Stop the Press!

Students and faculty working together? Really? And liking it? Oh yes! Here is the raw commentary of a professor and a student on the Haiti summer project, from their project blog:
Faculty Phil: I am a professor of almost 30 years who has made well over a dozen foreign-mission trips all over the world. I have had some great trips.
From experience, I know that soon, people will soon begin asking me, “How was that trip to Haiti?”
I’ll say something like this, “Haiti was fantastic, but this was an unusual trip for me.”
If they are really interested, they’ll say something like, “How so?”
And I’ll say, “This trip was different for me, because, for me, being in Haiti wasn’t the key factor. The Haitians were wonderful, kind, welcoming people...(but) the real key factor for me was the 60 students and staff who let me tag along. These college graduates, undergraduates, and one pre-college student, and Campus Crusade leaders, were among the finest bunch of people with whom I have ever associated, and I have been at it for 60 years. They were enthusiastic, considerate, encouraging folks.
They sweated night and day in the dusty, hot, humid environment; they rode a bus for two hours in the heat, they didn’t complain and continually looked for opportunities to minister. They sought out kids to play with, and on one occasion carried kids over two miles to and from Flamingo Lake. They happily met for hours on end, they waited, they sang, they prayed, they played, they ate, and a few would even sleep a couple of hours at night. They seemed to even enjoy talking to the staff!
I was blessed to be among them, to watch them interact, and to learn from them. We could have been in Alabama, or Texas, or anywhere, and the trip would have almost as good for me. Just being around these folks has done a lot to make me want to be a better Christian. So I guess I was just one of the many folks to whom they ministered.”

Austin the Student (not the city): When I think of Campus Crusade for Christ, I think of the college students across the nation and world who are working to expand Christ's kingdom by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I would never have thought of the professors that also comprise the movement. I was awakened to my ignorance the first full day that we spent in Haiti. Phil, as he prefers to be called, is a tenured Exercise Physiology professor in Alabama.

Phil is not your average Joe, even when it comes to professors. He is a marathon runner, has been to numerous countries in service to the LORD and is fully committed to walking according to God's will or his life. Loving to highlight God's predominance evidenced by creation, he is certainly a mentor on this trip. Again, it is pretty awesome/surprising to receive spiritual guidance from a professor, but Phil is not defined by his profession. He is defined by Christ's work on the cross.

In light of the ministry that Phil has in Alabama and the work that he has done around the world, I would encourage you to pray for your professors or encourage you to become one yourself. As quirky as they often are, they too need Christ, and have the potential to store up treasures in heaven alongside us as brothers and sisters through the ministry that Christ has prepared for them.

Me the blogger:So, there is the raw, off the Iphone and onto the blog comment from Haiti. It's something powerful to consider. Imagine if the Nehemiah's of the collegiate world - Christian students and faculty - joined together in the proclamation of the gospel. There might just be a revolution.