Incoming freshmen serve in area-community “Project Hope”

Seven of NNU’s incoming 2010 fall freshmen from Nampa’s College Church of the Nazarene spent the week of July 12-16 on a mission trip—a mission trip, however, that did not take them out of the country or to a faraway state, but rather to their own backyard participating in “Project Hope.”

These students are accustomed to being a part of mission trips that included building homes in Mexico or assisting communities in Orlando, Fla.  However, this year they joined dozens of NNU personnel and other community members to help area “university district” residents with home-improvement projects as well as working to build a park on the corner of Ivy and Sheridan Streets.

“When we were in Orlando helping people, I wondered why we couldn’t do something like this back home,” said Rhonda Manley, who will begin studying art at NNU in the fall. “I love that we have the opportunity to really serve our neighbors.”

I’m very excited,” said Brayden Kinzler, who will be a biology major in the fall and was helping place fence posts in the park area. “On other mission trips, we don’t ever see the people again.  Here, we’re going to see the folks we helped and will learn what this means in their lives.”
Others say this project has given them a renewed look at church.

“So often church seems like a business,” said Sarah Cuevas, another future NNU student, “but this makes it more like a family when we get a chance to help people and invite them into Christ’s community.”

Definitely, service is not something that happens only on mission trips for these students. Rather, there was unanimity among the group when discussing what they will do with the education they gain at NNU.  “When I think about the future, I always see myself serving others in some way,” said Gina Robertson, who will be studying biology.

With students who are this excited about serving Christ and others, Northwest Nazarene University’s rich heritage of service will continue.

Read additional article on Project Hope athttp://www.idahopress.com/news/article_854ff312-92fc-11df-bd0d-001cc4c03286or http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/07/15/1267671/new-nampa-park-bornin-6-days-of.html