Members of Lander University’s Baptist Collegiate Ministry group overcame an inauspicious start to complete a recent mission trip to Lebanon, Ohio.
Members of Lander’s Baptist Collegiate Ministry group recently returned from a mission trip to Ohio.The beneficiary of the students’ efforts was a daycare center, where BCM students painted classrooms and hallways, sorted clothes, toys and other items donated by the community, and spread mulch across a playground the length of a football field.
The center, run by Lebanon’s Northside Baptist Church, serves more than 200 children, allowing parents to hold on to jobs in an area with a high unemployment rate.
Automotive problems plagued the 31 students on the trip. The car one student was traveling in had to be ditched in North Carolina, and both buses overheated, resulting in a two-day layover in Caryville, Tenn.
“I felt like a black cloud was following us,” said BCM group leader Scott Smith. Group members didn’t whine or complain, said Smith, and a “rescue ship” from Connie Maxwell Children’s Home eventually arrived, allowing them to continue on their way.
For Smith, the positive attitudes of group members were the best part of the trip. “I told them, ‘I’d travel with you guys anywhere.’ ” – Lander University