The soccer playing field at Houston Baptist University has been named the Randy & Cheryl Sorrels Field in honor of the HBU alumni who made a generous contribution to the HBU soccer program.  The announcement was made by HBU President Robert B. Sloan Jr. and director of athletics Ron Cottrell.

“HBU is honored to announce the naming of our soccer field, the Randy & Cheryl Sorrels Field,” said President Sloan. “As an NCAA Division I university, we find it especially affirming when outstanding alumni, like Randy and Cheryl, choose to give back to their alma mater in such a significant way.  Their generosity and commitment to excellence will provide meaningful assistance to Husky athletics and our student-athletes.”

I was one of the 21 students who spent spring break in San Pedro, Nicaragua on a mission trip. We each had our own unique experience. This one is mine.

As the dirt-trodden road cleared, a small schoolhouse supported by crumbling cobalt bricks was revealed. As our bus approached the school, about 50 eager children peered through their classroom windows. When we arrived they rushed toward us, a whirlwind of ecstatic emotions wrapping us in an embrace with tiny strapping arms.

Amid all the excitement, a young girl stared up at me. Her curious dark eyes overflowing with hope questioned me with answers I did not hold. She reached up and interlaced her bronze fingers with mine, her grasp willing me to stay forever. One look at her beaming face and I would never have guessed the girl did not have clean drinking water or even a pair of shoes. As she held my hand, I glanced down at her bare feet covered in dirt and winced at the memory of all the past times I had thoughtlessly discarded pairs of shoes.

Guilt was a feeling I could not avoid the entire week. It maliciously followed me around reminding me of the everyday blessings I had taken for granted. The children ate rice and beans everyday for every meal. Yet despite the lack of variety, they were immensely grateful for what little they had.

Danny Miller, director of student ministries, who traveled with us told me what impacted him the most was that the people did not have much, but they gave us everything.

Throughout the day, I worked with the family team as we taught Bible stories through humorous skits, made arts and crafts and played games with the children. Senior Valerie Jones, who was also on the family team, said being with the children was one of the most encouraging experiences of her life.

The hygiene team worked alongside us at the school as they taught women and children the importance of properly brushing their teeth and washing their hands.

The front of the school contained an expanded area of trampled soil for the children to run about and play games freely. The children laughed as they savored the privilege of throwing a Frisbee, playing soccer or even blowing bubbles.

One boy, Eliezer, begged me to let him blow bubbles. As I handed him the bubbles his eyes lit up as if he had just won the lottery. He treasured the bubbles, delicately wiping the container with his dirty shirt, meticulously blowing each bubble and frantically running to catch them, looking back to smile at me whenever he caught one. Although he only owned the clothes he wore, he had so much more than I ever would, and I was envious. His genuine happiness was not clouded with selfish, greedy desires.

While the family and hygiene teams worked at the school throughout the week, the drill team built and installed a water well for the community of 400. They no longer had to walk miles for a drink of water. Meanwhile, the medical team provided daily care and attention to hundreds of people from various communities.

At the end of each day, all of the teams gathered in the evening for worship. Our bodies yearned for sleep, our minds drained from the day, yet spiritually, we were complete. God revealed to us on the trip, how his love is greater than anything in this world. The people of San Pedro will remain in my thoughts and prayers forever. The last day of school, as I was stepping up onto the bus, I felt a tug on my shirt. I turned around and saw Eliezer, holding the bubbles, an exuberant smile plastered on his face. His eyes gleamed with joy as he said, "Gracias."

I nodded my head and quickly stepped onto the bus to avoid crying in front of him. As we drove off, Eliezer stood waving goodbye in his mud-covered shirt, his hand still holding the bubbles. Even as our bus was miles away, I could still see him waving in the distance until the dirt-trodden road swallowed him up, and he was gone.

Houston Baptist University will unveil its new museum complex in the Joella and Stewart Morris Cultural Arts Center at 3:00 p.m. on March 25.  Three museums are included in the space:  the Dunham Bible Museum, the Museum of American Architecture and Decorative Arts, and the Museum of Southern History.  read more...

The Museum of American Architecture and Decorative Arts	The Museum of Southern History

Through the generosity of an anonymous donor, all gifts made to HBU will be matched up to $1 million until May 31.  Now is a great time to double the impact of your gift!

Give Online

Do you have questions about estate planning? Planned giving? Your will? HBU's new planned giving website, www.hbu.edu/plannedgiving, is there for you to be able to dream about your future and ours. Each month, we feature new articles and interactive features that cover various gift planning topics. As you know, the future is bright for Houston Baptist University, and a planned gift may be a great way for you leave your legacy at the University.  On this new website you can begin the dream using our Build Your Gift tool, learn more about different ways to make a planned gift through our free e-brochures, compare different types of gifts, and access our new gift calculator as well as special information specifically for your financial advisors.

New this month:

Increase Your Income and Leave a Legacy
As unlikely as it may seem, you can actually increase you available income by making a generous gift to us.

Danger: “Do-It-Yourself” Wills
See how one decedent’s family discovered just how expensive preparing your own will can be.

Six Steps to an Effective Estate Plan
To create a solid estate plan, you must begin with an understanding of the planning process.

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 Christmas Open House 

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'Tis the season for the event looked forward to by so many who love Houston Baptist University: the Christmas Open House.  After the halls were decked by members of The Guild, the President's Home was sparkling and ready for visitors.  Alumni and friends of HBU came by to celebrate the season with President and Mrs. Sloan.

