Mission-Driven Computing in South Africa

Year after year, the Roth Center for Mission Computing (RCMC) provides hands-on experience for Computer Science majors at Taylor University, encouraging them to experience missions work firsthand during J-Term.

Kicking off the new year, the 12-person team of students and alumni visited South Africa to work in tandem with Love Justice International (LJI), a Christian organization founded by Taylor alum John Molineux, whose mission is to combat human trafficking throughout the world. 

For three weeks, the group of students worked in small groups to accomplish various web development tasks for LJI to better accommodate the growing organization. Over the course of the trip, the students addressed administrative tasks with the organization’s existing coding team, all with the intention to optimize efficiency.

Putting Coursework into Action

According to Director of the RCMC and Instructor of Computer Science & Engineering Dave Hines, these J-Term trips provide practical "light bulb moments" for students that are pivotal to the understanding of their course work.

"I want to create a situation where the students are appropriately challenged," Hines said. "We want to find that sweet spot of what they’re capable of or maybe just a little bit above that and challenge them along the way." 

The group was able to focus on specific tasks to accomplish and later present on each week. The trip also serve as a motivator for students and gave them an opportunity to visualize their career path within the context of mission work. 

"This is the part of the curriculum where you learn how these real things apply and why they’re important," Hines said. "It’s at this point where the rubber meets the road."

The students applied their knowledge in web development by creating a company-wide dashboard slideshow display that updates the number of interceptions in real time across 20 nations, as well as updating LJI’s international database for ease of use across the nations.

"It was significant from a security standpoint, significant from a usability standpoint," Hines said. "Like when we showed it to the headquarters, the actual admins, they were thrilled. This is going to make life so much easier."

Building Fellowship Through Mission

As the groups continues to work together week to week, they built a sense of camaraderie amongst one another as they took ownership over the projects and brainstormed creative solutions. 

This sense of fellowship transferred over to the chaperones, including alum Debra Mason '84 who jumped at the chance to reconnect with her computer science roots through service in South Africa. Having graduated from the program, the opportunity to contribute to the work of RCMC today, named after her former professor Wally Roth, made the trip truly memorable. 

"My time with Love Justice International sharpened by awareness of God’s deep love for all people and his grief over the injustices that shape so many lives," Mason said. "This trip reminded me that while we often think about fighting "evil" in broad terms, God also calls us to care personally and tenderly for the individuals who suffer because of it."

These J-Term trips not only refine the skills of each student, but they also serve as a reminder of how their skills can contribute significantly to a bigger picture of the world around them.