Dr. Kit: searched for purpose, found by God

            Dr. Kobkit Putrakel (called Dr. Kit by most) is known by many people as being extremely generous, encouraging, and having a great passion for following Jesus. He describes himself as an advocate and encourager of others like Barnabas from the Bible. However, he was not always selfless to others. Dr. Kit is very honest about being a prideful and selfish man before he knew God.

            “I was living for myself and wanted fame,” said Dr. Kit. “I didn’t seek God, but God actually sought me out through his people.”

            Originally from Thailand, Dr. Kit followed in his parent’s footsteps and became a doctor. During rotations in a hospital, he met a monk and decided he wanted to search for the meaning of life. A month before surgery training and after medical school, he became a monk for two weeks. After reading the Buddhist scriptures and asking questions about the purpose of life, all he found out was to be a good person. He soon decided that there was no answer to his questions and became an atheist.

            Dr. Kit continued his training as a doctor and moved to the United States in 1992. During his first few years in the U.S., he never met a Christian or heard anything about God. Until 1995 when he was living in Seattle, Washington for a training program. He met a Thai lady, who worked at the hospital. She invited him over to a Thanksgiving meal with friends. The four couples at the meal were all believers in God and shared their testimonies.

“I didn’t understand, but the friendship, relationship, that sincerity, the way they live their life differently, God used all of those to soften my heart,” said Dr. Kit. “Jack and Hellen opened their home whenever I was lonely. I could just go there and hang out. They became like my parents here in the U.S.”

The families were different than any Dr. Kit knew before. He was curious as to why. They went to church and had invited him, but he was always working. One day, he was able to go, but he couldn’t find the building so he decided God must not be true since he couldn’t find the church. As soon as he thought that, he found the church. The people were very welcoming that evening, but he was half asleep because of all of the long nights he spent working. He continued to be a part of their lives and even would go to a men’s Bible study with them.

Nothing about the Bible made sense and Dr. Kit was still a prideful man. His friends cared for him so much that they prayed for him often. They invited him to a concert one evening. Work made him late. Yet again, when he was lost and couldn’t find the concert, he said God doesn’t want me there. Then, he found the concert.

One of the songs was about David from the Bible who had made horrible mistakes, but God forgave and accepted him. Dr. Kit was impacted by the way that God loves as a friend and offers forgiveness instead of the death humans deserve because of the wrong they’ve done.

“I knew I was a sinful man that I committed many sins,” said Dr. Kit. “I was a womanizer. I was a selfish man. I was not helpful to anyone, not helpful to my family. I knew I had to pay for my sin when I die. To hear that there’s another way that I never heard before that this sin could be paid once and for all. If it’s true, no one else can do this it must be God’s way. I’m going to give this a try. I did not understand everything but I wanted to go ahead and believe.”  

After the concert, Dr. Kit told his friends, but they didn’t believe him at first. When they realized he was serious, they were excited for him and told him that God had a wonderful plan for him. Dr. Kit didn’t understand and thought he was the same and hadn’t changed, but little by little God began to change him.

When he moved to New Mexico, he was in a spiritual desert even when he was treating patients differently and witnessing to people. He was self-focused on his job and didn’t know God well. Yet, God gave him a peace like never before when he was humbled. Soon after, Dr. Kit moved back to Seattle and began to seek God more. He read the Bible thoroughly and realized everyone has a pride issue. Without much of a plan, he moved back to Thailand, trusting God and attended a Bible school.

“God gave me purpose in God,” said Dr. Kit.

God also led Dr. Kit to his wife, Avery from North Carolina. They met while they were working at a clinic in Thailand. They’ve been married for 15 years and have an 11 year-old son, Lucas. When Avery was pregnant, they were missionaries in Southeast Asia. Dr. Kit honestly admits that he became a prideful missionary and wanted to boast about translating the Bible. As well as the fact that living in Southeast Asia is difficult, they decided to move back to the U.S. to seek marital help and God gave him time to renew his license and work part time.

“Through my many mistakes God is always faithful,” said Dr. Kit.

In 2008, he was a full time physician at the hospital in Manchester, Kentucky. Currently, he serves as an advisor and is no longer the regional director. The hospital allows him to be real and pray with patients. Their idea of medicine is similar in that healing is a ministry of Christ. Spiritual needs are important to be met in time of crisis. God is always a work.

“Kit is always open and ready to share the gospel and encourage others,” said Ryan McCowan, a friend from Corinth Baptist Church in London, Kentucky, who traveled with him to Southeast Asia on a mission trip.

In many different areas of life, Dr. Kit shares his faith. Not only at work or overseas, but also at home with his family as he is modeling a life of Christ for his son. Him and his family also open up their home and welcome international students to stay with them. They have an extra room in their house specifically for that purpose. He believes that God has a plan for international students here as God did for him.

Many can see the evidence of how Dr. Kit leads a godly life. One such person is Brett Martin who asked Dr. Kit to mentor him because he knew he was a man of prayer, had wisdom, and a lot of missions experience.

