Please pray for us as we embark on a new adventure with Jesus.
This week, my family and I are embarking on a new adventure. We are all participating in a Salkehatchie mission camp and as usual, I am amazed as I look back at how God was working to get us there.
A few years ago, at my last church, a family moved into our area from South Carolina. The father in that family, had participated in Salkehatchie for many years and was always more than willing to talk about it. Honestly, I never gave the mission trip idea too much thought. My kids were younger then and I was called to run Vacation Bible school.
A couple of years passed and at the last minute, our youth leader decided that the youth summer mission trip would be to a Salkehatchie work camp. They are all over the state of South Carolina and they had no idea which one they would attend.
In the end, only three teen girls, the youth leader and a college student attended and my daughter’s life was changed forever.
I’ve no doubt, looking back, that it was no coincidence that the place they ended up was a smaller church. Some of the camps have over a hundred kids. This one could only take forty. It was a community. I also have no doubt that God was behind separating my daughter from her two best friends that she took with her, although at the beginning of the week, she was devastated.
She ended up forging beautiful brand new, Christ centered friendships with the people on her work site. She ended up helping to lead praise and worship, playing her guitar. And since she had to actually be the hands and feet of Christ out in the world, she ended up growing her faith.
She came home talking about her experience constantly. If I’m honest, we kind of got tired of hearing about it.
The next year came and she wanted to go, but we had changed churches and no one would commit to go with her. She wanted a buddy. But, those servants of God, at that camp, kept reaching out to us. They would text her and message me on Facebook.
I was willing to go with her, but we hadn’t really saved up for two of us to go. The leadership there was undaunted; they offered to scholarship one of us. I didn’t have a Vacation Bible school to run; I felt perhaps God was calling me to a new ministry.
We both returned talking non-stop about it. I prayed about the money to go the following year and what do you know? God provided.
This year, our entire family is going. I shared here, a few days ago, about how my church’s attempt at VBS this year, didn’t get off the ground and how I was disappointed, but not discouraged. I received so many sweet comments about the passion that others had seen in me for that ministry and how they too, were disappointed for me.
But, last year, at Salkehatchie, those people were shocked that I felt called to work with young children at VBS. They felt like I was definitely called to work with teenagers in service to the community.
And that’s why we have to keep our eyes on Jesus on this journey we call life. It’s not about what we think we want or do best. It’s about embracing wherever He has called us to be and whatever He has called us to do, right now in this season at this moment.
It’s about glorifying God with every little bit of our passions and talent. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.
This week, I will join with other Christians to repair the home of someone who is desperately in need and I won’t be posting, but I can’t wait to share all of the many ways that God will show Himself to us this week.
We appreciate your prayers. Meet you back here soon.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