HPU Students Explore Faith and Service During Spring Pilgrimage to Texas Flood Area
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Mar 23rd, 2026

HPU Students Explore Faith and Service During Spring Pilgrimage to Texas Flood Area

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A group of 14 High Point University students who are leaders of HPU Chapel spent their spring break deepening their faith by serving in the Texas hill country where floods destroyed lives and lands last summer. The students experienced different worshipping communities from non-denominational mega churches to smaller United Methodist churches.

HIGH POINT, N.C., March 23, 2026 – A group of 14 High Point University students who are leaders of HPU Chapel spent their spring break deepening their faith by serving in the Texas hill country where floods destroyed lives and lands last summer.

The students experienced different worshipping communities, from non-denominational mega churches to smaller United Methodist churches, at the start of their pilgrimage, Rev. Dr. Preston Davis said. The students compared those experiences, analyzing the vocabulary, style and emphasis of each worshipping community to better understand what each community values most within the Christian tradition.

HPU students partnered with Hill Country Alliance and Global Empowerment Ministries to help fortify the banks of the Guadalupe River at Camp La Junta, just upriver from Camp Mystic where flooding killed 25 girls and two counselors during the Fourth of July 4 holiday weekend.
HPU students partnered with Hill Country Alliance and Global Empowerment Ministries to help fortify the banks of the Guadalupe River at Camp La Junta, just upriver from Camp Mystic where flooding killed 25 girls and two counselors during the Fourth of July 4 holiday weekend.

HPU Chapel leaders then partnered with Hill Country Alliance and Global Empowerment Ministries to help fortify the banks of the Guadalupe River at Camp La Junta, just upriver from Camp Mystic, where flooding killed 25 girls and two counselors during the Fourth of July holiday weekend last year. Students served vulnerable communities in San Antonio on Feb. 24-25 by supporting food banks, facilitating English as Second Language (ESL) classes for immigrants and learning about nonprofit management. They also traveled the mission road, learning about the complex history of North America’s earliest Spanish Catholic missions.

“Community leaders shared their experiences of last summer’s trauma, the outpouring of support and God’s faithfulness in the pain and recovery,” said Davis, who led the pilgrimage alongside Dr. Luis Arevalo, HPU’s director of service learning.

Students worked to fortify riverbanks to prevent flooding.
Students worked to fortify riverbanks to prevent flooding.

“This trip deepened my faith by helping me build deeper connections with my Christian community within HPU Chapel, and being more intentional in walking in gratitude,” said Zaria Owens, a senior exercise science major on the pre-physician assistant track. “Overall, this trip made me realize how impactful a small prayer or a simple gesture can be in our and other people’s lives.”

Owens cried during one of the worship services but felt comforted by God’s faithfulness and goodness. The experience supported her plan to begin HPU’s PA program in June after earning her bachelor’s degree. She also learned ways to improve serving her home community in Griffin, Georgia, where she runs the nonprofit Charlie’s Hope Foundation.

HPU students Thomas Owens and Zaria Owens helped organize a closet during their pilgrimage.
HPU students Thomas Owens and Zaria Owens helped organize a closet during their pilgrimage.

“I am grateful to live another day, to walk, to have food to eat, for clothes on my back and for shelter,” Owens said. “Sometimes it is hard to see God’s provision during your struggles, but He has provided and remained by my side through it all.”

Shelby Rosenhahn, a psychology major and special education minor, said the pilgrimage to San Antonio was especially meaningful because it was her last one as a senior at HPU.

“Along the river in Texas where flooding happened last summer, we planted seeds as a small sign of hope and new life after so much loss,” said Rosenhahn, who is from Grafton, Massachusetts. “It felt meaningful to be part of something that symbolized healing for the land and the community. What made the trip even more special were the friendships that grew and deepened throughout the pilgrimage. Sharing time in service, reflection and just being together brought us closer in a genuine way. After going on seven pilgrimages during my time at HPU, this last one felt like a full-circle moment and a reminder of how much these experiences and the people in them have shaped me.”

Students painted inside a San Antonio church during the spring pilgrimage.
Students painted inside a San Antonio church during the spring pilgrimage.

In preparation for the pilgrimage, students read Isaac Villegas’ “Migrant God” and studied how Christian traditions and principles inform the Church’s support of immigrant communities.

These pilgrimages are made possible by the support of those who see the real-world application of students’ faith formation, including generous HPU families, HPU’s Student Government Association, the HPU Board of Stewards, the Western North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church and host organizations like Northern Hills United Methodist Church, La Trinidad United Methodist Church and Impacto Ministries of the Río Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church.