Mission trip

Mission trip. The words don't do justice to the purpose, do they? What it is is so much deeper, fuller, richer than the two words actually sound like. Those two words make it sound so simple, but in reality it is an incredible journey that will impact a human life on so many levels. I have had the wonderful opportunity at several times in my life to serve in missions, both here in the United States and abroad. My parents were huge supporters of home and foreign missions all their lives, and we were raised to have a great appreciation for missions as a result. I have incredible memories of our trip to Hong Kong when I was 14 years old. I served in the summer missions program in my hometown, Springfield, Missouri, for several years working in day camps with local kids of all ages. I served in Hawaii for one summer working with some challenging kids in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in a small town on the island of Oahu. I served in Salt Lake City, Utah during the Winter Olympics with a team to share the gospel in an area saturated by the Mormon belief system. All of these experiences have made me the person I know God intends for me to be. He said in Matthew 28 to Go into the world and tell them about the good news and what Jesus can do! Okay, that's one version but it is what it means to me. Go! Serve! Be Jesus with skin on! In each of those experiences I knew God had a plan for me to participate in a mission He had for those people, to use me for His glory. I am so thankful I listened. Recently I felt that familiar tug at my heart, and God is opening the door for me to serve on mission again. Our church is putting together a team to go and serve in Barbados, to build a new facility for a needy church there. The work is going to be hard, but it will no doubt be a rewarding experience for all of us. I know and trust God will provide the financial and spiritual support I need to prepare for this trip. It is both awesome and terrifying to trust God with something for which my human mind still holds some uncertainty. I know I still have to relinquish my will daily because of this. What my mind cannot fathom, I must let go to simply trust Him. He has the answers, He is in control and I know He has a plan for my life at this very moment and in the months to come.