Judson students to spend spring break on global outreach trips

From home improvement projects to helping the homeless, roughly 35 Judson University students, employees and alumni will travel to Belize, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic March 2 to 10 for service trips.

Teams of students will partner with local Christian organizations to work on a variety of projects as part of Judson's Global Outreach program.

In Belize, students and alumni will be working with Good Shepherd Church in San Antonio on construction projects and organizing vacation Bible school.

Teams in Santo Domingo and Bani in the Dominican Republic will work with the homeless and help with home improvement projects for residents in partnership with Del Camino Connection, a network of Latin American churches.

The Nicaragua trip is more for learning than service in partnership with International Teams based in Elgin, said Betsy Carr, Judson Global Outreach coordinator.

"They have mission areas all around the world," Carr said. "This is our first trip to Nicaragua."

The organization runs a coffee shop and workshop in Masatepe with local artisans making fair-trade goods, such as shoes and purses, out of recycled coffee bags sold locally and online.

Carr said students will learn about the business and try to figure out ways to partner with the group. It could help Judson restart the Just World Goods fair-trade store, which opened on campus in the fall of 2015 but ceased operating last year. The store, situated in Lindner Tower's first-floor lobby, sold handcrafted items from Haiti, India and Latin America.

Outreach trips to Peru and Ukraine are scheduled in May after the school year ends.

In Peru, students will serve with Paz y Esperanza working at a shelter for women and children who are victims of physical and sexual violence. It will be Judson's eighth visit.

"The students have the opportunity to put on a Mother's Day event for these women," Carr said. "They get to spend a lot of time with the women and children at the shelter and hear what they have been through."

On this second trip to Ukraine, Judson students will work with students at Uzhhorod National University on community outreach hosting worship and game nights.

"We're excited to go back to some of these places that we have partnered with," Carr said. "That says a lot about the ministry we are doing when students are wanting to return to these places."