12 April 2022 | Bracknell, UK [Roland Dan with tedNEWS]
Language interpreter, Jennifer Habricot, had no intention of studying at Newbold College. However, a serendipitous conversation with a friend made her change her mind and join the One Year in Mission and Service (OYIMS) programme.
“I wasn’t planning to do the course, and I didn’t want to come to Newbold,” said Habricot. “However, a friend on the course told me I should. At the time, I was working, and was planning to find another job, so I decided to take some time off work. I thought, ‘Lord, I don’t want to go back to doing the same job, so what shall I do now?’”
Another providential conversation provided the answer to that prayer. At a training conference, Habricot met Troy Smith, Newbold’s Student Enrolment Officer. He was “promoting the College and talked about the OYIMS course… and so I asked for more information. I prayed about it, filled in the online application form, and soon after, he called to tell me I’d been accepted. I thought, ‘Okay, I’m going to Newbold’.”
“I must admit, I did not like the first two weeks. However, by the third week, I understood the whole purpose of the course, and now I love it,” Habricot reflects. She specially appreciates how the lectures expanded her spiritual experience and have helped gain a better understanding of “the context and history of the Bible, Christianity and other religions, which gives the big picture.”
Students enrolled in the OYIMS programme, study the theory of mission at Newbold for three months, before heading out to their respective mission fields to apply what they have learnt. Habricot has a passion for health and wellbeing and is extremely interested in the medical side of mission work. However, she is keeping an open mind and is willing “to get involved in other mission areas, such as working with the homeless and refugees… to go anywhere and do anything as the Lord leads.”
“I would encourage anyone to do this,” said Habricot when asked about her overall thoughts on the course. “It’s a shame that our church provides so many opportunities for mission, but few people take them up. I believe every young person should take a gap year to do mission work because it is life changing.”
The original version of this story was published on Newbold College website
