Nine Days: Orange County, CA.

MILLER HALL, MINNEAPOLIS, MN - North Central University's short term, spring break missions trips have become a staple of the spring semester. It is a series of trips and students spanning the globe to spread the Word of God. The usual spots have been covered as trips are being planned for places like Africa, Asia, and South America. This year Sophomore Dean Bryce has sent a shock wave of enthusiasm when he declared that he would be leading a group to Laguna Beach, CA.

"The West Coast has always been on my heart," Bryce declared over a lunch meeting in the basement of Carlson Hall, "And there has to be tons of people in Orange County with a deep seeded need for the Gospel."

The usual hot spots for short term missions trips has traditionally been places with low income and a low quality of living. Consisting of manual labor and outreach services, most missions trips to these places don't attract a lot of attention. That is why this focus on Laguna Beach has become such a revolutionary concept. "The rich and famous need God just as much as the poor and hungry... if not more," Bryce continues.

Bryce has even coined a new term for 'Street Witnessing'. "Beach Witnessing' is going to entail our group breaking into smaller numbers and hitting the beach looking to strike up conversations with the locals." Bryce has been on many short term mission trips before and knows how 'guerrilla tactics' can be mistook. He plans to spend the first eight days of the trip living and integrating into the culture by doing things like surfing, tanning, golfing, swimming, and if the occasion calls for it... dancing. "We really need to meet them where they are at if we ever want a chance to truly reach them."

While the usual Nine Days trips have anywhere from 7-20 Christians on the team. Bryce has already received 134 emails from interested students and has had to develop an application process. So far 18 students, all from Miller Hall have been accepted and Bryce is still working out who will fill the last 6 spots. "We're really excited, and can't wait to see what God will do." -Bernstein