Archive for ‘Service’

Sophomore girls began looking for a sisterhood this Sunday as the rush season kicked off with 2010 Teas. GATA girls are bringing to rushes a renewed commitment to service, inviting these girls to join us in our involvement with several international mission efforts.

Bonnie Kellum, GATA president, was inspired this summer to join up with Jeremiah’s Hope, an organization that reaches out to the orphans and at-risk youth of Ukraine. She spent five weeks in a small village of about 200 people just outside of Ivankiv, Ukraine, working as a counselor at a summer camp that brings love, attention and guidance to orphans and impoverished kids from all over the nation.

The organization is inspired by Jeremiah 29:11 – “‘For I know the plans I have for you,”‘ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'” For Bonnie, it was an inspirational time.

“I had a camper tell me our camp was the best thing that has ever happened to him. Another said it was the first time she’d been told she was loved… These are the stories that make it worth going there and raising money for them. Seeing the looks on their faces when they received their first Bible and a teddy bear- two very common items in America, but to these kids it was a priceless gift,” says Bonnie. “The hardest part for me was saying goodbye, knowing what I was sending them home to. However, when the kids saw how upset I got when it was time to say goodbye, they said ‘We don’t want you to miss us and be sad, just remember us.’ So that’s what I plan to do.”

For the women of GATA, the inspiration to serve causes of social justice is only getting stronger as the semester begins. The club will be working to raise money to send those Ukrainian kids to the week-long summer camp run by Jeremiah’s Hope. It’s only $40 for a week, but it’s a week of empowerment and love that can completely change these kids’ lives.

But that’s only where the service starts. GATA Flames will be sporting red bracelets for the entire length of pledging in support of the Red Thread Movement, which partners with Eternal Threads to rescue young girls in Nepal from sex trafficking. GATA girls are also strong supporters of TOMS Shoes, which donates a pair of shoes to a child in need somewhere around the world for every pair that is purchased.

And GATA has strong ties to Big Brothers Big Sisters. Last year, GATA partnered with BBBS for Homecoming weekend, bringing their Littles for the day on a hayride parade float and inviting them to the GATA fountain after Homecoming chapel.

“I have had several lengthy conversations with sophomores about getting involved in missions. It seems to be a common interest among most of the girls – this is a very humble and socially aware class,” says Bonnie. “I believe our efforts to support and be involved in mission work this year will attract girls who see that this is another facet that other clubs may be lacking. We’re offering them a chance not only to be in GATA and make a difference in social clubs and on ACU’s campus, but to make a difference in the world – something that everyone at ACU should strive for.”

GATA and friends recently spent a weekend near Marble Falls, Texas at Camp of the Hills, a Christian summer camp that operates on donations to allow inner-city kids the opportunity to experience God.

In March, the camp was struck by a calamitous fire, bringing down the dining hall, which housed the kitchen, nurse’s office, camp supplies, and served as the gathering place for campers during the summer.

GATA has connections to the camp, as GATA Ally Craigie has served as a camp counselor at the camp, and 2008-09 GATA Beau Drew Bowen is the director. When the girls heard about the fire, they knew they had to help.

Eight GATAs and three “Men of GATA” piled into cars and made the three-hour drive through Texas hill country to help the camp staff prepare for more than 400 campers to arrive at the beginning of June.

Between cleaning out the volunteer cottages, doing laundry and digging a ditch to run electrical wire to a cabin, the group got the chance to marvel at the beauty of springtime in the woods.

When they gathered for an evening devo on the “Jesus hill,” a hilltop bearing three crosses, which looks out over the camp and a nearby lake, the group was reminded of the importance of getting away from the hustle of the semester, juggling jobs, school and relationships, to enjoy the gifts that God has created.

Drew Bowen posted this video that shows more about the fire and Camp of the Hills.