GO Week Student Panel Showcases Lord’s Provision and Purpose

September 15, 2021

OBU Kicked off GO Week Monday, Sept. 13, with a special chapel service. The event took place in Raley Chapel’s Potter Auditorium and featured a panel of students who had taken Global Outreach or GO trips during the past year.

GO Week is designed to inform students of Global Outreach opportunities and to encourage them to participate. The week includes three GO-themed chapel services and numerous other events, all built around the theme, “Beyond: Make Him Known,” based on Psalm 67:2.

During the Sept. 13 service, members of the student panel focused on the importance of sharing the Gospel throughout the world while drawing personally closer to God in the process.

The first to share about their trip was Johnathon Bowen, who went to Greece. Though he experienced a visit to the emergency room just hours before his flight, Bowen was able to go and serve at a refugee camp, serve meals, paint murals and touch the lives of refugees in Greece.

Student Reagan Benton then shared about her time in northern Africa. Although the COVID-19 pandemic delayed her chances to travel on a GO trip, she was ultimately able to go serve in northern Africa. She encouraged students not only to go on a Global Outreach trip, but also to rely on God while they are obedient to him. “Giving each day to the Lord…is a great way to allow him to move,” she said.

Tyler McPheeters spoke about his trip to London, England, where he distributed gospels in Arabic. Although he mispronounced the Arabic translation of the words “free gospel” and people laughed at him or ignored his presence, he was still able to reach people. He also shared about a miraculous way in which God provided funds to cover a portion of his trip.

“God provides when we do his work,” McPheeters said. “You may get sick, you might not have money…but the Lord provides for his mission.”

Ally Lewis then spoke about her trip to Uganda. During her time at a refugee camp, she used games like musical chairs and soccer to communicate with children. She also spent time with many of the pregnant women in the camp, talking with them and listening to their stories. Though some days were hard and it was sometimes difficult to see the Lord’s purpose, she never wants to forget the experience. “The Lord uses our difficult days…for his purposes,” she said. She also shared about the best moment of her trip, when a woman named Sharon gave her heart and life to Jesus. That interaction made the entire trip worth it.

Finally, Gracie Pipes shared the testimony from her time in Cairo, Egypt, where she had the opportunity to love on children through camp, games and fruitful conversation. She recounted one specific conversation with a little girl where she shared why life is beautiful.

“I saw and knew the Lord’s creation and him as creator so intimately,” Pipes said. “There’s a piece of my heart in Egypt now.”

The Avery T. Willis Center for Global Outreach at OBU has multiple opportunities for future GO trips, with applications now open for both spring break 2022 and summer 2022. Spring break destinations include Colombia, Ecuador and New York City, while summer destinations include Canada, Egypt, Leicester and Leeds, England, Ethiopia, Greece, Israel, Mexico, Nepal, North Africa, Portland and Uganda.

Learn more about spring and summer GO Trips in 2022.