178 academics what’s name? in a 2008 graduate Alyssa Hepburn teaches children during the foreign language campaign to Peru in 2006. This was one of many trips taken by the foreign language department. Courtsey of Ava Conley Preacher Carlos Leon baptizes Darwin, a local of Caracas, in the summer of 2008 during the foreign language campaign to Venezuela. Darwin’s wife and daughter were baptized on the same day. Courtsey of Ava Conley Senior Kurt Cavender, with the Souvenirs Poetry Club, performs a line from Shakespeare during the Literary Festival held on Sept. 11. The festival was held in Cone Chapel and featured the Scribblers Creative Writing Club and the Souvernirs Poetry Club. Nick Michael The American Studies Building was built in 1953 and houses the English department. The Wilma Stephens Thornton Education Center was added on to this building only a few years ago in 2004. The English department’s organizations include Scribblers Creative Writing Club, Harding Film Association ,the classical film club, Sigma Delta, a literary honor society, and Souvenirs. In the summer of 1976, Winfred Wright, the chair of the Spanish department, made the decision to lead a group of students to Puerto Rico. While Wright had been a missionary to France for many years, he wanted to give his Spanish-speaking students a chance to use their knowledge to reach out to local congregations in all of Latin America. This group eventually took on the title of Latin American Campaigns. For the next several years, the Spanish department was invited to Argentina, Venezuela and many other countries. The original plan was to tour each country during one mission trip, but after the first travel to Venezuela ended up being such a success, the group decided to focus their mission work there. Over the years, the campaign program grew and provided students with the opportunity to not only help a country and its people, but also the ability to return to Venezuela after they graduated. “Over 20 former Latin American Campaign workers have returned to the mission field over the years,” Ava Conley, chair of the Spanish department, said. Before students could sign up for the campaign, they had to meet several requirements, such as two years of Spanish and a year of training in various evangelistic fields of study. The students also trained in teaching and personal evangelism in Spanish. While not having to claim Spanish as a major or minor, students did need a certain level of knowledge in the language in order to attend the campaign. “We have to be able to converse and lead Bible studies with the people there, so Spanish is a must,” senior Kalin Caruthers said. Because of political turmoil in Venezuela, the Latin American Campaigns group eventually began doing mission work in Peru. “I’m glad we did [switch] because I find the culture in Peru to be so rich and welcoming,” Caruthers said. While the students were there, they worked with churches and tried to encourage the congregation the best they could. Students passed out fliers advertising for a weeklong Bible conference, and they held small Bible studies with individuals. During all of these activities, the students realized how important being able to communicate with the people of Peru was to their mission. “We had to use the language,” Caruthers said. “We had to ask directions, study with people, talk to people in the streets and play with the youth in the community.” The students who attended these campaigns said they had pride in themselves, created a strong bond with their fellow teammates and developed a bigger love for the Latin American culture. Conley said that although this type of campaign group was different because of the language requirements, it was still a great chance to work in the mission field. “It’s a chance for students to put their language ability to practical use and a great way for them to enjoy the fruits of evangelism,” she said. Farron Martin and Katie Ramirez Mission Abroad Latin American summer campaigns
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==