Hope Trainor ’24 currently serves as a missionary with One Collective, an international community development organization in Nicaragua. This past week, she and her team welcomed a Shalom Project team (Olivet’s short-term ministry group organization). Hosting the group was a full-circle moment for Hope, whose own call to missions began with a similar experience as a student.
Hope graduated from Olivet in May 2024 with degrees in social work and criminal justice, along with a minor in Spanish. The day after commencement, she boarded a plane for Spain to walk the Camino de Santiago — a rigorous pilgrimage hike in which she used her 18 days of backpacking for intentional prayer and discernment.
“I was asking God what He wanted me to do with my life,” Hope said. “I told Him I was available for whatever came next.”
During that season of reflection, Hope felt drawn back to Nicaragua, a place she had visited only months earlier while participating in a Shalom Project trip through Olivet.
After returning from Spain, she reached out to the team leader of One Collective, whom she had met during her Shalom Project trip to Nicaragua.
“I called and asked if they still had a spot for me,” Hope said. “They said yes.”
After several months spent working and fundraising, Hope moved to Nicaragua in February 2025, and has now spent the past year serving alongside the One Collective team.
A Calling, Shaped at Olivet
While Hope’s journey to missions began when she was 9 years old on her first mission trip to El Salvador, Hope credits many experiences during her time at Olivet with shaping her understanding of service and ministry.
In her time as a college student, Hope served on the Student Ministries Council and co-led the campus prison ministry, working closely with other student leaders to serve the surrounding community. She also participated in ROTC, studied abroad in Costa Rica and completed an international criminal justice internship in England with One Collective.
Through these experiences, Hope began to see ministry through a new lens.
“During my internship with One Collective in England, I learned that service is relational,” Hope said. “Ministry isn’t about projects or numbers, it’s about relationships. Without the relational piece, it doesn’t lead to transformation.”
She continued, “My time in Costa Rica allowed me to see really hard things like ministry in the red-light district, and in that challenge, I was filled with an igniting passion for story telling and building bridges between those who have the power to make change and those affected by it.”
When reflecting over her time as a student, she noted memorable hours spent in Kelly Prayer Chapel, which she described as one of the most formative spaces during her college years.
“That’s where I would meet with Jesus, my place of rest,” Hope said. “I spent so much time there — reading the Bible, praying, worshiping, and just talking with Him as you would with a friend who had invited you over for coffee to catch up.”
During her senior year, following her studies abroad and the global pandemic, Hope had her first opportunity to join a Shalom Project trip. However, she was immediately met with an enormous challenge — funding.
“I told God, ‘I would love to go on one of these trips, but I don’t have the money for it,’” Hope said. “So, if you want me to go, you’re going to have to provide.”
Only a few days later, she received an unexpected letter in the mail from a couple she had briefly met while praying in Kelly Prayer Chapel during Homecoming weekend. Inside was a small financial gift and a note of encouragement.
“We believe God crosses people’s paths intentionally,” the letter read.
“In that moment, God was like, ‘I want you to go on this trip, and this is your first donation,’” Hope said.
That week, she attended an informational meeting about the trip and eventually joined the team that would travel to Nicaragua — the same place where she now serves.
“This trip launched a connection with community and with the Lord in an unforgettable way,” Hope said.
Learning Through Community
Since moving abroad, Hope explained that living and serving in another cultural context has expanded her worldview and deepened her faith.
“It’s important to recognize that our perspective isn’t the reality for the rest of the world,” she said. “When we get to know people from different cultures and communities, we get to know God better, because all of that reflects who He is.”
Life in Nicaragua has also strengthened her understanding of resilience and the importance of community.
“There have definitely been moments of loneliness,” Hope reflected. “But God has continually reminded me through the people around me that I’m not alone. Community is one of the ways He shows His faithfulness.”
Welcoming the Next Generation of Students
This spring, Hope and her team welcomed a group of Olivet students to serve during the University’s spring break. While the schedule included community projects, cultural engagement and ministry alongside local partners, Hope knows, from first-hand experiences, that the most meaningful moments often happen through relationships.
“My hope for students is that they’re seeking Jesus,” she said. “I hope they saw Him in a new way — seeing Him reflected in the communities they served and learning to serve in a way that reflects Him.”
For students who are considering long-term mission work or other short-term service opportunities, Hope encourages that they start with prayer and openness.
“Just ask God [about it],” she said. “Sometimes we try to figure out what we think God would want, but instead we should simply ask Him directly.”
For more information about Spiritual Life at Olivet and the Shalom Project, visit Olivet.edu.
