By Tracy Moser, Director
Baptist Student Union
Blue Mountain College
One of the Baptist Student Union (BSU) traditions at Blue Mountain College is serving at Mission Arlington at Christmas. Mission Arlington is a faith-based organization in Arlington, Texas, that provides a multitude of services to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the less fortunate in their community.
Of course, with 2020 being 2020, we were not sure if we would be able to keep our tradition this year. The decision was made to press forward and cancel if necessary.
Careful thought was given in how to make this happen in the safest way possible, which resulted in a number of things being done in a different way. Seventeen of us made the journey to Arlington on Dec. 2. God’s hand was evident in so many ways, confirming in my heart the right choice had been made. Testimonies from three of the students who made the trip echo what most would communicate about their experience:
— Caitlin White, sophomore. Hometown: Walnut. Serving at Mission Arlington gets better every year. In 2019, Mission Arlington and Mrs. Tillie [Bergin, who started Mission Arlington] helped 400,000 people through many different services, such as the food pantry, donation drop-off, apartment Bible studies, the Christmas Store, and more. One of the ladies who works with us every year said, “People hear the Gospel a lot better when their needs are being met,” and that’s exactly the mindset everyone has. There’s nothing those people wouldn’t do to help someone in need and then tell them about Jesus. I was so blessed to work beside them!
— Lauren Heath, junior. Hometown: Randolph. Mission Arlington tells the Christmas Story to families in multiple languages and serves the needs of families all throughout the year, but especially at Christmas! It was a gift to serve even a short time with them, and to meet so many members of their team who are united in this one effort.
— Carolyn Meeks, freshman. Hometown: Kossuth. I enjoyed serving at Mission Arlington. I was able to learn something from everything that we did, but Sunday really stood out to me. On Sunday, no one really knew what we would be doing or how we would be serving. I was sent out with Caitlin White. We went with a sweet lady from the mission to an apartment complex Bible study.
This helped me realize a few things. How often do I just walk into my nice, big, comfortable church congregation and not even think about what I’m doing or why I have come? How often do I just go through the motions and become comfortable? These people go knock on doors in the complex before starting the Bible study, have a fellowship time with the adults and children, split up the kids and adults for more of a Sunday school type lesson, (I had the privilege of teaching pre-K class), and then pass out snack bags to the “regular” children that didn’t come that day.
It would be easy for any of these people to say, “Let’s all just go to a building and join a congregation,” but these people ARE the church. They didn’t need any fancy equipment. I hope I never forget what I experienced that Sunday.
Editor’s note: Blue Mountain College in Blue Mountain is affiliated with the Mississippi Baptist Convention. For more information on BSU programs on Mississippi campuses, contact Molly Hopper at mhopper@mbcb.org.