“Kit has impacted my life the most by loving me,” said Martin. “He has spoken truth into my life and also been extremely gracious modeling Jesus who came bringing both truth and grace. He has been very intentional with spending his time, resources, and energy to help me both grow in my personal relationship with Christ while also helping me fulfill God's calling in my life.” 

Dr. Kit is still pursuing God’s call on his own life. He plans to enroll into seminary next year so that he will be able to mentor pastors. He wants to help them to understand the Bible in-depth. And also to realize that serving the Lord is life-long, even after retirement.

 “I start off with trying to find purpose for my life,” said Dr. Kit. “God found me and he gave me His purpose. His answer is that His purpose for my life is Him in my life. It is a privilege to walk with Him. I just dare to serve God and He provides. I’m still learning to allow the Lord to prepare me for the future. We’ll continue to live our life serving the Lord in whatever capacity He allows us.”

UC’s new campus minister and missionary: how prayers become a movement

            While University of the Cumberlands was praying for a campus minister, Chad Everhart and his wife, April, were praying about where God’s mission field was for them. After working at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina for 10 years as a professor and then as a department chair, Everhart was called to vocational ministry about four years ago.

            From the very moment anyone walks into his office at UC, they know prayer is an important part of his life considering one whole wall is dedicated to prayer requests. He is diligent to listening to God as well as praying, which is obvious after talking with him about his vision for reaching every person on UC’s campus.

            “It’s not my vision,” said Everhart, “it’s God’s vison. This is definitely a God sized vision. It’s definitely not something that can be done in human power. It’s going to take supernatural strength to do it. It’s a large vision, but the fact that everybody had been praying about it, that was confirming.”

Not only was the vision confirmed, but also the very fit of Everhart, his wife, and four children moving to the Appalachian area of South Eastern Kentucky. Before he had accepted the call to UC, he thought that the call to vocational ministry would mean becoming a missionary in a foreign country; doing renewable energy sustainable architecture. However, God showed him how architecture had become an idol in his life, and that being a missionary is loving and serving God and having a love for a specific people, which for him and his wife, college students and the Appalachian people were where they felt led to.

“As campus missionary, I am here to equip students to reach their campus, reach their state, their region, their country, and the world for Christ,” said Everhart.

Everhart is a campus missionary for the Kentucky Baptist Convention, which has him mobilizing churches in the region to get more involved in campus ministries of nearby colleges. Along with that, he’s also UC’s campus minister, which involves him training students to be disciple makers who also train other believers to be disciple makers.

“We can’t just maintain the status quo,” said Everhart. “We’ve got to not only make disciples and train them up, we’ve got to make disciple makers so that this becomes something that multiplies over generations. It’s not just it happens and then stops. It’s got to continue to grow and so this is a movement we’re trying to make.”

According to Everhart, the movement will require students to be trained, equipped, and mobilized. The three main goals will be accomplished through once a month worship for the whole campus and then small groups that will take place during the other Thursday evenings.

“We don’t expect people to come to us,” said Blake Pell, a senior missions and Christian studies major from Ringgold, Georgia. “All the campus missionaries are going separate ways and having their own Bible studies and it’s not everybody getting together for one Bible study. We’re going out and reaching people that don’t get involved with worship and everything.”

Pell is one of the students involved in making worship more interactive. Before the music and message starts, Pell helps facilitate the fun events before worship like games or coffee. By having campus worship only once a month, Everhart hopes to engage more of campus as well as churches in the community to come join campus for a celebratory worship. Prayer services will also become a part of accomplishing the vision. Prayer specifically for faculty, staff, and coaches will get the students involved in getting their mindset to serve others.

“BCM isn’t just hanging out in the [BCM] house and only hanging out with themselves,” said Hannah Foster, a senior human services and psychology double major from Morristown, Tennessee. “It’s different people from different walks of life, majors, and sports teams. I’m amazed at how God has worked in so many people’s lives through BCM this semester. People who would’ve never talked to one another are talking to each other and it really has opened a lot of doors for ministry.”

Foster has been leading the BCM’s Bigs and Littles. She encourages women to minister, share the love of Christ, and remind them it’s about serving not being selfish. Foster has also enjoyed being bold during prayer services by getting out of her comfort zone and asking people if they need prayer.

Everhart has been excited and encouraged by the students’ enthusiasm to reach fellow students and others on campus and in the community. The challenges that he’s faced so far have been discovering that almost everyone on campus goes home for the weekend and during the week everyone is very busy, which can be good and bad. He encourages students to minister to others as they’re going about their daily lives and showing them that they don’t have to take extra time out of their day to love others for Christ.

“I just love how much [campus] is like a family,” said Everhart. “Hopefully as this movement grows, the spiritual family grows too.”

Adventures of Anna Clayton

A conversation with Anna Clayton is sure to be filled with laughter and jokes. She is lovingly described by her friends as crazy, fun, and adventurous. Like the song from her favorite movie the “Lion King” “Hakuna Matata,” it seems like she has no worries in the world because she is very optimistic and encouraging to others who are dealing with the difficulties of life. Her strong convictions in her faith help her when life is really rough.

