A bus lurched to a halt two hours outside Katmandu, Nepal. Passengers poured out and began the hour and a half hike up the hill to a leper camp.

Volunteers from halfway around the world were gathered there for one reason: to serve the unloved through Royal Servants International.

Royal Servants is an organization of summer mission outreaches that travels throughout 20 countries across the globe. Designed for students between the ages of 13-19, Royal Servants aspires to expose teens to the worlds’ need for a Savior and train them to be actively involved in ministry.

“My daughter, Stephanie, went with Royal Servants to Nepal in 1999,” Cheryl Pohl, campus secretary, said. “She has a real desire to continue serving after her missions trip. She is contemplating either adopting a child from a third-world country or serving and teaching overseas. She is just waiting for the Lord to lead her.”

Many participants are excited by the opportunity to share their faith.

“I think Stephanie has grown in her faith since she went to Nepal,” Pohl said. “She was ministering to girls from 10 to 12 years old who had been used for prostitution. By experiencing what went on in other countries, she also gained deeper appreciation of her own country, freedom and her church.”

Royal Servants speaker, Georgia Ridgway, presented a missions trip message during a campus chapel on Jan. 22, encouraging students to participate in an overseas missions trip.

“I’m a fan of students,” Ridgway said. “Students can make such a big impact in people’s lives. God has great enthusiasm for highschoolers and I can see a hope for the future through students ministries.”

Royal Servants seems to create not only opportunities to spread a participant’s faith, but also impactful memories.

“I met a little girl in Brazil who was about six years old at the time and was caring for her three younger siblings,” Ridgway said. “Her mom was a prostitute and she did not know her father. During that week I was there, I tried to make her feel like a kid. We colored and played and I think she felt loved after that.”

After Ridgway’s seminar, some students consider participating in an overseas summer, missions trip.

“I would love to be involved in Royal Servants,” Christa Williams, ’05, said. “They seem to have their priorities and goals focused on God’s will. The experiences the speaker at chapel shared really hit my heart and made me realize I should be helping others in need more than I am.”

While there are those who have a desire to serve on a missions trip, others are not so willing to give up their summer vacations.

“I’m not really interested in participating in an overseas missions trip right now,” Chase VanSchoonhoven, ’04, said. “I need to get a job over the summer to help pay for collage because I want a better education. I also want to hang out with my friends.”

Even though previous plans seem to limit serving opportunities for some, future interest keeps many from completely abandoning the idea.

“I think I would possibly get involved in a missions trip in the future,” VanSchoonhoven said. “I believe it is always good to share my faith with others. It’s important to bring others to God.”

This summer, Royal Servants will be sending students to several different locations including China, Costa Rica, EuroQuest [including Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, France, Poland, Slovakia, and Czech Republic], Gambia, Greece, Ireland, Mexico City, Nepal, Portugal, Romania and Scotland.

For more information on Royal Servants International, go online at www.royalservants.org, hit the Reign Ministries icon and click on Royal Servants or call 763-535-9555 and ask for Royal Servants. You can also e-mail Royal Servants at [email protected].