Susan Crawford, a senior nursing major, knew she wanted to use her summer break to gain life experience and practice her nursing skills. Crawford said she felt drawn to mission work since before college. During the spring semester of 2015, Crawford began exploring her options for the summer. Crawford voiced some of her thoughts to her roommate, senior Esther De La Cruz. "I really prayed about where to spend the summer because there's so much work to do everywhere," Crawford said. "Esther encouraged me to just give my passion up to God and ask for his guidance." De La Cruz, a Walton Scholar and senior finance and professional sales major, eventually suggested Crawford spend the summer in El Salvador with the De La Cruz family. Both of De La Cruz's parents were teachers and ministers at their home church.The offer turned into a reality as Crawford finalized plans to travel to Latin America for two months during the summer. Growing up, Crawford would visit her grandparents who had retired in Mexico. Her childhood experiences in a Spanish-speaking country sparked in her a desire to learn the language. When she start ed at Harding, Crawford was a nursing major and Spanish minor. As her courses progressed, however, Crawford realized she needed to drop her minor in order to commit herself to her nursing classes, but continued through forming friendships with Walton Scholars. On June 11, Crawford flew to Honduras, timing her summer plans so she could also take part in a Honduran mission trip with fellow Harding student, senior Kaylee Beeson. Beeson, also a senior nursing major, met Crawford in their first year at Harding. During their time in Honduras, Beeson said Crawford eagerly and naturally poured herself into the people around her, taking time to stop and talk or pray with anyone who needed encouragement. "That is how she spent the entire trip," Beeson said. "Not wasting even a minute, but taking every single opportunity to show the love ROOMMATES AROUND THE WORLD By Libbie Turner of Christ to others." Crawford flew straight from Honduras to El Salvador, where the De La Cruz family was supposed to meet her. De La Cruz was not yet in El Salvador at the time, having been on a mission trip herself, so Crawford was not sure how to find her new host family. When she arrived at the airport in El Salvador, she immediately recognized the De La Cruz as the family holding a huge printed picture of her roommate. Over the course of the summer, Crawford helped De La Cruz's mother teach and went on various outreach trips with the local church. De La Cruz believed the time Crawford spent in Latin America was an eye-opening experience that deepened their friendship, a friendship De La Cruz found incredibly valuable. "It was good to bring Susan to my country so she can understand me better," De La Cruz said. "It's hard for someone to know why a person is how they are without knowing where they come from, but now she sees my family and my background." Senior SUS(lll Craw/i>rcl SJ><'III th<' su111111er l,c'.fore h<'r S<'nior ye"r (If llarcliny trm•eliny c11"0111Hl l.ati11 i'\111C'1·icu cloiny mission work and uisitiny the lwmc co111llry o.f h<'r roomn1C1/e, senior Esthcr J>e l.u Cruz. I l'hoto /Jy Ow<'n /frown SE~IOHS Ii.;
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