Christmas came a little early for a group of firemen and policemen
in New York City last year, thanks to a group of Louisiana State University
Baptist Campus Ministries students.
There for a week-long missions trip a few days before Christmas,
92 students and staff from the Baton Rouge and Shreveport campuses ministered
in a variety of ways, one of which was leading Christmas parties at fire and
police stations.
Christmas came a little early for a group of firemen and policemen
in New York City last year, thanks to a group of Louisiana State University
Baptist Campus Ministries students.
There for a week-long missions trip a few days before Christmas,
92 students and staff from the Baton Rouge and Shreveport campuses ministered
in a variety of ways, one of which was leading Christmas parties at fire and
police stations.
Two years ago, the Baptist Campus Ministries students sang
at fire stations in New York City and was invited back again because it was
such an encouragement to the men, says Steve Master, Baptist Campus Ministries
director at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.
Following that visit, the majority of the police and fire stations
the students visited lost men in the Sept. 11, 2001, bombing of the World Trade
Center towers.
“This time we went for a different purpose,” Masters
says. “(The police and firemen) were very receptive. It was rewarding to
minister to them.”
Divided into eight teams of 12 students, the groups delivered
a “Louisiana Christmas Box” to each station. Inside each box was a
bottle of Tabasco, a bottle of Tony Chacheres, Mardi Gras beads, pralines
and other items from the state.
Philip May attends church at the chapel at Louisiana State
University and was a participant on the trip. He says talking to the firemen
taught him a lot about ministry. “There is a lot to learn about discernment
and boldness,” he notes.
Jason Lindsey says he feels visiting the firehouses was the
most meaningful missions experience of the trip.
“I think going to the firehouses and hearing the stories
of these guys that are willing to put their life on the line was meaningful,”
adds Lindsey, a member at First Baptist Church of Zachary. “Getting the
opportunity to love on them was great.”
Tara Barrett says she discovered the Louisiana State University
campus in Baton Rouge is not much different from New York City in one sense,
as she was able to reach out to others far away from home.
“Meeting the firemen was especially touching for me,”
says Barrett, also a member at First Baptist Church of Zachary. “They have
a sense of family in their houses, and they really opened up their (fire) departments
and stories to us.
“If I can reach out to people this far away from home,
I can do it here (in Louisiana), too,” Barrett emphasizes.
Besides ministering to firemen and policemen, the students
visited nursing homes and two childrens hospitals and distributed fliers
about area mission church Christmas events. The group also installed two showers
at First Evangelical Free Church in Brooklyn, where they lived during their
trip. Students traveled to the city on charter buses and payed $275 each for
the trip.
Jenni Grisham spent a day street witnessing and passing out
fliers in Harlem. Grisham says she always had been afraid to be that open with
her faith.
“(But) God worked through me and gave me the words to
say,” she notes.
Jennifer Williams read a play to a young girl and her mother,
who knew little English, at the childrens hospital. That gave her an opportunity
to communicate with the little bit of Spanish she knew.
“I plan to make time to volunteer at home,” adds
Williams, a member at First Baptist Church of Zachary.
“There is no reason why the firemen and children in hospitals
at home shouldnt get this encouragement.”
Though it had been 16 months since terrorists struck the World
Trade Center towers, some students on the trip say they learned lessons they
never will forget.
“All peoples are made in the image of God but are so very
far from him and will not be satisfied without him,” May says.
“They block out or fill their God-sized hole with flashy
materialism, lust and lies. Without Christ, they long – only to be unsatisfied,”
he emphasizes.
“(And) Sometimes, you have to walk 18 blocks in the cold, but if its
what God wants, then, you will be blessed,” adds John Meche, a member at
First Baptist Church of Fordoche.