“My relationship with God is a huge part of my college experience,” said Clayton. “I trust him and His plan.”

                                                                  Photo by Lydia Huggins
Anna Clayton getting ready to teach kids swim lessons.

According to Clayton, part of God’s plan included attending University of the Cumberlands. As a member of UC’s women’s swim team, she has been a national qualifier, a four-time all-American, and has broken a couple of school records with her team. At the 2016 nationals, she was a part of the team that broke the 200 freestyle relay and the 800 freestyle relay. Last year, she wasn’t able to swim for six months because she had torn tendons in her wrist and thumb area. She had to adjust and keep herself busy because after 14 years of swimming, she missed it a lot.

Clayton has learned to juggle the challenges that come with being a student and athlete. Not only was she a dedicated student and athlete, but she was also a Resident Assistant, a member of UC’s Student Government Association and taught swim lessons.

“I saw a fighter because she had homework with psychology and criminal justice, swimming, and demands of being an RA,” said Cierra Gamble, friend, fellow RA and Harry Potter enthusiast. “It can get to a person and through it all she kept who she was.”

Her relationship with God has helped her through college. According to Clayton, He gave her opportunities to sing in the praise and worship band at her church and invest more time in her friends and job when she got her injury. This year, Clayton and her friend, Stefan Johnson, led the swimmer’s life group together.

“Anna’s gotten them to read their bibles, helped them to grow, and has been their mentor,” said Johnson. “I’ve seen her grow a lot. She’s great for support and a good friend. She’s an amazing young woman who can accomplish anything that she puts her mind to.”

When Clayton came to college, her parents encouraged her to make her faith her own. According to Clayton, her mom showed her what unconditional love from Jesus looks like. She has always wanted to love people like her mom loves them. Her close friend, Grace Van Ryckeghem, described her character in such a way that she does.

“She has a great strength and a heart that really cares for people,” said Van Ryckeghem, captain of the women’s swim team at UC. “It’s a friendship that is so rare to find. Someone who is willing to walk with you in life through everything. She’s going to be there for you any way that she can.”

Van Ryckeghem and Clayton have walked, swam, and danced alongside of each other ever since they were freshman. As swimmers, they spend a lot of time with each other in the pool, weight room, traveling, and on dry land. When they were freshman, they entered a Gillespie house council pageant. They had fun getting dressed up and dancing to “Peanut Butter and Jelly Time” as their talent.

                                                                  Photo by Lydia Huggins
Morgan Plowman, Grace Van Ryckeghem, and
Anna Clayton going on an adventure to Walmart. 

“She’s really crazy and fun to be around,” said Van Ryckeghem. “You’re never going to be bored. That’s life with Anna, you never know what new adventure you’re going on. Even going to Walmart is an adventure.”

            Along with playing Walmart tag as an adventure with friends, Clayton likes to go hiking, driving late at night with the windows rolled down and music playing loud, sitting around a bonfire with friends and s’mores.

 “It’s all about the people,” said Clayton. “Find some friends, invest in them, and be vulnerable and open with them. Go adventure with them all over the place.”

Clayton also loves to read and write adventurous, fiction stories as well as live them. Whenever she’s stressed out, she reads her favorite book, “Peter Pan.” Since she can’t be a kid forever like Peter Pan, Clayton plans to use her major in psychology and minor in criminal justice to be a probation or parole officer before becoming a profiler. She is heartbroken by the things she learns in class and wants help improve the justice system. She would also like to join the Coast Guard to serve her country because as she says, “The water is kind of like my domain, my home.”

Although, as of right now, her plans aren’t quite solid. “I keep telling people that it’s a surprise for everyone including myself,” said Clayton.

After going home for the summer, she hopes to move to Nashville, Tennessee. She looks forward to living in a big city with lots of opportunities and family nearby.

Clayton has learned to embrace the differences of others. This perspective has helped her make friends with people from a variety of backgrounds. In the case with her friend Cierra Gamble, they went from unlikely friends to close friends sharing in many adventures together. Clayton had the opportunity to take Gamble to the beach for the first time where they enjoyed long boarding together as well as saving two starfish instead of keeping them.

“We realized that on the outside we looked different like our social circles and everything were different, but a lot of the things we believed in, loved, and were passionate about were exactly the same,” said Gamble.

Along with the advice of investing in friends, Clayton also has perspective to share with incoming freshman.

 “Take some more time to study a little bit because that math grade is going to last a lot longer than that cute boy. All freshman need to hear that,” said Clayton with a laugh. “Cumberlands is a great place to grow in your faith. There are a lot of people standing around, waiting to nurture you, and invest in you and it’s awesome.”

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Blog series about human trafficking

Human trafficking awareness

            A young girl serves drinks at a bar in the Philippians until she’s “rented” by a customer to be exploited. Six of the young girls at the bar in the Philippians were rescued. However, not all victims are rescued.

