Insights From Global Outreach Teams
In an increasingly interconnected world, the importance of supporting global mission trips has never been more pronounced. Last summer, Jessup University sent eight teams to nine different countries including regions within Central America and Asia, East Africa and Europe, South America, Southeast Asia and Western Europe. Teams ran Vacation Bible Schools and sports camps, led worship nights, ministered to inmates, installed water filters, worked in hospitals, ministered to girls who were previously trafficked, fed children in impoverished communities, offered hospitality to refugees, and shared the gospel with people who have never heard the good news of Jesus.
These trips not only provided connection and hope to underserved communities but also fostered cultural exchange and mutual understanding. Students often return home transformed, carrying with them powerful stories of resilience and hope, often inspiring them to engage in other acts of service.
Here is what a few of our team leaders and students had to say about participating in these trips:
Garrett Case:
Alumni Garrett Case served in Indonesia working alongside House of Hope ministries. Poverty is a big issue in this region where young girls are typically sold off to be married at the age of 12 or 13 years old. The ministry aims to teach students English, about who Jesus is, and provide these girls with a skill set designed to help them leave the island and pursue a career or stay on the island and be able to minister to people that are still there.
“I saw God working every single day,” Case said. “We were up at 5 a.m.having breakfast as a team and one of the coolest parts for me as a leader was the growth in our team members and seeing their relationship with the Lord grow. While we were there, one of our team members was baptized.”
Case believes it’s important for Christians to prioritize global outreach because we are called to go to the ends of the Earth and share the gospel and good news of Jesus Christ. The only way we can do that is by actually getting up and doing it. “Global Outreach is a unique opportunity to challenge yourself to be in a scenario where God can use you to change many lives,” Case added. “You might not see that change in your lifetime or even in your two weeks on a trip, but God’s going to use that time to shape people, to shape communities, and to shape cultures.”
Alyssa Feliciano
Alyssa Feliciano led the Tanzania team last summer serving an organization called Courage. Students helped prepare a VBS program and did Bible lessons, sports activities and worship songs for young girls and women who are victims of trafficking.
Feliciano shared, “We learned in that culture, it’s very common for family members and close friends to be trafficking their young girls. With that came an intensity to not only get these girls to a safer place like a home, but also to be feeling loved and connecting with people.”
“God moved in so many ways on our trip. You could just see it as we spent time with these sweet girls,” Feliciano said. “The girls loved to dance and sing which was super fun for me because I love to dance and sing. I left with a newfound passion for anti-trafficking ministries. I like to tell students who are interested in missions, that if they are even thinking about joining in the first place, something’s already stirring them. I think the Holy Spirit targets us a little bit. At least that was my experience. Once you really devote yourself to the process, God shows up.”
Bianca Toruno
Bianca Toruno applied to be part of the Central America team that went to Guatemala/Belize and is so glad she did because it was life changing.
“A lot of the families we came in contact with were drinking water that was not purified and it was continuing to make them sick or give them other issues. I saw God working not only in fulfilling the need for water filters (which were very expensive for the people to afford), but being able to hear people’s stories, and learn more about the trials they’ve been through was life changing. Here in America, we’re stuck in our little bubble. We’re very privileged and water is something we take for granted. Having the opportunity to step out of that and see these struggles was really life changing.”
Toruno also enjoyed the opportunity to be able to spread the gospel. “I never thought I could be effective. I thought I needed to be someone with lots of schooling in theology or that I needed to be a pastor. But this trip really changed my mind and perspective on that.”
Her favorite part was getting to know all the families, playing with the kids and observing how different their dynamics were compared to the United States. She also enjoyed the opportunity to connect deeply with her team. “We’ve become really close over the year with all of our planning and getting together. Global Outreach is a great way to really get to know those you are serving with. I’m not going with a bunch of strangers. I’m going with people I’ve been meeting with all year and we’re good friends now. I definitely think if you go on a Global Outreach team you’re going to come back changed, because I definitely did.”
Faith Carter
Faith Carter served in Romania helping Ukranian refugees. “We basically helped clean and cook food for the refugees there,” Carter said. “It was an amazing experience and I got really close to God. I learned so much and it was definitely an opportunity that I will love for the rest of my life.”
Dominic Haynes
Dominic Haynes served in Tajikistan where he engaged in street ministry. “We went out and found English speakers, (usually college age individuals) and were able to talk with them and build connections with them,” he said.
“One person I talked with had just graduated and I was able to share the gospel with him. We were able to talk for about two hours together, walking around the capital city of Dushanbe.”
I think the most impactful experience was being able to connect with locals and those from outside the surrounding villages around Dushanbe. Seeing how they lived, experiencing their culture, being able to eat with them and talk with them was amazing.
I would say if you’re on the fence about serving on a global outreach trip, just go. I signed up because I want to do long-term missions work and thought this was a great way to get my feet wet. I’ve felt called to missions ever since I was in elementary school. The region we went to in Central Asia is very dominated by Islam. Basically, everyone there believes it. It’s a very cultural thing, just as much as a spiritual thing. If you’re not Muslim, then you’re not Tajik is what I heard a lot of people say. So it’s very a big part of their culture and belief system there.”
Natalie Sexauer
Natalie Sexauer was baptized on her trip where she served in Indonesia doing a sports ministry playing soccer and pickleball with kids from a village on the island. “The kids joy and passion with everything they did was really cool,” Sexauer said. “We met amazing people and had incredible experiences. It is so important for Americans to see what life is like outside the United States and recognize that we can worship and serve Jesus as we serve others. We all shared our testimonies and learned that serving God and others is the most important thing.”
Joshua Gluck
Joshua Gluck served in the Philippines assisting an organization that helps groups in poverty. The team shared the love of Jesus while visiting small villages, leading a VBS, providing food and sharing the gospel. “It’s so cool to see God provide every single time,” he said.
“In the Philippines you see so many riches and so much poverty. We went to places that have extravagant buildings and very wealthy people. Then we went to other areas that are in extreme poverty where people are going to a well to get their water and living in little tiny huts that are basically made out of trash. We visited multiple villages that were built on trash dumps where they were using scraps to live. That was really hard to see.
God worked in a lot of really cool ways on our trip. One instance that stuck out to me was when we got to visit a youth group program in Tondo, which is a very poor area. The fire the students had for the Lord and their heart for worship was just incredible. It really moved me, even though our team were the ones leading them, we were also led by the students.
God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And the fact that the same God we got to worship in the Philippines, we are also worshiping here and all around the world is really amazing. We got to sing so many worship songs in English that people in the Philippines knew, which was so incredible, and just getting to worship and see the Kingdom of God around the world was amazing.
When you support these missions, you contribute to a larger narrative of compassion, bridging gaps between diverse cultures and encouraging collaborative efforts to address global challenges such as poverty, education, and health care. Ultimately, these trips cultivate a sense of shared humanity, reminding us that we are all part of a global family working toward a better future.”
