By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer
PINEVILLE – Even before she graduates, Louisiana College student Rachel Britt knows her calling in life – to one day open a safe house for human trafficking survivors.
This summer, Britt will have the opportunity to put her dream into practice when she serves as an intern at the Hope House in Baton Rouge. While there, she will work with survivors of human trafficking through a variety of programs intended to give them hope found in Christ.
“I actually want to open a safe house for minors who have survived human trafficking,” said Britt, a member of First Baptist Church in Zachary. “I’m really excited to have this opportunity.”
Britt is among 12 LC students who will serve as summer missionaries in several locations such as Baton Rouge, North Carolina, New Mexico, Kentucky, Tennessee, Africa and South America.
They were recognized during a special commissioning service at LC earlier today. The service included music, a commissioning charge, medallion presentations to the student missionaries and a message by Eric Hankins, pastor of First Baptist Church in Oxford, Miss., and son of Louisiana Baptist Convention Executive Director David Hankins.
Citing Luke 10:1-16, Hankins challenged the students to allow the summer to train them to live a commissioned life. He told the missionaries that as they go to places, Jesus is going alongside them.
“It’s his harvest,” Hankins said. “It’s his business.
“And even when rejection comes, it’s not rejection of you, it’s rejection of him,” he continued. “This is the Lord’s work. And that ought to be your presupposition. It’s not about you but it’s about Him and His glory and His harvest.”
After the conclusion of the commissioning service, LC Baptist Collegiate Ministry Director Thomas Worsham said summer missions will change the lives of these students forever.
“This is the culmination of not just what the BCM is about but what LC is about,” he said. “It’s a cooperative effort. Our BCMs are not only about faith integration but also about training and commissioning students for the mission field, as well as serving in other areas of ministry full time and in the secular world.”
The LC students who will serve as summer missionaries are:
- Carrie Grace Austin – Glorieta, NM
- Jeffrey Breaux – CentriKid: North Carolina
- Rachel Britt – Trafficking Hope: Louisiana
- Sarah Caskey – Ecuador
- Cassidy Crews – CentriKid: North Carolina
- Chris Draper – Glorieta, NM
- Kaylee Durand – M-Fuge: Tennessee
- Sammi Jo Gaudet – Uganda, Africa
- Caitlin Sellers – Ecuador
- Peyton Simmons – M-Fuge: Kentucky
- Casey Warren – Ecuador
- Jessica Johnson – SportQuest: Baton Rouge
