Having recently graduated from North Georgia College and State University this past December with a major in English, semester intern Chris Smolarsky feels a definite calling towards ministry — and finds that his time of service with Mission Centers of Houston has played a distinct role in helping him settle on to that path. Smolarsky first heard about the opportunity for a summer-long missions initiative through the local chapter of Baptist Student Missions on his campus and was excited to come to Houston when he learned he would be participating in Mission Centers of Houston’s Global Footprints program in the summer of 2012. During his first experience here, Smolarsky helped to supervise the weekly after-school programming for Joy Fellowship Center’s 7-10 year olds; he also enjoyed participating in yard work in the mornings for one month and then in Joy Fellowship’s food pantry another month.
Although he was initially resistant to the idea of returning to Mission Centers of Houston before too long, this time as a semester-long intern, Smolarsky’s fears regarding distance from the familiar — home and family — were soon transformed by the end of his summer here. He continued to pray and seek counsel about the commitment, applied at the end of October, was thrilled to be accepted by the end of November and moved in to the men’s dorm on site in the Mildred McWhorter Missionary Building at the beginning of January 2013.
Smolarsky’s semester commitment will last from the beginning of January until the end of May, and he splits his time throughout the week at both Joy Fellowship Center and Fletcher Center. “I really am enjoying getting to know the people in this community on a deeper level,” he shared, “and I’m learning a lot more about the area, too. Something that makes Mission Centers of Houston stand out from other ministries I’ve volunteered with before,” the Georgia native continued on to say, “is that we don’t offer just food, or just clothing, or just kids — instead, we serve the community with all these things together, and more. We’re really involved in the community. I like that.”
When asked, Smolarsky stated that he would encourage others to apply for Mission Centers of Houston’s summer missions Global Footprints program because of all of the opportunities for growth, both relational and spiritual. “It’s a really challenging and good experience in your relationship with God; you also learn a lot more about yourself as well as how you relate to others. It is,” he concluded with a big smile, “a lot of fun. I find that I’m more open to trying new things and to exploring new territory and to, I guess, not being so anxious about things. You have to be pretty flexible here and since that’s true in missions in general — well, I think that’s really good.”
Smolarsky’s plans for the future are still undetermined, although he is currently considering a potential direction that would combine counseling with ministry.
Mission Centers of Houston is currently accepting applications for 2013 Global Footprints summer missionary interns. To learn more about this opportunity, you can look at https://missioncenters.org/globalfootprint.html. We are also inviting support in the form of monetary donations to help cover the cost of living for our summer missionary interns which is around $1500 for each of our 15-18 students. Your generosity is invaluable in enabling young adults like Chris Smolarsky to participate in a transformational experience of discipleship, servant leadership, cross-cultural training and so much more — and it is your investment in their lives that allows so many to leave Mission Centers of Houston with a foundation to continue growing and serving God both locally and globally. Thank you for prayerfully considering to support our 2013 summer missionary interns now at https://missioncenters.org/give.html.
