During spring break next week, many students from the region will be packing their winter coats and tool belts, rather than swim suits and suntan oil, to travel on mission trips to Romania or West Virginia to serve with teams from The Well ministry.The Well is an inter-denominational, student-led ministry designed for college students in the region. In addition to the hundreds of students that gather every Wednesday night during the semester for a time of worship and praise, special Bible study and other groups meet throughout the week.

In addition, every semester since the organization began in September 1998, specialized missions groups from The Well have performed community service locally and worldwide. This spring break, two groups are serving instead of surfing.

A group of 20 students and leaders are packing up and heading to McDowell County, W.Va., one of the seventh poorest counties in the nation, to rehabilitate houses.

The students will be on Mountain Work Safaris, weeklong mission trips to serve local people by helping with home repairs and Bible clubs. “Mainly we will be doing construction on homes that are in great need of repair,” said Debbie McNeill, a volunteer who is president of The Well Ministry Board of Directors. “We will be working with, eating with and worshipping with the families there.”

This Well team is working with Mustard Seeds and Mountains Inc., a Christian relief and development agency that primarily serves in Appalachia. The group leaves Feb. 29 and returns March 5.

Another group of 20 is stuffing their winter coats into suitcases to leave from Knoxville, Tenn., Feb. 27 en route to Slatina, Romania, in the Oltenia province, the poorest part of Romania. The group will then split up, some staying in an orphanage and others in Romanian homes.

“While Slatina will be our home for the week, we will also be serving in many surrounding villages,” said Leslie Raby, a Well staff intern and staff adviser.

For example, a team of four students will travel daily to Craiova to work with a group of schoolchildren. The remaining 16 team members will travel each day to a nearby village to work with the children and youth during the day and adults in the evening.”

The group will also be encouraging members of local churches, ministering on a college campus and doing odd jobs, such as repair work in the neighborhoods.

The need for mission work in the United States is great, Raby says, but going overseas has strengths, too. “We are taking 20 individuals to Romania because the need is huge and the Romanian people are extremely receptive to Jesus Christ,” she said.

Students traveling to Romania say they are excited about this opportunity and have been preparing for the trip for several months. “I am so thankful for the opportunity that God has given me to go to Romania over spring break,” said Amanda Huff, an ETSU nursing major. “I expect to not only go there and share my life and faith with the people of Romania, but to come back as a changed person.

“I know I take for granted how good we really do have it here in the USA, so I hope this trip will help me put things in perspective and also help me to realize how much God has truly blessed my life.”

Michael Haun, an ETSU parks and recreation major, shares that sense of anticipation. “I’m so excited that God has given us a chance to go across the world to tell others about the one and only true God that first loved us and still loves us,” he said. “And it’s awesome to know that the same Savior that died for me also died for them. I simply have to tell them.”

Trips to serve overseas can bring about a life-altering experience Raby says. “Sometimes it takes going overseas to spark a burning desire to share God’s love with others,” she said. “I have discovered that those who have a unique experience with God on foreign soil will readily share about him after returning home.”

To find out more about The Well, including upcoming events and special groups, visit the Web site at www.thewellsite.org.

Author