Fund enables students to serve in summer missions

The generosity of Messiah College parents once again enabled several students to participate in summer service and mission activities. Through the Student Missions Endowment Fund (SMEF), established in 1997 by the Parents Council, parents helped offset expenses so that four students could seize the opportunity to minister to individuals in need.

Recipients of the SMEF for 2006 are serving the homeless, youth, and children in places as close as New York and as far away as Bosnia.

JESSICA FREDERICK, a junior Christian ministries and social work major, returned to the Rescue Mission in Syracuse, N.Y., following a previous internship. Frederick reconnected with the homeless men served at the mission by assisting the chaplains with program planning and relational ministry.

ANDREW ORR, a junior economics major, and KRISTEN ORR, a junior Christian ministries major, traveled with the Mechanicsburg Brethren in Christ Church youth group to Madrid, Spain, for ten days to disciple youth and teach teens ways to share their faith.

DIANE PIERCE, a junior studio art major, used her creative talents to beautify Bihac, Bosnia. Pierce, as a member of Operation Mobilization, painted a community mural and taught art lessons to local children.

All donations to the SMEF go directly to support students involved in short-term mission projects. For more information about SMEF or to make a contribution, contact Michelle Blackford, coordinator for regional leadership programs, at (717) 796-5234 or mblackfo@messiah.edu.