This is the seventh in a series of blogs written by alumni of the Student.Go program.  This year Student.Go is celebrating 10 years of providing summer and semester missions service opportunities for college and graduate students in locations all over the world.

This blog is written by written by Levi Gill who served through Student.Go with Together for Hope in Helena, AR during the summers of 2008 and 2009.

Happy Anniversary, Student.Go!

 As a high school student I dreamed of understanding the roots and realities of racism and segregation in America. I grew up in a homogeneous culture and found myself quite isolated from any passionate discourse concerning freedom and equal rights.  It was with joy, then, that I responded to a friend’s suggestion concerning Student.Go. With equal enthusiasm I signed up to work with kids on something called the Stories on Wheels bus near the Mississippi River. I had a few naïve thoughts about Mark Twain and rafts and adventure. Little did I know that I would end up coaching basketball and baseball, organizing  volunteers, planting and harvesting vegetables, working in a library, picking up trash, helping to orchestrate a swim camp, playing battleship for hours, eating delicious food, and having my first real taste of working cross-culturally.  It was adventurous, in reality, and I’ve not quite recovered. 

 After spending some quality time in the South, I can safely say service with Student.Go’s partner ministry Together for Hope Arkansas changed the direction of my life.  I don’t say this lightly, but with an appreciation for how we are wonderfully shaped by our experiences. Learning from directors Ben and Leonora Newell empowered me with hope, with functional tools and ideas, with testimonies of God’s provision, and with a vision for life and ministry: simply put, genuine relationships must fuel our connections to the places we wish to serve; it is the only way to bring about long-term change.  And so I find myself looking for places to serve. My whole outlook is to invest in a place, not just a place jump in and out of in order to fulfill some obligation, but a place to learn about and serve and love. 

 It’s important, I suppose, to say why I’ve developed the above mindset, a mindset which is uniquely stitched from my time with Together for Hope and Student.Go. Mostly I need to say what I enjoyed the most. I will gladly tell of my joy.

 I enjoyed running along the Mississippi River each morning, wondering about its grand width and if any of the water came from the Rocky Mountains, from my home. I loved attending a white church and a black church and working with spirited individuals for the same goal—community development and reconciliation. I committed my future to the fantastic task of community gardening, for its benefit in beautification, for the purity of its labor, for the simple reality of food and hungry people and an earth that richly provides.  I found fulfillment in new friends from all walks of life, from learning to spend time together, from choosing to put our lives in closer proximity.  The green of the south inspired me—and all those leaves—and I found that I felt constantly embraced.  And the children of Helena—I loved their hope and their sincerity, their desire for a push on the swing, their laughter; I loved the way they climbed up on my neck over and over, wishing for a short ride, some attention, and how, after it’s all past I understand something important: my perspective is all the clearer from lifting them high.

 It’s funny how love is always upside down.

 I’m grateful for the opportunity to step outside my comfort zone and find more life than I ever imagined. One thing is certain: I’ve got to be associated with an organization that works to promote and empower all people. Once you grasp how wildly complex and beautiful a community is, you can’t help but look for ways to bring relief to the places that are a bit neglected.  And it brings immeasurable joy. 

Levi Gill and a very happy young friend!