Human trafficking is the recruitment, transporting, and harboring of people against their will by using force to make them modern day slaves. According to the International Labour Organization, human trafficking is the third largest crime bringing in about $150 billion and the fastest growing in the world with 35.8 million men, women and children trapped as labor slaves, unwilling organ donors, and sex slaves. Different sources report numbers of slaves vary from 21 million to 35 million because of its vastness.

            The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says that the most common form of human trafficking is sex trafficking, the coercion or force of a commercial sex act such as prostitution, pornography, mail-order brides, and much more. It brings in over $99 billion of the $150 billion of the human trafficking profits, according to the International Labour Organization.

            The following five articles explore the specifics of sex trafficking and what people can do to end human trafficking. 

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Why do people become prostitutes?

One of the first questions that many people ask about prostitution is, “Why would you want to be a prostitute?” The answer to this varies because circumstances vary. The statistics of sex trafficking seem to indicate that not many people enter prostitution willingly. In many third world countries, destitute women are often tricked into prostitution by being offered a job and a better life. A lot of prostitution is generational because if a child is born into that situation they often won’t be able to escape to a better life.

The situation of poor women or children born into that life makes sense. Then, the question is, “What about those who choose prostitution?” Most likely, they have suffered from some kind of abuse in their past.

“Research on severe bullying notes that victims often suffer from low self-esteem, poor physical and mental health, reduced abilities in forming relationships, and difficulties gaining and/or keeping a job,” said Jane Whitaker, psychology professor at University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky. “These conditions may make them more vulnerable to becoming victims in other areas of life including prostitution.”

           Photo from National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children
                Infographic about child sex trafficking.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited children says that one in 6 children who have run away from home are caught up in sex trafficking. Perhaps not all who are bullied end up in prostitution, but a lot of the time people in prostitution are usually bullied by their pimp, the person in control of them that sells them to buyers.

“There doesn’t appear to be any research on a direct relationship between bullying and the sex trade industry,” said Whitaker. “However, there are some shared variables between these two concerning situations. Victims of bullying who find themselves not functioning well in other avenues of life, may turn to desperate means of relief and income, including drugs and sex.”

Another study, “Rationalizing predictors of child sexual exploitation and sex trading,” lists four variables that have a significant impact: running away, poverty, drug and/or alcohol abuse, and family involved in prostitution.

Instead of shaming those who end up in prostitution, we need to listen to their stories to understand them and their situation. Prostitutes need support and strength to overcome their situation, as Whitaker said about bullied people needing support and strength.

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Awareness turns into action with the End It movement

The End It movement is “shining a light on slavery” by working with partners to raise awareness about human trafficking, prevent it and rescue and restore those involved in slavery.

February 27 (because of the 27 million slaves caught up in human trafficking) is the specific day that End It has chosen to raise awareness on social media about modern day slavery. The coalition asks people to raise awareness on February 27 by drawing a red “X” on their hand and posting pictures with the hashtag “EndItMovement.”

                      Photo provided by University of the Cumberlands
Alisha Brown among other students at UC that gathered
in Gatliff Chapel to raise awareness February 27, 2014.

“I think a big thing to End It is to raise awareness because a lot of people don’t realize that slavery is still out there,” said Alisha Brown, a junior at University of the Cumberlands. “Drawing an “X” on our hands might not seem like a lot, but it’s something.”

For those who can afford to do more than just raise awareness, people can give money which goes to partners of End It such as the Salvation Army, Polaris and International Justice Mission to name a few. Not only does End It just have donors give money, but they get more people involved by having donors build teams of “Freedom Fighters” this encourages 27 of their friends to give $7. Team leaders range from Christian writer, Bob Goff, to singer, Carrie Underwood. Hayley Davis, senior at UC, decided to start her own team of 27.

“It is imperative that we do something about this attack on our own humanity,” said Hayley Davis, senior at UC. “These people are living in hell on earth. The End It movement is an organization that has thankfully come together to fight human trafficking and sex slavery around the world. Once I found out about it, I had to do something.”

All of the publicity of the End It movement has gotten the attention of the government. According to End It, the End Slavery Initiative has started and “U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has created a crucial piece of bipartisan legislation that will establish a $1.5 billion global fund to fight slavery around the world, aim for a measurable 50% reduction in slavery over 7-year period, create a non-profit foundation to award grants and assist victims.”

“I've met women who have escaped and survived,” said Davis. “I praise God that they've physically escaped, though their mental escape hasn't yet come. My heart aches for the millions that are still being held captive. The cycle of abuse, of maltreatment, of trafficking can end if we decide ourselves, each one of us, to get in the way and interrupt injustice.”

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Sex trafficking in the United States

Cities that are highly populated, travel hubs and that host major events like concerts or sporting events attract a lot of people and are major places for sex trafficking to take place.

Commercial front brothels, internet ads (venues unknown), and hotels and motels are the top three places that sex trafficking occurs according to Polaris statistics.

“It’s more of a hidden and silent kind of danger, but it’s prevalent,” said Gina Bowlin, the director of curriculum and dual credit programs for the School of Lifelong Learning at University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky and assistant professor in the human services department at UC. “It’s out there and I don’t think your average person is aware of how much it’s going on out there.”

