Students Travel to New England and Cuba Over Fall Break to Learn and Serve

Over fall break, DBU students spanned out all over the map, from learning about America's founding leadership in New England to serving alongside the growing Christian church in Cuba.

One group of DBU students traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, to learn about "Revolutionary Change: Leadership in America's Founding Generation." The trip was headed by Dr. David Cook, Dr. Nick Pitts, Dr. Deborah McCollister, and Rachel Middleton. It provided students a chance to walk in the footsteps of some of America's greatest historical figures and experience history by immersion. The itinerary pulled in walking tours of places like Harvard and the Adams' mansion peppered with class lectures, scavenger hunts, dinners, and even time for students to explore Massachusetts for themselves.

"I'm very much a visual learner," said sophomore Hallie Taylor. "Being able to see exactly where certain people in history walked and seeing where certain historic buildings were built in person - it was all one big reason why I decided to go on the trip: to see history come alive."

Meanwhile, DBU's first mission trip to Cuba was led by the baseball team as a part of the Athletic Department's Global Sports Mission Initiative. During the week, the DBU Baseball team hosted training clinics for children and even played a series of games against Cuban minor league teams. "While these mission trips offer us an opportunity to share the Gospel and the love of Christ with others from another country, I think a common thread that we often hear is how the people end up blessing us more than we blessed them," reflected Reagan Ratcliff, Director of Athletics for Media Relations.

Beyond baseball, the Patriots had the opportunity to worship alongside their brothers and sisters in Christ and to join in a spirit of fellowship and unity to praise God for all that He is doing in Cuba. While the Communist government retains some restrictions over religious practice, the churches of Cuba have seen tremendous growth in the last few decades, much of which is happening through the multiplication of house churches and small groups.

"As we sang songs together in a foreign language and prayed together in groups with the congregation," said Ratcliff, "it brought to life that we truly serve the God of the nations and the power of the Holy Spirit was overwhelming."