LU Send Trips Commence Through Pandemic Amidst Different Global Regulations

Now a year into the COVID-19 era, organizations are adjusting to the obstacles the pandemic presents in creative ways. Because LU Send relies heavily on travel, the pandemic presented serious challenges for the group, but the office is now taking the necessary precautions needed to keep students safe while still sharing the Gospel. 

David Welch, executive director and travel advisor of LU Send, has the goal of restarting the department’s efforts. Welch stated that LU Send has been very successful in their pursuit of sending Liberty students on mission trips, and that they are being very careful with international travel to make sure their students are safe while traveling.

“We’ve been very successful with getting them into the country, quarantining them for two weeks and then they have up to 10 more weeks where they get to just be regular students in that country,” Welch said.

Welch also noted that the LU Send department did not send any teams on mission trips over the summer or the fall semester. This was due to COVID-19 still being a new threat and was uncertain on how to properly deal with it.

Though COVID-19 made mission trips and internships harder for the department, Welch said that in some ways the department has actually benefitted from the increased precautions. COVID guidelines change on a weekly basis, so LU Send is making efforts to stay caught up with the changes.

“It’s required us to review and tighten up our contingency plans,” Welch said. “We’ve never worked more closely with written management, student health and wellness, legal and LUPD to make sure that we’re staying on top of the latest in international public health guidelines and domestic public health guidelines with the CDC and Virginia Department of Health. I think our students are being briefed and being trained a lot better.”

Jill Shank, a trip coordinator at LU Send  spoke of her experience of traveling in the midst of COVID, and that for the most part it was not too different from traveling prior to COVID.

“Traveling in the midst of COVID wasn’t too different from normal travel except for the fact that everyone was wearing masks,” Shank said. “All of the airports were pretty empty.” 

Shank also noted that some places were approaching the pandemic in different ways than others. Whereas most airports would require passengers to wear masks, others would take precautions much more seriously.

“Ecuador seemed to be a bit more cautious,” Shank said. “There were several times where our bags were sprayed down with disinfectant, and it didn’t matter if you were outside or in, masks were required.”

While COVID-19 has created an environment of fear around the globe, Christians are still called to share the Gospel and make it known to the world. 

The mission of Liberty and the LU Send department is to raise up a new generation of Champions for Christ. Everything the department does, Welch explained, is built around glorifying the Lord, even through a pandemic. 

“Liberty’s mission has always been and will always be, Lord willing, training up Champions for Christ…” Welch stated. “That doesn’t change when you have a pandemic, even though the strategy might need to.”

Asher Notheis is a News Reporter. Follow him on Twitter at @AsherNotheis.