The stereotype of the sex industry is that it happens in foreign countries, but it definitely happens in the United States. A study done by the University of Pennsylvania says that between 245,000 and 325,000 American youth are at risk for sexual exploitation and trafficking.

Bowlin said that some of the signs that a child is being controlled by a pimp is if they suddenly have two cellphones or expensive gifts and if they’re extremely secretive.

“We in America walk around oblivious to suffering,” said Bowlin. “We don’t like to look at things that are uncomfortable for us.”

The fact is that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly states that human trafficking is unacceptable and should be put to a stop. Within the 30 articles of the document, the first article says, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”

The third and fourth articles say, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person,” and, “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.”

“If someone’s being trafficked, they certainly don’t have security,” said Bowlin. “No one should be held in slavery or servitude. Twenty-seven million slave world-wide in a world where slavery is illegal. It’s still a huge problem.”

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“Bring Back Our Girls” saying still necessary

Sex traffickers don’t only prey on runaways; they also kidnap children to be sex slaves and child brides. A recent example of a high profile case was the 270+ girls that were kidnapped from a school in Nigeria.

According to the Bring Back Our Girls website, “On April 14th, 270+ School girls were kidnapped from the Chibok Government Secondary School by Boko Haram Terrorists in Nigeria. Approximately 230 are still missing.”

                      Photo from The New Yorker by Haruna Umar/AP
Four students walk in Chibok following their escape
from Boko Haram.

Bring Back Our Girls focuses on raising awareness and activating governments to do something about this kidnapping. Even though this was a high profile case, it seems that very little has been heard on the news since then. However, some of the girls’ stories are being told such as in “The New Yorker” which shared an account of one of the escaped girl’s stories.

“They were kidnapped because they went to school and that was their crime,” said Dr. Ela MolinaMorelock, associate Spanish professor at University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky. “Most of the people on this planet don’t have this privilege to be in school, be educated and live a nice life. All of these things that we take for granted. We need to give back a little bit.” 

Bring Back Our Girls website states that only 5% of Nigerian girls make it past secondary school. The girls that were kidnapped were ready to become lawyers and doctors. The Malala Fund states that, “Every three seconds a girl becomes a child bride. Four out of five victims of human trafficking are girls.” Bring Back Our Girls quotes the Malala Fund which says, “There are 600 million adolescent girls in the developing world. They are an undeniable force for social and economic impact. But only if given the opportunity. Around the world, girls are denied a formal education because of social, economic, legal and political factors. And in being denied an education, society loses one of its greatest and most powerful resources. Education empowers girls to raise their voices, to unlock their potential, and to demand change.”

On April 14, 2015, during the first anniversary of the kidnapping of the girls, Amnesty International published an article about the 270+ girls that were kidnapped among more than 2,000 women and girls kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014.

In Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, a march was held on April 14, 2015, to remember the girls that are still missing and to raise awareness to “Bring Back Our Girls.”

“I believe incidents like this one (the abduction of these young girls) rank right up there with 9/11 and other terrible incidents of terrorism,” said Dr. Fred Cummings, assistant professor of religion at UC. “I think we as a nation should expend the same kind of energy and resources to end this terrible practice. We should unilaterally take whatever action is necessary to bring these girls home and see that incidents like these never occur on planet earth.”

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Refuge for Women helps women get out of unsafe situations

            Refuge for Women in Lexington, Kentucky, is a faith-based, one year program to help women get out of the sex industry or abusive pasts.

“Their mission is important because it is very hard to deal with everything that these women go through,” said Sarah Beth Hunt, sophomore human services major at University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky, who’s volunteered at Refuge for Women. “Getting them on the right track is important. [Refuge for Women] stresses the importance that women are worth something and worth so much more than to be in this kind of industry.”

            Refuge for Women has three different phases that the women have to go through during the year long program.

The first phase lasts for four months and is about helping the women heal from their past. They have counseling sessions, classes, and a safe house to live in. The second phase lasts for three months and is about job training. During this phase, they practice interviewing, write resumes, and are given appropriate clothes for interviews. The third phase lasts for five months and is about them starting the new life that they’ve been preparing for. They live in a transition house which is mostly on their own, but they still have a curfew and classes to attend as they get used to their new job, life and freedom.  

People can get involved to help the women along the three phases. They have people who talk to women involved in prostitution to tell them about a way out through Refuge for Women. Churches are also involved to refer women to the refuge.

The Refuge for women website states, “We believe that every woman matters – that each woman should have the means and the resources to pursue the dreams they’ve had since they were little girls. We believe that these women need honest hope and honest love to be restored and redeemed. We believe that each woman deserves to walk without their past defining their future. We believe that women can walk free, stepping out of the chains that have bound them for so long. We believe in women.”

The need for women to escape from sex trafficking is evident in the statistics of the sex industry in the United States. About 4,000 reported cases of sex trafficking happened in the United States in 2014.

