I've been challenged to think through the moments and stories from our trip that could only be accredited to God.
With any mission trip, there are normally lots of factors that could lead to fatigue (less sleep, irregular schedule, being surrounded by spiritual darkness, etc.). But throughout our trip there were so many small moments and interactions that God allowed that gave me strength to overcome the things of the world and be renewed spiritually. We were met with so much kindness and hospitality by the people there. We were provided a comfortable and safe place to sleep each night. The Lord showed great provision and favor when it came to all things flight/immigration related. When our bus broke down, and the Lord gave us somewhere safe/cool to rest and wait. In a culture where vulnerability isn't a word in their vocabulary, we had people of all ages open up to us about their struggles as believers and allowed us to give reminders of God's truths.
One of my favorite interactions was during our first conference. We had just ended our final prayer over the people in attendance and they were encouraged to come speak to us afterwards with any questions or just to introduce themselves. We were able to meet a girl named Amy. She told us that she actually was going to school in Charlotte studying engineering but was home for winter break visiting family in the city of our conference. It was so cool to get to have one of those "small world" moments, but it was during my conversations with Amy that I was so firmly reminded of the power of the Gospel. We speak all the time of how the Gospel is the great equalizer, that it applies to mankind. The strength of the message of Jesus's love and sacrifice for us can overcome oceans, languages, continents. For me, Amy served as that tangible reminder. Our introduction was early on in our trip, and for me I think it set the tone for all of my interactions with the people we interacted with; that as Christians we are ONE body, ONE Spirit, ONE Lord, ONE God and Father of us ALL (Ephesians 4:4-6). Even though I know on mission trips you go to serve and uplift people in other parts of the world, but during our trip I felt as though the people we met sharpened me tenfold.
With any mission trip, there are normally lots of factors that could lead to fatigue (less sleep, irregular schedule, being surrounded by spiritual darkness, etc.). But throughout our trip there were so many small moments and interactions that God allowed that gave me strength to overcome the things of the world and be renewed spiritually. We were met with so much kindness and hospitality by the people there. We were provided a comfortable and safe place to sleep each night. The Lord showed great provision and favor when it came to all things flight/immigration related. When our bus broke down, and the Lord gave us somewhere safe/cool to rest and wait. In a culture where vulnerability isn't a word in their vocabulary, we had people of all ages open up to us about their struggles as believers and allowed us to give reminders of God's truths.
One of my favorite interactions was during our first conference. We had just ended our final prayer over the people in attendance and they were encouraged to come speak to us afterwards with any questions or just to introduce themselves. We were able to meet a girl named Amy. She told us that she actually was going to school in Charlotte studying engineering but was home for winter break visiting family in the city of our conference. It was so cool to get to have one of those "small world" moments, but it was during my conversations with Amy that I was so firmly reminded of the power of the Gospel. We speak all the time of how the Gospel is the great equalizer, that it applies to mankind. The strength of the message of Jesus's love and sacrifice for us can overcome oceans, languages, continents. For me, Amy served as that tangible reminder. Our introduction was early on in our trip, and for me I think it set the tone for all of my interactions with the people we interacted with; that as Christians we are ONE body, ONE Spirit, ONE Lord, ONE God and Father of us ALL (Ephesians 4:4-6). Even though I know on mission trips you go to serve and uplift people in other parts of the world, but during our trip I felt as though the people we met sharpened me tenfold.