Last summer, Myra Ashley Gray, a senior music education major at Truett McConnell University (TMU), traveled to a country in Eastern Europe through SendMeNow Missions. She found out about this organization last October, just when another ministry opportunity for her summer fell through. Gray said, “I wanted to have the experience of living in a foreign country and learning what God wanted to teach me about ministry in a different place.”
SendMeNow Missions
SendMeNow Missions is a part of the Collegiate Ministry of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board. This organization helps students get involved with mission work in Georgia, the United States, and around the world.
Since SendMeNow Missions is funded by individual and corporate sponsors as well as the fundraising of Baptist Collegiate Ministries (BCM) in Georgia, it gives college students the unique opportunity to experience working in missions with minimal costs. While those who apply must be active in church and personal evangelism throughout their campus and community, they do not need to attend a school with a BCM.
Gray’s Summer Mission
Gray had no idea what to expect as she prepared for her summer overseas. All she knew was that once she landed on the field, there was no way back for two months.
Daily life on the summer mission always started with a time of Bible Study for the team. Two days of the week were set aside for Gray and the other college students who participated in the trip to start spiritual conversations with people in the city. Part of these days was also reserved for time to meet with national friends for coffee.
Gray and her team invited their new friends to attend special events that took place every Friday night at the organization for which the worked. Each week the organization would host a special game night, an American pancake night, or a karaoke night. The goal of these events was to connect national students with believers who are staying in the country longer than the two months Gray and her team could stay.
The rest of the summer mission was devoted to helping the missionaries in the area in everyday tasks.
Lifelong Takeaways
Gray said she will never forget a moment on the mission field when she saw a group of her national friends finally understand the gospel. “They realized that choosing Christ is not about following religious rules, but it about placing faith in the fact that He took our punishment. There is grace for every sin we have ever committed because of Jesus’ death and resurrection,” Gray said.
Through the summer mission, Gray learned that loving other people whom she knew almost nothing about was a very exhausting task. Yet, through the power of the Holy Spirit, she was able to see her national friends the way Jesus sees them.
She also learned that God does not base our faithfulness on success, but simply by our obedience. It is our responsibility to share the gospel with others, and it is God’s responsibility to move in their lives and transform them.
How to Apply for SendMeNow Missions
Gray advises students who our interested in participating in summer mission through SendMeNow Missions to be open to the doors that God opens, even if these opportunities look different than expected. Gray said, “If you’re willing, the Lord will teach you and grow you in more ways than you could ever imagine.”
Students who want to apply for SendMeNow Missions can find out more by visiting their website at https://sendmenow.net.
The deadline to apply for summer missions opportunities is November 3rd, 2021.
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Anna is a senior English major at TMU and content writer for the Department of Marketing and Communications.
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