ABILENE, TX – Missions Week, which was postponed to Saturday due to inclement weather, will have interactive outdoor nightly events to bring students together.
“Our theme this year is ‘Eyes Open’. Each day kind of revolves around a certain theme of like eyes open to the world or is open to our our hearts and different days coordinate with being centered on yourself, being centered in the world that God created, in your community or just like internationally,” said Hannah Raymond, senior theater major from Mansfield and visual communications director.
The week-long event will feature nightly interactive events centered around bringing students together and discussing missions on and off campus.
“One of my favorite things about this year is that we have over 12 student organizations helping us with various parts of it this year. SGA is partnering with us for the service day, we have 5-7 different student organizations who are helping put on game night, who are helping with Wednesday night’s event and the prayer night,” said Anne Hocking, assistant coordinator of WorldWide Witness. “It’s been so fun because it’s not it’s not just Halbert. It’s not just mission students. It is literally campus and that’s something we want to continue to grow every year.”
Missions Week will kick off Saturday with the Day of Service, which will include painting a house for Caring Connecting Communities, helping a professor move, helping the Missions Students’ Association write letters to various community members and other projects.
The next event is Mic Night, which will be held in the Amphitheater on Monday at 5:30 pm. The event will feature pre-recorded performances from students projected on a screen, snacks and an emcee to announce every act.
“It’ll be super fun because we’re showcasing students and students talents and what their passions are and what their interests are,” said Hocking.
On Tuesday, Missions Week will feature a game night called “Ultimate Fight Game Night Rivalry Struggle War” that highlights national organizations on campus and in Abilene. Students can come in teams of three to the Hunter Welcome Center patio to compete to win gift cards.
On Wednesday, there will be an Missions Students Association Coffee Meet and Greet a the Hunter Welcome Center where students can chat and try coffee from around the world.
Thursday is Interactive Prayer Night, which will take place in stations in order to promote social distancing.
In addition to the nightly events, Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Missions Week volunteers will be around the GATA fountain with mural boards to draw faces of students with captions describing how they have “been sent.” These mural pieces will be combined to create one big mural with the words “You have been sent.”
“It’s just a way to be able to bring the whole community into one picture and share that like we all have work to do, whether it’s local or international, whether it’s through a career or through passion,” Hocking said. “It doesn’t matter. We all have things that we’re supposed to be bringing to the table. So not only is that an opportunity for everybody to have their face on there, it’ll be a prayer point for the for the Thursday night event, which will be kind of neat.”
Friday will be a reflection night, where students have the opportunity to go to a free viewing of the movie “Free Burma Rangers” on the Hunter Welcome Center patio. There will be drinks and popcorn provided, but blankets are recommended.
“We’re excited for people to come out and it’ll be a really great opportunity to connect and prayer and getting to know more people on campus and just kind of like seeing like kind of how we can touch different people in our lives,” Raymond said.
