Meeting people with the gospel in our backyards

“God was able to help us connect and form sincere friendships despite language barriers. For many of our students it was the first mission trip they had been on and it was cool for them to get to see the way God provided,” Hernandez said. “We had to be open, flexible, ready, and expectant to see how God was going to work.”

Rebecca Hernandez has been on staff at the Texas A&M University Baptist Student Ministry (BSM) since 2009. She has seen the Lord move in the lives of many students and loves getting the opportunity to watch students grow over the four years they attend college.

Hernandez led a group of students to San Antonio to serve the community during spring break. They stepped into the ministry that First Baptist Church of San Antonio had already begun.

The team spent time serving Afghan refugees in San Antonio. One of the greatest needs among the refugees is finding jobs. Hernandez explains they were able to drive eight men to job interviews. Each person was hired on the spot and the long wait of job searching was done. They were going to start work the next day.

Another great need among the refugees is learning English. Hernandez and her team got to meet with some Afghan ladies, and they started an impromptu English lesson on a picnic table. Each day the women came back ready to learn more English. Through this, the team was able to learn more about the pressing needs in the community as the ladies shared about their lives.

Hernandez explained their heart behind the trip: “It was challenging [because] what we were able to help with seems like a drop in a great bucket of need. It is significant that for many of the refugees, it may have been their first encounter with Christians. We pray they will remember the care and love they felt from Christians and we pray they will continue to have many more encounters like that and eventually come to know more about who God is.”

Adela Zuskind, a recent graduate of Texas A&M University, went on the mission trip with the team.

Zuskind was touched by one of the refugees they met. The refugee is currently 19, and desires to attend college someday. However, she would first like to learn more English. She also hoped to become a tailor, and the mission team was able to send a sewing machine to her when they arrived home.

“When we consider the gift of salvation and how immense it is, the sewing machine was a small gift. Our hope is that she sees the gift she receives as a gift from God and that God is a provider and He cares for her,” said Zuskind.

During the trip, Zuskind got to explain why the mission team was in San Antonio. She explained they came to serve the refugees because of the call to love our neighbors. Zuskind and the mission team were respectful of their religion but got to share about God with them, and as a result, they were able to share the person of Jesus Christ peacefully.

“There are a great number of refugees walking into San Antonio,” Zuskind said. “The need to share the gospel is urgent. It is urgent to meet people with the gospel in our backyards.”