An atypical spring break vacation
A team of 15 Bethel students will be headed off to Costa Rica over break this coming March on mission.
By Kjersten Larsen, writer
An 18-year-old Matt Runion walked around the streets of Chicago wearing a hot pink t-shirt with a cross on it, matching with the rest of his youth group. It was the summer after high school graduation, and the South Dakotan mission trip team planned to minister to the streets of Chicago. The team woke up every morning at 5 a.m. in the Korean Presbyterian Church of Chicago to the Korean pastors and employees of the church passing through their room. Toward the end of the trip, Runion realized this group passing through was gathering in a room next to theirs to pray for their neighborhood, every morning.
“I remember being just in awe of this Korean church that was praying for its neighborhood. To this day, it’s still one of those inspiring stories of discovering what God’s doing,” Runion said.
Now, Runion is the Associate Dean of the department of Christian Formation and Church Relations at Bethel University. Through this role, Runion says he serves Bethel students by being a campus pastor and building relationships, as well as being in charge of the Bethel-sponsored mission trips.
Bethel’s CFCR office will be sending out four teams to Belize, the Gulf Coast, the Texas Border and Costa Rica to minister to the surrounding communities over spring break. Runion and Bethel’s Temp Coordinator, Tolu Toluhi, will be offering pastoral guidance from Minnesota and helping the teams prepare to leave.
“Students International will bring the short term teams alongside them for nine days and our teams will be placed at different sites. I’m helping with logistics, training them, and preparing them. Body, mind and soul. The rest is up to them.” — Matt Runion, Associate Dean of CFCR
Runion and Toluhi chose the two leaders for the Costa Rica trip: junior missional ministries and psychology major Jimi Nshimirimana and senior missional ministries major Rachel Nelson. They liked the two’s passion for Christ and others, and their “fun-ness” and after prayerful consideration, the two accepted.
On one of Nshimirimana’s first mission trips when he was in middle school, he remembers hearing gunshots and realizing how important his team’s work could be. In Mississippi serving an impoverished neighborhood, their plan was to go door-to-door asking if anyone needed prayer or to play basketball with the kids from the neighborhood during the day. One day, a kid who regularly played basketball with them asked why they were there. When Nshimirimana told him about their purpose, the kid couldn’t seem to stay away. Through this they were able to better connect with him and show him the love of Christ, something he might never have experienced if not for the trip.
On his upcoming trip to Costa Rica, Nshimirimana couldn’t wait to play with the kids at the boys and girls club, La Casa Verde, to be able to laugh with the locals at his poor Spanish and to grow in relationship with his team and the people they are serving. His co-leader, Nelson, is excited to understand the value in mission work in Costa Rica, especially because she wants to become a missionary after graduation. She also is eager to improve at being a present, listening ear for those they are there to serve.
“We’re there to give our time and energy. It’s more about what we can give rather than what we can get.” –Rachel Nelson, Costa Rica Mission Trip leader
All four of the teams are made up of selfless, generous people, according to Runion. In Costa Rica, the outreach facilities the team will be working at include La Casa Verde, a creative arts workshop called Los Guido, a tutoring center, a sports and recreation center, a women’s health center and women’s social work center. Teams of two to three students from Bethel will divide up between these facilities and spend their time there. After their day’s work is finished, the students will go back to their host families’ homes.
Nelson and Nshimirimana will be off to their mission on Mar. 12, 2022 with the 13 other Bethel students on the team. As a result of the trip, Nelson hopes to see God affirming her hopes to be a missionary and Nshmirimana hopes to meet people open to hearing about Christ and have important conversations.
“The goal is to put students into a ministry setting where they can get a glimpse of what God is doing in the world. The trick is they discover a God that’s at work in all places, with all people, at all times. And if it’s true in Costa Rica, this exotic place they get excited to go to over spring break, then it’s true in their lives, too.” -Matt Runion, Associate Dean of CFCR
Bio Box: Spotlight on Rachel and Jimi
Rachel Nelson
- Current senior at Bethel, missional ministries major
- Hopes to be a missionary
- Favorite color is green
- Loves late night Perkins runs
- Favorite class is ministry practicum
- Can’t wait to get to know new people in Costa Rica
Jimi Nshimirimana
- Current junior at Bethel, majoring in missional ministries
- Hopes to go to graduate school for psychology or seminary
- Loves to write, play basketball, soccer and football and cook
- Excited to speak Spanish to the locals and make them laugh at his failure, and get to play with the kids in La Casa Verde, the boys and girls club there.
