Staff Give of Their Time to Serve Others: Photogallery

Recently, three staff members took the opportunity to serve on various mission trips in the United States and overseas.

Dennis Harms ’87, director of business and corporate giving, traveled with his church Orland Park CRC to Balstrop, Texas, where he worked alongside 10 carpenters and plumbers to build a home for a victim of a recent wildfire. The trip was sponsored by World Renew, and 35 church members pitched in to help.

Prior building experience isn’t a requirement for volunteering on these types of projects, which Harms appreciated. “I have ten thumbs,” he said. “However, it was great to work in this manner, and the guys I worked with taught me a lot.”

A second faculty member, Assistant Controller Ryan Heath served in Panama City, Panama, attending a conference called “For the Love of the Americas, I Will Not Stay Quiet.” Heath translated for his pastor, and acted as a link between his church and other Latin American churches in attendance. During his time in Panama, he also gathered information and established contacts for a future short-term mission trip. His church hopes to send a team to Bolivia in 2015.

Heath was challenged to grow in his language abilities and his prayer life. He took on the challenge of speaking in a foreign language around the clock and was able to converse with men and women from 18 different countries. “I was challenged by the leaders from various countries how powerful and important intercession can be,” he said. “We spent hours on specific prayers for the churches, the political leaders, and the authorities of the nations represented at the conference. I learned that I, too, must regularly be in prayer for growth and change for those people who are my brothers and sisters in Christ.”

Also traveling overseas was Alex Hansum, a maintenance worker on Trinity’s campus. He traveled to Haiti with a group from Iowa and Indiana and built homes and shelters for the local residents. Once the structures were built, members of the group taught Haitians how to construct similar structures for themselves.

Hansum was impressed by the power of prayer in the Third World country. “Many families we came in contact with had family members who practice voodoo,” he wrote. “Some asked us to pray that their families would devote themselves to the service of Jesus and flee the practice.”

All three staff members found their service to be a valuable experience. Each year, the College grants up to 40 hours of volunteer time to staff, encouraging them to step outside their traditional roles and give back using their personal gifts and abilities.