This summer was Amanda Smith’s first time. It was her first time on a plane, her first time facing a major language barrier and her first time working as a missionary. Smith, 20, flew to Panama in May with Campus for Christ (C4C), an organization dedicated to spreading the Gospel and educating others about Christianity. And though she says she’s spent her life as a Christian, the third-year psychology student had never worked abroad on a mission.
Various organizations from other countries do these kinds of trips, Smith says. Carleton’s C4C is just one small part of Power to Change, a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, Canada.
Smith spent her first few weeks in Panama City at the University of Panama, helping to organize events with other students. One event, called “Who’s Your Hero?” provided a platform for Smith and her peers to discuss why Jesus was their hero, while others at the university could discuss their own. Eighteen students joined her on the trip, though she was the only one from Carleton.
“I didn’t know anyone when I went,” she says. Nor did she know the language. “There were some points when I felt a little useless,” she says.
But while it’s definitely something she says she needs to work on, she says she learned a lot.
“God had me there for a reason, whether I can speak Spanish or not.”
After the urban landscape, her group migrated into the interior of the Central American country for two weeks, where they stayed with families and helped them with every sort of task – from helping with the children, to tending to rice and coffee in the fields.
“One group ended up killing a chicken!” she says, half-laughing, though assures that they were sad about it. In rural Panama, Smith and her group also followed the C4C mandate by showing the Jesus Film, based on the Gospel of Luke in the Bible, which according to its website, has been translated into more than 1,000 languages.
“The Panamanians are really friendly,” she says. “The families are self-sustaining.” Trips like this can be pricey though.
A typical trip costs around $5,000, says Tyler Murphy (who is using a fake name for privacy reasons related to his missionary work), a fourth-year industrial design student at Carleton and member of C4C. Murphy was less of a mission newbie. This summer was his third doing missionary work in East Asia, in a country that he can’t actually talk about, since it’s closed to missionaries. But reaching out to their communities was the best option, says Murphy. He drafted a letter that was sent to his family and friends and also spoke at his church.
“It can be challenging, but it’s easy to get them on board when you have God on your side,” Murphy says.
He led a team of about 10 students to study language and culture in the closed country. They were encouraged to make friends, he says. Talking about his spirituality was one way to bond with others.
“I really enjoy talking about spiritual things,” he says. “We like to give them the option of learning about [Christianity]. You can’t put your faith in something you don’t know about.”
Taking on a leadership role as an intern like Murphy is something Smith says she’ll consider for the future too. But for her, she’d want to return to Panama.
Seeing people who are less fortunate makes you appreciate living in Canada,” Smith says. “The best part is all the new experiences,” she says. “We were sleeping on floors with mosquito nets around us,” she recalls of her experience staying with a family.
And for Murphy, the best part was “living a Christian life and seeing other people come to an understanding and sharing my beliefs.”
Editor's note: Jami Peterson is a member of C4C Carleton. This story was written based on the beliefs of the sources and does not reflect the religious views of the Charlatan.