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My name is Rebecca, and I am a sophomore at Seattle Pacific University, majoring in education. I’m just back from seven weeks of teaching in Hyderabad, India. I went with a team from Seattle Pacific Reachout International, or SPRINT. This was a short-term mission opportunity offered by the University. Each year, multiple teams go to far-away places.
What an experience! I was able to be part of bringing God’s love to a poor and suffering place.
The first three weeks we taught in three Christian schools in the Hyderabad area. All of the children were amazing. I would have loved to gather them all up and take them back home with me. The majority of the students in the Good Shepherd Schools are Dalit. They are the poorest of the poor, and complete social outcasts. You may know them by their other name: “untouchables.”
But touch them we did. Much in the way Jesus touched the lepers and the blind, we touched these little children. And they touched us. There were tears in our eyes as we moved from one location to another. Later, we worked in the slums in Hyderabad. I can’t begin to describe the sights, sounds, and smells we experienced. In addition to working with the children, we led Bible studies with translators. I felt God’s presence there in the small, dirty rooms. Our final two weeks were supposed to be in northern India, but unrest there changed our plans. That unrest continues, and Christians are being targeted. (Please pray for our brothers and sisters in India.)
My experience with SPRINT changed me. Spending those weeks in a different culture was eye-opening. I encountered God in a new way. I know it will bring depth to my teaching once I graduate from Seattle Pacific, and I might even serve oversees. I have a better understanding of the changing face of global Christianity. It’s far beyond what I could learn in the classroom, watch on TV, or read on the Internet. 
All this happened in my life because I’m here — at Seattle Pacific. There’s no place like it. I am so thankful for the opportunity to study with bright, motivated students who want to use their gifts and education to make a difference.
I’m also thankful for your past involvement with SPU. Nearly two thirds of SPU students receive need-based scholarships. I am one of those. And — because of the turmoil in our economy — the number is growing. Scholarship funding is needed now more than ever. Each winter, we lose students who can no longer put together the financial pieces to continue their education.
We need your help to finish our studies here at SPU and to take what we are learning out into the world. I can’t wait to get back out there! Your sacrifice will touch many lives.
Rebecca Miles
Class of 2010
Click here to read Olivia's story
Click here to read Melyssa's story
Click here to read Dr. Blair's story
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