On a Mission: Baylor Students to Serve Around the World Over Spring Break

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More than 100 Baylor University students and faculty and staff leaders will serve with Baylor Missions over spring break March 9-16, combining faith, service and learning in parts of Texas while supporting the ongoing efforts of the University’s global partners in four international locations, including Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, the Netherlands and Guatemala.

This year’s spring break missions cross a variety of disciplines and issues: learning about food insecurity and houselessness, preparing accounting documents for a nonprofit, shadowing and learning from local physicians, teaching health lessons and helping small businesses grow. These missions allow students to integrate their academic disciplines and skills with service to show Christ’s love to others.

“Students will hopefully be deeply impacted through learning about different cultures, how their vocation could positively impact the world, how to love their neighbor and in their own spiritual formation,” said Sarah Nelson, assistant director for missions in the Department of Missions, Service and Public Life at Baylor. “Please pray for our students, their leaders, the global partners we work alongside and those in the communities we are entering.”

Baylor Missions Spring Break 2025

Urban Food Japan at Baylor, Waco Edition: Food insecurity is a systemic issue that can happen to anyone, anywhere. In the first trip of its kind, a team of six Baylor students and two faculty members in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures will host eight students from Seinan Gakuin University in Fukuoka, Japan. Together the team will serve at various nonprofit organizations in Waco as students learn different ways hunger is being addressed in Waco. In 2024, Baylor visited Japan to learn about the challenges of urban food insecurity alongside students at Hosei University in Tokyo and Seinan Gakuin. Now it is Baylor’s turn to host.

MAPS, BMSA, LASH in the Dominican Republic: A team of students from the student organizations of Multicultural Association of Pre-Health Students (MAPS), Baylor Medical Student Association (BMSA) and Latinx Association of Science and Health (LASH) will assist local medical professionals in Azua, Dominican Republic, and serve women and children at various locations, including a hospital, medical clinic and school.

Pre-PA Society in Costa Rica: Members of the Pre-Physician Assistant Society (PAS) will travel to Costa Rica to continue their partnership with One More Child in a new location. Students will have the opportunity to work on health and wellness-focused projects such as hygiene and nutrition lessons in the community where One More Child interacts with people – particularly children – on a daily basis.

HRC in Costa Rica: Students from the Honors Residential College and Honors College are returning to serve with One More Child in San Jose, Costa Rica. The team will work with a local church, ministry and school to lead VBS, complete minor construction projects and serve in ongoing ministries alongside partners from those organizations.

Accounting in Amsterdam: A team of accounting graduate students in the Hankamer School of Business will be working on a pilot project with the finance team of Youth with a Mission (YWAM) at their Amsterdam headquarters. The students will assist in the preparation of the annual financial audit of the organization, using their accounting training to bring additional staff expertise to the project.

Business in Guatemala: Students from the Hankamer School of Business will work alongside Serve Hope International as part of their Emprende Global development program in Guatemala. Over the week, students will meet with local small business owners and consult with them to create a plan to effectively start, grow and improve their business.

BearAid in Texas: As disasters strike across Texas, the U.S. and globe, the BearAid Team serves communities throughout the relief and recovery process by participating in transformational activities of service that deepen a love for neighbors. BearAid trips return this spring break with a team of students working with and learning from a variety of nonprofits in Dallas, Austin and Waco. Designed for students with a passion in humanitarian aid, students will discover ways to continue their call to local involvement for issues in their community.

ABOUT BAYLOR MISSIONS

Baylor Missions creates tangible opportunities for students to serve others through their academic discipline. These experiences allow students to reflect on how God might use the knowledge and skills they gain at Baylor to make a difference in the world while providing opportunities to experience and learn from a different culture and be a part of what God is doing in and around the world.

Baylor Missions is guided by the following principles:

• Discipline-Specific Missions: A discipline-specific approach to missions helps students understand how they can use their specific strengths and passions in service of Christ and the world.
• Global and Community Partners: Working alongside partners, who are individuals or organizations embedded in their respective community, that help lead efforts to meet the needs of communities of care.
• Long-Term Commitment: Sustainable partnerships significantly impact communities of care over time with Baylor Missions committing to three- to five-year partnerships when collaborating to serve a specific location and address a particular challenge identified by communities of care.
• Reciprocity: Creating a life experience where mutual transformation occurs from learning from other cultures, as well as sharing with them knowledge, resources and care.
• Reflection/Integration: Ensuring that all students have an outlet for reflection on their transformative experience, a process to help students integrate their experience into their daily lives.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Learn more about Baylor University at www.baylor.edu.