Over fall break, Calvary students took a trip to visit the Missionary Training Center of Ethnos 360 in Roach, MO. While there students had the opportunity to sit in on classes, hear about Ethnos 360’s unique ministry approach, learn about translation and technology on the mission field as well as hear from missionaries who are soon going to deploy to the field. They also spent time with Lance and Caitlin Rensberger, Calvary grads who are currently going through Ethnos 360’s training and will be involved in aviation ministry.
A highlight of the trip was hearing from missionaries who had served in Thailand for 14 years and delivered a seminar called “Into the Buddhist Mind.” Students ate Thai food and learned about the culture and religion of Thailand as well as the difficulties in cross-cultural ministry.
We got there a day early and were able to explore the campus and sit in on some classes which was really fun! We sat in on a linguistics class which was interesting; they were exploring how to use a new linguistics computer program. The next day there were group classes geared for visitors as a whole in their chapel area. We learned about phonics, simple living, and their missionary technology. In our spare time we also did some hiking, canoeing, stargazing, and swimming. The last night we were there they had a dinner and presentation called “Into The Buddhist Mind.” They separated us into castes and based on that depended on how we were served and treated. They served a delicious Thai dinner and started the presentation while we ate, then we cleaned up the floor from dinner and set chairs out and finished listening to the presentation. Basically it was a look into the mind of a Buddhist and what they believe and why. It was very interesting and eye-opening. After that we headed home. All in all it was a very fun, interesting, and eye-opening trip. We met some amazing people and enjoyed learning about the Ethnos 360 training campus and what they do.”
Ethnos 360 is one of Calvary’s partners in the Synergy program. Calvary has a long history with them and several CU alumni are serving with them around the world. Martin and Gracia Burnham, of whom the Burnham Center for Global Engagement is named, were missionaries with Ethnos 360 in the Philippines.
