Deadline for Navajo Mission Trip Is Nov. 20

SWAU students conducted “Team Creation” VBS with the Navajo children during last year’s trip.

Spring Break 2016 will mark the 13^th time that Southwestern Adventist University will be going on its annual Navajo Mission trip.  The trip to the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona and New Mexico is scheduled for March 3-13. The tradition started by Dr. Randy Butler, a former professor at Southwestern, has been benefiting students as well as the Navajos for many years.

“Going on the Navajo mission trip teaches students that one doesn’t have to go abroad to make a difference,” says Dr. Bill Kilgore, professor of religion at Southwestern Adventist University. “There are a lot of places nearby that can use help, and one of them is the Navajo mission field.”

In the past, students have built a greenhouse that locals now use to grow cucumbers and sell. A time lapse video on the Rez Refuge website shows last year’s construction efforts led by Enactus members from SWAU. Students have also helped with non-related building activities such as running two Vacation Bible School programs last year. The goals that have been set for the 2016 Navajo mission trip are: building farmland for a community garden, build dorms for boys and girls and do some home repairs for the Navajos as well as run two Vacation Bible Schools.

“Life on the reservation can be just as primitive as other countries that are abroad,” says Kilgore. “It has been a long and hard road, but we are thankful that the Navajos have lent us their trust and now ask us to do things and help them in different ways.”

“The Navajo mission trip has had a powerful impact on the Navajo community,” says Kilgore. “Since the Gallup Seventh-day Adventist Church has been there, they have baptized 40 Navajos, so we know that the Holy Spirit is working in their lives.”

The cost to go on the Navajo mission trip is $550 after a $100 deposit due after Thanksgiving to secure a spot.  Deadline for signup is Friday, Nov. 20. For an application to go on the mission trip, contact Dr. Bill Kilgore at (817) 202-6479 or kilgoreb@swau.edu.

Tony Seery (Enactus President 2014-2015), Ana Patterson (faculty advisor) and Alex Froom (Rez Refuge Executive Director) stand in front of completed greenhouse. Enactus took the lead in constructing the greenhouse during last year’s trip.

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