I don't want to sound like everyone else who has gone on a mission trip, but they truly are an amazing experience in your life. It might not seem like it at that moment, but there are amazing things going on... More than you know. Then again, however, you might feel it right at the very moment you set foot onto the ground you will be ministering on. Whether that is ministering with words, works, or both, it doesn't go unnoticed no matter how small you might think it seems.
Now as for the two trips I went on this year, they were very different and I got two very different lessons from both of them. The first trip was a more evangelical based mission trip where we went out and taught about God's word and loved on people as we went while the other was very work based... but I'm getting ahead of myself. I'll tell you about that later on! When it comes to preparing however, I highly encourage the group to get together and get to know one another and train in how to share the word of God and learn more about what you will be doing, praying over each other and the trip, and growing closer as a team so you can further the Kingdom even more. It might seem like a hassle, but we had 6 months of training before out trip... No, not every day, more like every other Sunday, but it is genuinely worth it in the long run!! And as for the money component of any Christ based purpose, if it's a problem... it's not a problem, God will provide if you are to go on the trip. Trust me, I've seen amazing things happen in that situation.
So, now that I've kind of introduced you to my mission trip experience I am going to dive a little deeper into both of them by letting you read my thank you letter to my "support-letter" providers. I was so blessed this year to receive the monetary support needed to attend both of my trips by writing a letter and praying that God would provide. So here you go, and enjoy! :)
Sorry
it has taken me so long to get this thank you letter out! Between all three of
my trips and getting back home and helping on the farm I have been super busy
and am just getting around to having a little free time to think and get things
organized. So, I thought I would take the time to share a little about each of
my mission trips with you.
I would first like to say thank you
for the support you gave me to go on these trips, between the monetary support
and the prayers from everyone every single ounce of prayer and money was
essential for me to go on my two mission trips.
These trips were great for my spiritual growth and learning… trust me,
three trips in a matter of a little over three weeks takes a toll on your
patience and emotions!
I must say, however, I enjoyed both
mission trips nonetheless. After getting home from my senior trip I was not
only physically drained from little sleep, but also emotionally drained from
all the happenings of drama that will always occur with a class our size. However, I happily unpacked,
washed and repacked my clothes in hopes of a WONDERFUL mission trip to Kansas
City, and it was wonderful to say the least. We had the opportunity to go door
to door and invite members of the community to an event called Community United
where we had several bands, singers, pastors, and speakers in the local park
just up the street from Hope Community Church, the church we were helping this
year. They also had a face painting booth, a prayer booth, and free food for
all. This event was amazing; we saw many miracles, as small as someone’s
arthritic thumb being relieved of pain and as large as a man’s wife who was
going to die within three weeks being prayed over and now the doctors say she
will live, and many lives were given to Christ. The following day, Sunday, we
helped Hope Community Church by giving the sermon and leading worship for their
service. We also raised enough money along the way to bless them with a large
donation to their church and Pastor Manny and his wife Shannon for a weekend to
recharge. Our group was also able to clear a large “fellowship hall” that was
filled wall to wall with items of all sorts the following day. Our youth pastor
Cody Tupps made a comment at the beginning that he didn’t think we would have
enough time to clean everything up, let alone get it organized and usable!
Nonetheless, we were able to declutter, clean, and organize everything by about
3 o’clock that day! The room now has three teaching areas which they planned to
use for the VBS they would have the week after we were there, an area for the
youth to relax and get together, and an area with a kitchen prep type area with
a fridge, freezer, and space to prepare things if need be. On our final day of
work we went to an organization by the name of reStart where families can go
when in need of transitional housing; some stay for two weeks while others stay
for two years, depending on their amount of need determined by the application
process. Here my group was able to clean a one room apartment from a previous
family that would soon be used for another. After completing this, we went and
spent some time at the park across from reStart playing with kids, talking with
families, and just showing people the love of God! It was amazing to see our
group grow together and work for the same purpose this whole week in Kansas
City, and I must say, our night rallies where we got together and worshipped
God were AMAZING!
Now, seeing as I have only gone on
mission trips with my youth pastor’s groups for the entirety of my first two
mission trips ever, I had no clue what to expect on this next trip. Not only
did I not know what to expect, but I was spiritually and emotionally drained. There was no training, no group coming together,
and no real connection of the group I guess you could say. However, our trip to
Jacksonville was still a great way to serve God’s people as well. Because I am
used to Cody’s type of trip, I was expecting more of an evangelical trip, but
this trip was basically service projects the whole way through. Our first day was definitely the most labor
intensive; we worked with Habitat for Humanity Beaches JAX where we helped put
the finishing touches on a house. Here we laid 4,000 square feet of sod, and
they weren’t fresh squares of sod or rolls of sod either, they were dead,
heavy, rained on pieces of sod!! Wow, they were a workout times about ten! J But as with most Western Kansas
mindsets, we wanted to get as much work done as we possibly could, and I’m pretty
sure we did. After completing this job around four in the afternoon we then
went to The Salvation Army to serve a meal to the homeless. This would have to
be my favorite part of the whole trip because although it might be a slight
scare or danger to some people, I was able to humble myself from my place in
life and show compassion to those around me and I loved every second of it. I
was even told thank you by a gentleman because he said I was such a blessing to
the Kingdom, and that made my heart melt! It’s so nice to know I can touch
someone by simply handing them a plate of food or sharing a smile and saying
you’re welcome. Now, the next day we were all certainly tired and sore, but we
kept on pushing as we went back to The Salvation Army and sorted and bagged
food for their food bank. We were able to package enough sacks of food to help
the volunteers and workers to have enough bags for about two or three weeks!
After eating another wonderful meal provided by The Salvation Army we headed
over to Second Harvest which is another food bank type organization. Here we
sacked bags of food for families that were USDA bags, several cleaned up many
pallets of spilled milk, organized shelves, and sorted through 4,000 pounds of
cans that would be able to feed 3,800 people. Later that evening and Thursday
evening we also went to an apartment complex for refugees from places such as
Nepal, Mexico, Bhutan, and Honduras where we held a “VBS” where we played
games, acted out Bible stories, sang songs and lead actions, and had a snack
with the kids. This was a great experience for many of the group to see
different ethnic groups and interact and love the kids as well! Thursday
morning was a little less physical on us as we went to Habitat’s ReStore where
we sorted and organized tile, measured and marked window frames, and rolled
carpet for them. This store, however, is run completely on donations and offers
home essentials at a mere fraction of the cost something might cost normally,
and many of the items in the store are still in GREAT shape to be used by
whoever needs them.
So, although I am extremely worn out
in the physical, emotional, and spiritual part of things at the moment, it was
very much worth it. Three trips with three VERY different focuses taught me
very different things, and while my first trip wasn’t a mission trip, it helped
me appreciate the family I am in, how I was raised, and the God who loves me!
Again, thank you SO much for the
support you gave me to endure and enjoy the joys, trials, and adventures of
these trips! I have enclosed a DVD that has our Kansas City mission trip
highlights on it for you to check out; the music on the DVD varies from the
music of Christian rappers Lecrae, Hood Saint, and Rep One (Hood Saint and Rep
One performed at Community United), and also the music for Megan Isaacson from
Denver who joined us on our trip to be our worship leader (you’ll see her and
two of our team members perform on stage in the video). Hope you enjoy it, and
thank you again!
So there you have it.. it's not exactly short, but if I were to wrap this all up in a few words it would be these: Don't let fear or lack of experience take you away from a trip with God... Take a leap of faith and further His Kingdom :)
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