For 10 students from Campus Chapel, the Christian Reformed campus ministry at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, spring break was a time to learn and grow in the Dominican Republic.
Working alongside ministry partners of Christian Reformed World Missions, the undergraduate and graduate students served in areas reflecting their academic interests.
“Most teams that come here are mainly focused on serving through a building project,” said Steve Brauning, the CRC missionary who hosted the group. “This was designed to be primarily a learning, growing experience.”
Accompanying the students were Ashley and Geoff Van Dragt, ministry interns at Campus Chapel.
Campus Chapel encourages students toward ministry in their professional careers, Ashley said, and the trip to the Dominican Republic offered an opportunity for the students to see how their academic fields play out in developing countries.
“Half the group was interested in medical professions and shadowed and volunteered at a local clinic, and the other half was interested in engineering,” she said. “One student gave her first injection, and an architecture student drew up the plans for a new building at the ministry center in which we stayed. The engineers did the surveying.”
As a result of their experience, Brauning said, several students have expressed confirmation of a call into mission service.
