CONWAY,
Ark. (July 9, 2013) – The Hendrix-Miller Center for Vocation, Ethics, and
Calling will sponsor three mission trips during the 2013-2014 academic year.
“The
focus of our mission trips is to find places in the world where students can work
alongside, and develop meaningful relationships with, members
of communities in need of vital social and material resources,” said
Dr. Peg Falls-Corbitt, director of the Miller Center. “We find that
through such relationships the students are led to dig deeply into the social
injustices faced by these communities and to examine their own lives.
These experiences foster a journey of self-discovery and
unearth deep purposes that students find guide their vocational
choices in concrete ways.”
Since
2002, 485 students have participated in 47 mission trips sponsored by the
Miller Center.
The 2013-2014 Mission
trip destinations and descriptions include:
Dominican
Republic, January 11 – 18, 2014
Beyond
the front of luxury resorts along beautiful Caribbean beaches in the Dominican
Republic, one finds a rural population locked in poverty. According to
the International Fund for Agricultural Development, over half of the rural
population lives in poverty (http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org).
Along the country’s lower river valleys are “bateys,” or rural slum communities
that develop around the sugar cane industry. Students participating in this
Winter Break mission trip will work with Rivers of the World, an organization
that works with local members of batey communities to combat the debilitating effects
of poverty. While our specific work is subject to change depending on the
need of the area at the time we are there, anticipated projects for the mission
team include helping install a water purification system and assisting with the
Dominican version of a Habitat for Humanity House. We may also help with
construction for a school, church, or hospital. The mission team will
reside in a mission house a two-hour drive from Santo Domingo. One day of
the trip will be given to enjoying cultural and historical sites chosen for us
by our Dominican hosts.
Seattle,
Wash., March 22-28, 2014
While
one may think of Seattle as the city of coffee, music, and the Space Needle,
the community struggles with the persistent social issue of shelter and food
insecurity for those who are displaced in society. The Seattle/King County
Coalition on Homelessness (SKCCH) “works collaboratively to ensure safety and
survival for people who are homeless, and to end the crisis of homelessness”
through a ten-year plan. First United Methodist Church of Seattle has been a
strong player in the efforts to reach out to the homeless in providing food,
shelter, and place. The mission group will spend the week volunteering with
these programs in a Community Breakfast on Sunday morning and during the
evenings with displaced men in the Blaine Center. Other service projects will
include focusing on the food insecure through time spent at the Northwest
Harvest Food Bank. The end of week will give the team an opportunity to explore
the International District, to view the sights along the Pier, and visit the
Seattle Art Museum.
Kosovo,
May 18-27, 2014
Since
the end of Balkan Wars in 1999, more than 200,000 Kosovars have left their
country in search of stability and security, most to nearby Serbia. The
international community has responded by offering infrastructure, agriculture,
development and education programs. In partnership with International Orthodox
Christian Charities, we will spend 10 days working with local villagers to
construct a youth recreation center and assist agricultural infrastructure
projects (such as drainage canals and freshwater wells) in remote regions of
Kosovo. The mission trip has the pledge of cooperation of His Grace Bishop
Teodosije of Kosovo-Metohija, which allows visits to ancient Serbian
Monasteries, including accommodations within Visoki Decani and Gracanica
Monasteries, which date back to the 14th century. We will have the opportunity
to learn much about the culture, history and tradition of the people of this
disputed region in Southeastern Europe.
Applications
for the 2013-2014 academic year trips will be available online on August 1 and due
by 3:30 p.m. September 17. Accepted participants will be notified October
16.
The Miller Center for Vocation, Ethics, and Calling at Hendrix
College provides resources and programming for Hendrix College students,
faculty and staff to explore the work and life to which they are called, the
vocation that will fulfill. For more information on the Miller Center, visit http://www.hendrix.edu/millercenter.
Founded
in 1876, Hendrix College is a national leader in engaged liberal arts and
sciences education. For the fifth consecutive year, Hendrix was named one of
the country’s “Up and Coming” liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and World Report. Hendrix is featured in the 2012 edition
of the Princeton Review as one of the country’s best 377 colleges, the latest
edition of Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change
the Way You Think about Colleges, Forbes magazine's annual
list of America's Top 650 Colleges, and the 2013 edition of the Fiske Guide to
Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since
1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.