Summer breaks for our students provide a great way for them to experience practical ministry training opportunities on the mission field. First year student Cody Simpkins was excited to share about his mission trip this summer.

“This summer marked my third time going on a mission trip to Nicaragua,” said Simpkins. “My motivation for doing missions is the Great Commission and Acts 1:8. I have a heart for short term mission work and God has blessed me with the opportunities to go back to Nicaragua multiple times.

“The team went to different villages and interacted with the locals by playing soccer, conducting abuse prevention clinics for women, handing out beans and rice, and each team member was able to give their testimony over the local Christian radio station.

“After the work in the villages and surrounding areas we made a special trip into Honduras,” said Simpkins. “We visited a church that has been planted. They had nine people baptized that morning, and they asked me to preach.

“The team also did a youth camp on this trip. The theme for camp was 1 Timothy 4:12. ‘Be an Example in Word, Conduct, Love, Faith, and Purity.’ I helped lead the youth lessons for camp. We focused on each thing that Paul wrote and had five lessons in total.

“During the lesson of ‘Be an Example by Love,’ I was led by the Holy Spirit to show a demonstration of love by washing the feet of two of the youth that were at camp. At the end of camp, during the last night of worship together we had three young ladies make professions of faith! Many more rededicated themselves to Christ.

“This trip always has an impact on me in a variety of different ways,” Simpkins said. “No matter how comfortable I become, God always pulls me out of my comfort zone and I always make new friends who I stay connected with through Facebook. I see more Spanish than English on my news feed than I have ever before. To see the body of Christ working together has really opened my eyes to the importance of the entire body. No matter how small a part of the body might be, God is still glorified through it.”

Donnie Fox is president of Clear Creek Baptist Bible College, 300 Clear Creek Road, Pineville, KY 40977; toll-free: (866) 340-3196; ccbbc.edu; email: dfox@ccbbc.edu.