La República Dominicana

By Emily Martin

Over this past Christmas break I had the most amazing experience of my life… I was able to join my college group from my hometown (Round Rock) on an incredible mission trip with Makarios, a Christian organization in the Dominican Republic. While this trip was a great spiritual boost after a long and hard semester at Baylor, Missions2it also opened my eyes. Going into my fall semester of sophomore year, I had my mindset on going into health care administration after college. However, when I came back from this trip I suddenly realized that I had so many other options for my life after graduation.

I think this mission trip also re-opened my eyes to what the world has to offer. Growing up in Singapore allowed my family to visit many third-world countries, and to volunteer with many great organizations overseas. My family always went on “service” trips where we would bring medical and school supplies, or we would help to build houses or schools. I had never been on a “mission” trip before, but experiencing that in the DR was such an awesome experience! Seeing how different cultures worshiped the same God left me awestruck and in amazement of how great our God is! I always knew that other cultures had Christianity, but I had never really grasped the idea that they worshiped with some of the same songs that we do, or that their faith looked pretty much the same way mine did. Heck, they probably loved God even more than we do just because their lives lead them to lean on the Lord in ways we would never need to!

I tell you this to encourage you to go on a mission trip, or even just to travel or study abroad as much as you can while at Baylor. Seeing other countries and cultures can help you to better appreciate people that are different from you. It may even strengthen your faith to see how other cultures worship the same God as you!

I had my heart set on the only thing I really knew about; but after going out of the country it made me realize there are so many other options at Baylor that I hadn’t even considered before! If you know what you want to do with your life that’s awesome, go for it! But, if you are like me and are still unsure of what the future holds for you try to seek guidance from your advisors or even from older Baylor students. You should try and explore everything this amazing school has to offer and take advantage of trying out different courses to see what you like!

If you would like to know more about Baylor Missions check them out here!

Sic ’em missions!Missions1