                                                     Photo provided by Kayla Smith
UC's Baptist Campus Ministries spring break mission trip team
that ministered to women at Refuge for Women.
Top to bottom and left to right: Tanner Williams, Dayna Grant,
Kendra Carr, Shantel Buchner, Hayley Davis, Sarah Beth Hunt,
Kayla Smith, Bernice Uwase, and Magan Atwood. 

“I used to think that sex trafficking only happened in other countries, but I was so wrong,” said Hunt. “I went to this place over spring break and realized the truth [that it happens in America too]. It is so important to get involved so you can see what is really going on and to encourage these women that the Lord loves them and he has much bigger plans for them in the future. It’s also important to make relationships with these women so that they know that they are loved and cared for and that they always have someone they can go to.”

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Q&A with Yu Guo (Lily) and her life as an international student in a small town

Q&A with Yu Guo (Lily)

Yu Guo (better known as her chosen American name, Lily) opens her door sleepily. Her face looks shocked as she remembers that she’s being interviewed today. She just woke up from a nap like most college students do in the afternoon after a busy school day. She welcomes me into her room, sits on the unmade bed and we begin discussing her life.

Originally from Fengcheng, Jiangxi, China, Lily will be spending her 19th birthday away from home on March 10. She was 17 when she started at University of the Cumberlands and has been away from home for two years. She is a sophomore studying business as her major and communications as her minor at UC. She wants to be in the hotel or book business or perhaps pursue something in communications.

                                                                   Photo provided by Lily
STARS (Student Trained And Ready leaders of freshman)
 Anna Clayton, Katie Turk, Sara Donahue and Lily
at UC Freshman Orientation July 2014.

Lily can most always be seen with a smile on her face. She’s learning to manage her time better as she takes care of residents as a Resident Assistant in ArcherHall. Though life can be boring in a small town, she enjoys going hiking, hanging out with her friends in Lexington or Knoxville, or just talking in the room.

Lily reflected on life in China and the transition to life at University of the Cumberlands as an international student. She also gave advice on how Americans and international students should interact.            

Lydia Huggins: Lily, what is life like back home in China where you're from?

Yu Guo: I'm from a small town in China. We call it a small town, but one million people live in my small town. In China, it’s a small town. In China, big cities are supposed to have three to five million people. In my small town, we get everything. We have a very big shopping mall. It’s like typical city life. It's very convenient because you can walk to anywhere. Parents drive. Young people walk or ride a bike.

LH: What is your family life like in China?

                                                                   Photo provided by Lily
Lily with her friends Maoshu Nie and Rong Jin
at Xia Men's Beach in summer of 2013.

YG: In China, we have the one kid policy. We have one kid in our family that is why we are closer to our friends since we all don’t have brothers or sisters.

My family, my dad works for the government and my mom works for an insurance company. I think my family is very, very sweet. I really like them, but most of the time when I’m back home, I study.

In China, high school is very, very stressful. College life is super easy. Basically, you only have one exam, final, and you just need to pass it. There is only a pass or not pass. There are no A, B, C, D’s and things like that. In high school, we have to get to school at 6 a.m. and we're released after 10:30 at night. It’s not just in my hometown. Most of the city did.

LH: What do you do for fun?

YG: Actually, we don't have weekends. This is not every school, this is my school. Some schools get one day off or two days off. We get a half day off. Normally, we watch a movie. We like the movie theater to watch movies or go shopping with friends. It's not really shopping just hanging out. I think that is all. It's very boring.

LH: How did you find out about University of the Cumberlands?

YG: At that time, my family didn't plan for me to go to America. It was a surprise decision. Only Cumberlands gave me a scholarship. Other schools were super expensive. We have no idea what it looked like. We never heard of Kentucky. The only thing we heard from Kentucky is KFC.

LH: That was my next question. What did you think Kentucky was going to be like?

YG: Honestly, we Googled it because we really didn't know. We asked my cousin because he’s the only one [we know who] lives in America. He lives in California. He said it's kind of poor and in the south. Basically, we had no idea.

My dad tried to like it because he didn't want to send me to a very poor area. He described Kentucky to me as very good. Google said Kentucky has the best whiskey and derby is very, very famous.

It’s very different from China because in China I only went to the countryside like maybe five times in my whole life. I lived in the city every day so [Kentucky’s] very different from the place I grew up.

LH: What was the biggest surprise when you came here?

YG: In China, I've never seen a city or a town that only has a Walmart [laughter]. They don't have any shopping malls or any busses. People can only drive or walk, but it's not convenient. Even going to the hospital, you have to go Corbin and you always need a driver.

LH: What have you most enjoyed or gotten a laugh about from culture shock? 

YG: I think people are very nice and happy. They make me feel happy. In China, people are too busy and too stressed every day. I really like American culture. Americans are funnier. Asians are more serious because there are too many people in Asian countries. They have strong competition there. That makes life a lot harder.

LH: What was the transition from living in a very busy city to living in a small town?

YG: Okay, first off is the language. When I first came here, I was so nervous. When people talked to me, I couldn’t understand "What's up?" In China, we only learn proper English grammar, reading and some other things. When people ask me "What's up?" I have no idea because what I learned was "How are you?" "I’m good and you?" [laughter]. That is a classic sentence.

