Jeanine Kowalski picked up two Syracuse University students and an Onondaga Community College student for one last Wal-Mart run on the Wednesday before spring break. They needed to buy sandals, travel pouches and medicine for their trip to Senegal, where they would fly to the capital region to spend time with orphans, visit people and tell Bible stories.
In the car, the women lightheartedly compared the color of the malaria pills they had to take, discussed the excitement of traveling to a new land and shared their concern for their safety and wellbeing.
"It's really a life changing experience - preparing, going and coming back," said Kowalski, the associate campus minister of Baptist Campus Ministries.
The organization helped plan the trip along with the International Mission Board, which is part of the Southern Baptist Convention.
The students first traveled to Senegal with Baptist Campus Ministries in 2001. They chose the destination for their first international trip because one student had ancestors from Senegal who were deported on slave ships, said Mike McQuitty, SU's Southern Baptist chaplain.
After 2004, Baptist Campus Ministries began sending students to places in Asia and South America, as well as to Senegal.
"Going to the same places allows us to prepare students better and have ongoing relationships with the people there," said McQuitty.
Freshman Cheryl Mowczan, graduate student Ruth Williamson and Onondaga Community College student Kaitlin Hill took the trip this year with Kowalski.
On March 6, they arrived in Dakar, Senegal's capital, where they were greeted by the scent of salt water and the sight of a lighthouse on the peninsula. During the day, the crowded city bustled with activity as people cooked outside and animals walked through the paved streets, said Mowczan. On their drive to smaller villages, they saw open plains and baobab trees.
"It was a new perspective on how other people live. You hear about it, but we actually experienced it," said Mowczan.
Mowczan was also struck by the strong presence of Muslim culture. She saw a mosque for the first time and fell asleep to the sound of people praying in Arabic.
To show respect for Muslim culture, the group had to wear long skirts with modest T-shirts and could not look men in the eye or smile at them. Nail polish was also out of the question.
"It's seen as a hussy thing over there," said Hill, whose sister Becky went to Senegal twice. "If an older woman saw Becky wearing pants, they wouldn't respect her."
The group ended up spending an extra day in Dakar because their luggage was delayed.
Despite the airline setback, their plans to help orphaned boys were not interrupted. They cared for the 30 Talibe boys, or street children, that shower weekly in the courtyard of a mission house. Led by an older man, the boys beg for money but are beaten if they do not bring enough back to him.
Williamson brought them soap as Kowalski and Mowczan washed their clothes and hung them to dry. Hill and Williamson washed and bandaged their wounds.
"I looked at them smile, but when I look in their eyes, there's nothing," said Williamson. "I want them to know that there are people who care, and that there are people who love them."
Group members said they were met with a range of reactions when they told people about their spring break plans. Some expressed dislike for missionaries while others were confused. Both Christians and non-Christians offered to pray for them.
"People have had different experiences with church and with God," said Kowalski, "and that influences their reactions."
The trips do not try to trick or force people into a different religion, but the issue is a matter of perspective, McQuitty said.
"If you think the greatest good is to maintain equilibrium, and no one would ever dialogue or debate, then what we're doing is a bad thing," said McQuitty. "If you believe there's a loving God who made a way for people to escape the penalty of sins through Jesus, it's essential, and that becomes the greater good."
Back home in America, Williamson said she is dealing with reverse culture shock, even though she has visited developing countries before. She said she enjoyed the slower pace of life in Senegal.
"It was evident when I came back and talked to friends how materialistic we are," she said. "We don't just sit and think about things, but they take time to ponder. I wish my life were moving slower sometimes."
sjcapper@syr.edu
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