited the underground tunnels built by the Vietnamese during the war to escape from the fighting.
“As I watched our Hendrix students and the Vietnamese students crawl through the tunnels and laugh with each other and help each other through the tiny holes, I was moved thinking that almost 35 years ago these students would have been killing each other,” said Rev. Wayne Clark, who led the trip. “When you work with each other, rather than against each other, the ‘enemy’ becomes your friend.”
Student participants included: Larnie Campbell, Emily Harris, Heather Newell, Daniel Partain, Joseph Byram, Canyon Darcy, Lea Groat, Rachel Kincannon, Anthony Lucio, and Colleen Mayo. The group was led by Rev. Wayne Clark and Dr. Alex Vernon. (To read English major Daniel Partain’s reflections on the trip, click here.)
The Miller Center designs, funds and oversees a variety of programs created for the purpose of helping participants explore the content and nature of their life's true calling. In communion with others, working for the up-building of those in need, individuals discover a place to which they are called. The Miller Center partnered with Peacework, whose goal is to end poverty and economic disparity throughout the world.
“It was truly a blessing to see God at work on this trip,” Clark said. “From the lives that were changed to the relationships that were built, I saw hope for the participants and hope for the world. Often, people go on mission trips thinking they are the experts and have all of the answers. We realized that we have a lot to learn from these trips.”
Participating in these trips is a highly selective process at Hendrix College. This year, 120 students completed a rigorous application process with hopes of being selected to serve others around the globe during one of four mission trips sponsored by the Miller Center. Other Miller Center mission trips this year were trips to San Francisco, New Mexico, and Taizé, France.
Hendrix, founded in 1876, is a selective, residential, undergraduate liberal arts college emphasizing experiential learning in a demanding yet supportive environment. The college is among 165 colleges featured in the 2009 edition of the Princeton Review America’s Best Value Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.
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