I made friends. They teach me a lot of things. I have classes and I get used to speaking English, like now.

Environment is a little different. No, it's not a little. It’s a big difference. In the city, people are super busy and they don't care what you do. Here, people are nicer than people in China. [People here are] very polite when you walk on the street. Even the people you don't know, they will smile at you. That will never happen in China. Don't smile to people when you go shopping because people will think you are weird.

People are kind of cold in China. They are aggressive. If you do something by accident, they will get mad. They will speak out. Here, professors and friends are all polite. They will not say something if it will hurt you. In China, professors can say "You are so stupid" or "I don't think you can handle school stuff. You can just go back home and stay with your parents." They can say something like that even in public.

I will say China is a very aggressive country. It’s a little bit like New York City. They only care about themselves. They don't care how hard you work. They only care about the result.

LH: What is the thing that you miss most from home?

                            Photo provided by Lily
Lily and her parents, Tai Guo and Jiping Chen,
 saying goodbye in Shanghai
before she leaves for UC the summer of 2013.

YG: My parents. That’s all. I’m the person that can really handle the food. It’s not a big deal for me. Even though, first semester I cared about the food part, I get used to it very quickly. I miss my family that’s all. Family and friends are very, very important to me. I wish I could stay with them and hang out with them. I haven’t seen my family for two years. I already booked the tickets, I’m going to fly to China in May and stay there the whole summer and come back here in August.

LH: What has been a major struggle coming to a foreign school (besides the language)?

YG: Maybe, not too many friends at first. All freshmen feel lonely and homesick. I used to have very good friends in China. Since I came here, I talk to them and there are not many common topics. Also when I talk with American, there are also not many common topics. I really feel lonely. Even now, I don't know how to start a very interesting conversation with an American or with my friends back home. They all go to Chinese universities and I’m here. Everything is different.

Americans don't know what it’s like in China. A lot of Americans they don't have any interest to learn about it.

LH: Since you’ve been transitioning pretty well in America, what advice would you give to American students on interacting with international students to help their transition be better?

YG: I think Americans should be curious. They need to be curious about other countries. A lot of students just don’t care. At least you’re curious, interested, and you start to ask questions. I’m pretty sure internationals are waiting to answer those questions. It’s a very good start to a conversation.

And respect. Respect the difference. Some Americans respect the difference. Sometimes they look like [life in China is] unbelievable or something. For American stuff, I feel [like it’s] unbelievable, but I will not let it show up on my face. That is a point internationals don’t like.

LH: How would you encourage new international students to interact with American students?

YG: Same thing, I think they should show interest about American culture and try to learn something from them. Be more curious about American country, read and study about them. Then you can have discussions. Everyone I meet is important for my life because you never know what you can learn from them.

LH: What do you and your friends talk about?

YG: Movies, about professors, class, school stuff, political stuff, the news, especially if American news is connected with China that would be a good conversation. I never talk about books because I haven't read a lot of American books so far.

My friends will talk with me about Jesus and religion. That is a deep conversation. What is life? If I don't know what I should do, I talk with friends. People always need to change about themselves and follow Jesus.

LH: That brings me to my next question. How has UC's focus on faith affected you?

YG: Most Chinese, we don't have any religion. This school since we have convocation and when we pray before a test, that makes me think of who is Jesus, what is Christian? It’s the beginning, I think. They have a very big influence on me, but I still doubt some things. I used to think I was a Christian like one year ago since all of my friends are very serious Christians. I still have some questions and doubts. It stopped me.

LH: Why did the doubt stop you?

YG: It's easy and complicated. All Christians think that God makes people. That is something that I don’t get because in my life when we learn something in biology class we learned people originated from monkeys. They say God made everything like mountains, oceans and everything natural. We think nature is because of evolution. That is a big question and doubt for me. That is the point that stopped me from being a Christian.

LH: What is your main goal in life? What do you hope to achieve?

YG: I really care about career. People always think we should care about family and never worry about that part. I have a very sweet family. I’ve never really had family issues. I don’t have any trouble with friends or family. I need to chase after the career now because I didn’t do a very good job on that so far. The other part I think I already do very well so I’m not worried about it.

LH: You're a business major and communications minor, but you like journalism too. Do you want to pursue that?

YG: If I went to a Chinese university, I will learn that or at least put it as my minor. I’m really good at writing in Chinese.

I used to write for a magazine when I was younger. It was a big deal in my hometown. I became kind of famous after my article was published in a very big magazine. Even though there's few people who read your article, your name is out there. That is one thing that I'm really proud of myself in my whole life, so far.

LH: What do you want to do after college? Will you stay in America, go back to China, or get your Master’s degree?

YG: I have to get my master's degree because if I graduated from here and when I look for a job in China they won't know University of the Cumberlands. It’s not a famous university and they will not hire me. [In America] for internationals, they really care about what university you graduated from because they don't know your background. This is the only background you have.

LH: What kind of career do you want to chase after?

