The Power of a Mission Trip

This cross was what the homeowner said his favorite part of the renovation was.

Last week, my daughter, went on her first mission trip. She didn’t have to go on an airplane halfway across the world. There were people right next door in South Carolina, who needed assistance. The trip got off to a chaotic start, when our youth pastor was unable to pick up the van she rented because her name wasn’t on the church credit card. Next, she decided to drive her own wagon and to get a carrier to place on the top, from her mother. It wouldn’t fit.

All the while, my family was traveling back from vacation and attempting to meet up with them somewhere on I20. We passed them and had to turn around. Now I can’t tell you the sense of peace that I had in this chaos. It was as if I could hear God whispering in my ear, that they were not supposed to be on the road at that time. We did meet them, much later than planned, and they were off.

When they were to be divided into groups to work on the three different homes, someone moved from some group and our small group had to be split up. My child, ever cautious and not normally one to take chances, said she felt the deep nudging in her heart to volunteer to go to a different site than her two besties. (This of course, was the Holy Spirit at work.) She listened to that voice and was not disappointed.

One of the girls on her site was 22 and had been volunteering at Salkehatchie since she was 14. (My daughter’s age) She said she decided to become a teacher because of her experiences with this group. Her foreman, was an incredibly patient man, who gave them all nicknames and worked them hard. She said they were the last group to lunch and the first to leave.

They re-shingled a roof. They painted. They ripped up carpet and put down new carpet. They completely re-did a bathroom. The two elderly brothers living there had no way to take a shower. She learned how to caulk and how to use power tools. She learned how to be a part of a group who were being the hands and feet of Christ.

Her days started at 5:30 in the morning and ended at 10:00. She got to be a part of faith in action. She was exhausted and she loved every minute of it.

All of the groups had lunch everyday at different churches in the community. They were served real down home cooking. Think fried chicken and iced tea. She said the church members thanked them for their service, everywhere they went. She really got to see Christian community at work and she found it beautiful.

And the two brothers who lived at the house? They were super grateful and helped where they could. They picked up shingles and helped prime the house. When the group started, there was no way to take a shower and part of the ceiling had caved in. When they were done, there was a working shower and bathroom with all new fixtures, a new ceiling and roof, new carpet, new furniture and a fresh coat of paint on the inside and out. With all of those improvements, one of the brothers told the group that his favorite part of everything they had done, was the cross that they placed in the front yard. Talk about God at work!

Can I get an amen?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