Throughout the evening, visitors stopped in and were greeted at the door by members of The Guild and the Sloans.  Inside guests visited with one another, enjoyed the roaring fireplace, and took advantage of the beautiful evening outside on the patio.  Students Justin Bradford, MacAdams Irubor, Janina Frankum, and Benjamin Sieben played the piano. 

During this season of giving, all of us in the Office of Advancement wish you a very Merry Christmas and a joyous and blessed year ahead!

The ground may have already been broken and the beginnings of a building may have formed where a parking lot once stood, but the crowd at the Ceremonial Groundbreaking of the new University Academic Center was full of joy watching the construction workers in the background of the ceremony building their dreams into reality. The new University Academic Center will house the Department of Art, the Department of Communications, and the newly approved Honors College. Complete with hardhats and shovels beautifully painted by HBU Art faculty to depict their feelings about the new space, the Ceremonial Groundbreaking marked a new day dawning at HBU. Not only will the Department of Communications and Department of Art have more up-to-date facilities for the award-winning school newspaper, the mock trial team, and for art students and the artists-in-residence, but the building will also represent HBU’s commitment to bringing outstanding thinkers to campus through the Honor’s College. Both Dr. Brian Runnels, Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, and Dr. Robert B. Sloan Jr. reflected on how this new building began as a simple metal structure for art students, but has blossomed into a sophisticated facility that will be part of the future look of the campus as it expands.  To complete the ceremony, those with strong ties to the new building made a piece of art of their own by placing hand prints in cement which will be painted and included in the building to represent all of the hands it took to make this vision come to life.

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Grand Opening Celebration

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After months of anticipation, the Morris Cultural Arts Center Grand Opening was a week of celebration and reunion of those who have spent years working to bring a fine arts building to the Houston Baptist University campus. President Robert B. Sloan, Jr. commented in his remarks that the 1966 HBC yearbook featured a photograph of the University’s first President, Dr. W. H. Hinton, standing before an architectural rendering of a proposed Fine Arts Center. The concept of this Center has always been to provide a state-of-the–art facility for our community’s use by churches, performing arts organizations, and cultural groups. Now this dream is a reality, and as Sloan proclaimed, “The Morris Cultural Arts Center indeed is a gift to the City of Houston.”

Hosted by President Robert B. Sloan, Jr., the evening recognized the six largest donors to the Morris Cultural Arts Center: Joella and Stewart Morris, J. Bruce and Mary Ann Belin, The Cullen Trust for Higher Education, Archie and Linda Dunham, The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation, and the RSMIS Foundation. Each donor was brought to the stage and presented with Steuben glass as a symbol of HBU’s unending gratitude for their generosity. In addition to recognition of donors, Sloan recognized President Emeritus of the University, Dr. Doug Hodo, and his wife, Sadie because Dr. Hodo is in large measure responsible for the funding of this Center

In addition to recognition of donors, the Monday night gala was just a taste of what will be possible in the University Theater. With performances from University Festival Brass, the Houston Civic Symphony, and the University Choral Union, guests saw first-hand the unique and state-of-the-art acoustics now available on HBU’s campus.

The Morris Center represents the largest and most complex planning and construction project ever undertaken by the University. Brought to reality by the firms of Studio Red Architects and the W. S. Bellows Construction Co., the Joella and Stewart Morris Cultural Arts Center is emerging as a pre-eminent new facility for our city and region. It will undoubtedly be enjoyed by students during fine arts performances and weekly worship convocations and by the greater Houston community, so all can be exposed to the arts and to what Houston Baptist University offers to the community.

The Theater was not the only space receiving a warm welcome during Grand Opening festivities. The Belin Chapel was dedicated on Tuesday, October 9 with a special performance by Jeanette Clift George and the A.D. Players who were founded at HBU while George was on the faculty. Long-time members of the theater group performed short skits written by George while she narrated about her life and career. At the end of her performance, she was given a framed leaf from an early Bible for her contributions to HBU.

As the Grand Opening Week went on, black tie turned into black cow spots. On Thursday night, HBU welcomed Dan Cathy, President and Chief Operating Officer of Chick-fil-A to speak about business ethics, his Christian commitment, and how it all began in a place called the Dwarf House.  Students, faculty, staff, and friends filled Belin Chapel to hear Cathy speak.  His message was nothing short of motivational: work hard, remember your values, and operate everyday in accordance with your faith.  At the end of his presentation, Cathy took questions from the audience, and many students who themselves have worked in the fast-food industry caught a glimpse into Cathy's customer service philosophy.

A Limited Time Opportunity
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 now allows individuals over 70 ½ years of age to make charitable gifts through their IRAs until December 31, 2007.  Currently, when you draw out IRA funds, tax rates as high as 35% apply. In addition, your heirs will pay income tax on IRA funds they receive from your estate, and federal estate taxes may apply.  Now a person over 70 1/2, who must take mandatory withdrawals, can make a significant charitable gift up to $100,000 without incurring tax consequences.  Until the end of the year, you can divert the money the government would have taken as taxes from your IRA to HBU.

A Meaningful First-Time Gift
A first time HBU donor recently pledged $220,000.00 to support the Dean’s Excellence Fund in the School of Nursing and Allied Health. While the donating foundation chooses to remain anonymous, it will now add HBU to its list of noteworthy supported causes in education, health and human services.

 Belin Chapel Gift

Trustees Answer Challenge
In the Fall of 2006, Dr. Stewart Morris, twice past chairman and current member of the board of trustees, offered to match gifts to HBU from his fellow trustees up to $1.5 million dollars. The trustees gave generously, and the university will soon receive $3 million as a result of Morris’s challenge.