YG: I really want to be a reporter. It’s my dream, but I’m not sure that it can come true. I can study business. Maybe business will connect with news or I can work for a famous company.

I don’t know how to start to be a reporter, especially in America because the background is so different. For now in my young age, I think business will be better. I will be better at business than journalism. Maybe when I get older, when I can speak English just like an American, I will start to do journalism. I try to have a different job, a different dream to make life more interesting because you never know when something will change your life.

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Yu Guo’s (Lily’s) life as an international student in a small town

Yu Guo (better known by her chosen American name, Lily) opens her door sleepily. Her face looks shocked as she remembers that she’s being interviewed today. She just woke up from a nap like most college students do in the afternoon after a busy school day. She is welcoming as always, sits on the unmade bed and begins discussing her life.

Originally from Fengcheng, Jiangxi, China, Lily came to University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky, when she was 17 and has been away from home for two years. She was astonished at the thought of a small town of 6,000 people in Kentucky because to her, her hometown of one million people is small.

“It is very different from China because in China I only went to the countryside like maybe five times in my whole life,” said Lily. “I lived in the city every day so [Kentucky’s] very different from the place I grew up. In China, we have the one kid policy. We have one kid in our family that is why we are closer to our friends since we all don’t have brothers or sisters.”

Lily, a sophomore business major and communication minor at UC, can most always be seen with a smile on her face. She loves to laugh and is the life of the party according to her friend, Allie Washing, a senior psychology major at UC. Even though life is sometimes boring in a small town, she enjoys hiking, reading Chinese poetry and other books, writing, watching movies, hanging out with her friends in Lexington or Knoxville, or just talking in the dorm room.

“Every night, she would come in my room and we would have the longest talks and I just loved that,” said Washing. “We just really connected and got really close through our conversations.”

Lily and Washing’s conversations started over a simple question about games that kids play in China. Washing is a part of UC’s International Student Ministries, a group for international and American students to interact at different events and build friendships. ISM were planning a game night for the international students. Washing asked Lily about Chinese games that they could play and from then on they were friends.

“I think Americans should be curious,” said Lily. “They need to be curious about other countries. A lot of students just don’t care. At least you’re curious, interested, and you start to ask questions. I’m pretty sure internationals are waiting to answer those questions. It’s a very good start to a conversation.”

After the first conversation about Chinese games, Lily talked to Washing even more about her culture.

Coming from a city of one million, Lily is used to walking most everywhere and encountering people in the city who don’t smile. She experienced culture shock when people in the South would smile at her, even if they didn’t know her.

“Environment is a little different,” said Lily. “No, it's not a little. It’s a big difference. In the city people are super busy and they don't care what you do. Here, people are nicer than people in China. They make me feel happy. In China, people are too busy and too stressed every day. I really like American culture. Americans are funnier. Asians are more serious because there are just too many people in Asian countries. They have strong competition there. That makes life a lot harder.”

Lily’s friend, Yuko Baba, a business administration major at UC from Saitama, Japan, understands her experience. They met each other for the first time in the Knoxville airport when they were travelling to UC. They bonded over both being international students, taking English as a second language class together, and just hanging out and getting to know each other. They study together and encourage each other as they go through the struggles and joys of college.

“She’s really thoughtful and kind,” said Baba. “She’s open to people which makes it easier to talk to her. She gave me a letter on my birthday and the content of the letter was so thoughtful. It was touching to me.”

                                                                    Photo provided by Lily
Left to right and top to bottom: Brandi Bray, Lily,
Allie Washing, Jasmine Newport, Rebekah Henderson, Kaylee Crawford,
Sydney Freeman, Ashley Smith, and Haylie Turner.
in the Gatliff Chapel for Spotlight (UC's singing competition)
in spring 2014.

Lily’s friendships are important to her. Her friendship and thoughtfulness has influenced her friends’ lives as they have influenced her life here at UC. She didn’t have any religion in China, but here she’s surrounded with the Christian faith at UC.

“Since [at this school] we have convocation and we pray before a test, that makes me think of who is Jesus, what is Christianity?” said Lily. “My friends are a very big influence on me, but I still doubt some things. I still have some questions and doubt. All Christians say God made everything like mountains, oceans and everything natural. We think nature is because of evolution. That is the point that stopped me from being a Christian.”

Even through the differences, Lily’s friends at UC have helped her to transition well. When she first came here, she struggled with the informal English language because she had only learned formal English.

A struggle that most college students deal with is homesickness. Lily hasn’t been home for two years so homesickness is even worse for her. 

“[I miss] my parents,” said Lily. “That’s all. I’m the person that can really handle the food. It’s not a big deal for me. I miss my family that’s all. Family and friends are very, very important to me. I wish I could stay with them and hang out with them.”

Although, she still misses her family and friends from home. She has found a family in her friends at UC.

“She’s really brave and courageous for coming over to this country,” said Allie Washing. “She inspires me so much. We need people in our lives. I think, she really feels somewhat at home when she’s able to go to one of her friend’s home rather than just staying at school. She knows she has family in America too because of her friends.”

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