A couple of years ago, the International Mission Board created a program designed for college students to spend a semester as a missionary.
“Our students started coming to us asking if they could get college credit for doing this…so we started talking to the Pruet School of Christian Studies,” said Dr. Ray Franklin, instructional coordinator of Hands On Ouachita and professor of Christian studies. “So we took courses that we already offer and packaged them online through what is now Moodle and offered 12 hours of credit.”
According to Franklin, when the Arkansas Lottery scholarship began, he redid the program to what it is today: a 15-hour instructional program that encorporates classes relevant to what they are majoring in and also classes that help enforce what they are learning in the field.
“They [students] do whatever their assignment is,” said Dr. Franklin. “It could be sports, teaching the English language, anything really. The commonality is that they are hanging out with lost people and finding ways to communicate the Gospel to them.”
One student that particated in the program is Bridget Bloxom, a junior Christian studies major.
“I went in with little expectation of what it would be like,” she said. “At the end of the day, when we landed, I thought we were in Guatemala or something. Kosovo is the lowest economy in all of Europe, so there are areas that are very third world and very impoverished. But they are also very warm people. It was nothing like I expected.”
Bloxom said the program really prepares you for what you will encounter in the field.
“The program works out well to prepare you before you go,” she said. “It helps you prepare for culture shock when you get there. Dr. Franklin taught us some different evangelistic tools.”
Dr. Franklin said that the program tries to prepare students not only for their time during the Hands On program but also for the transitions into and back out of the experience.
“We call it pre-field, on-field, and post-field.” said Franklin. “They read some books and get mentally and spiritually prepared to go…so most of the course work is done before they leave and once they get back.”
Bloxom said that while she was there, she had a job at an American bakery.
“It was fun to see kids come in and they’ve never had a chocolate chip cookie,” said Bloxom. “That was how I built all my relationships, with the girls that worked there. They could live in the U.S. and succeed, which was kind of frustrating.”
Bloxom said that the bakery was a way for her to spread the gospel easily.
“It [the bakery] was such a good way to build relationships. There was so much time to just talk. I shared the Gospel a lot of times with the people I worked with,” said Bloxom.
Bloxom talked about how much the program meant to her.
“Because of Hands On, I feel an even closer relationship to God,” said Bloxom. “For me, it was difficult because there weren’t many people that spoke English and I didn’t have my friends back home with me. In those moments, it was the Lord alone who could be there for me, so I spent a lot of time in prayer with him.”
Dr. Franklin said the re-entry process into American culture is difficult for many.
“With all the wealth and materialism we have here, missionaries feel guilty when they re-enter American culture,” said Dr. Franklin. “They feel frustrated that many Americans don’t understand how blessed we are in this country. That’s not just for Hands On though, that’s for anyone re-entering a home country like ours after living somewhere else.”
Bloxom highly suggests the program to anyone that is considering it and reccomends praying about the opportunity.
“If you have ever thought about doing Hands On, I think God’s given you that thought for a reason and you should pray about that as an option and see where it takes you,” said Bloxom. “It is such a blessing that I’m still going to graduate on time and I could leave for a semester and do this.”
Dr. Franklin says that anyone who is interested in the program should talk to him.
“Even though none were saved while we were there,” says Bloxom, “Seeing their faces one last time when we told them that Jesus loves them showed so much hope for forgiveness and grace for the future.”
