Since January I have been working in the Adventures office as the Passport Mobilizer. My job consists of talking with college age students from the time they are accepted to one of our Passport trips until they are on the field.
Typically this means I will be in communication with a participant for about 9 months to 4months depending on when they come through the process. During this time I answer their questions about life on the field, their trip in general, help to comfort their parents about them being gone for 3 months, and much more.
However once they are on the field I am no longer their point of contact. They have other people in place to check in on them and make sure things are going smoothly. I read their blogs from the field and follow their Facebook updates, but I’m not always able to see exactly how the months before their trip I was able to impact them. There are times I wonder if what I did really did make a difference.
Well this past month all that changed.
I had been planning to go back to India for the month of September and partner with Sarah’s Covenant homes. I went through my own process of fundraising and traveling to India. I knew there would be a passport team at the same location but I didn’t know how much I would be around or involved in their ministry.
The India team is a team of girls that I have been talking with since the summer and helping them to get to India! The Lord did something beautiful this month where I was able to do ministry alongside these wonderful young women each day. This is something I was not expecting.
The team and I loved on and played with kids all day long each day. But the best part was seeing this team do ministry together. I was able to see the process and struggle of choosing ministry and choosing their team. I watched this team of Passporters step into what the Lord is calling them to do while in India. I watched them die to themselves and choose to love on these children through being tired and not feeling well.
I saw dedication, perseverance and Christ’s love in this team. I watched as 10 women started to form a tiny family of sisters. It was a privilege to watch the women I knew as individuals with individual questions, concerns, and different difficulties preparing for the trip, all become one family that looked like nothing I could have imagined.
This was a month were I left my cubicle and was able to sit back and watch a team that I helped mobilize do ministry. It was a time to know that because of my 9to5 job where I sit at a desk all day long in a cubicle talking on the phone and answering emails is why these women were able to love on children and grow as a team. It’s because the Lord has called them to this country for a reason and I was the tool that helped them arrive there.
India Passport team with me and their babies
Photo Credit: Brittany Dietzman
You don’t always get to see the fruit of your labor, but this past month that is exactly what I was able to do. It was a blessing unlike any other of knowing that I am making a difference even on days where it doesn’t feel like I am. That if someone wasn’t sitting in my cubicle each day then this team would not have their visas, travel information, or reassured that everything would be alright on the field. If those things don’t happen then this team would not be in India right now growing as a team and loving on kids.
I’m excited to be back in the states again and returning to my cubicle on Friday. Because I know there are other college age students who will be launching in January who need me to answer their questions, listen to their concerns, and talk with their parents.
And while I’m preparing others for the field I will continue to pray for those on the field this fall. I will read their blogs, follow them on facebook, and know that the Lord has called these teams to do great things.
Even through the hard times there is a reason I sit in the seat I do Monday- Friday from 9am to 5pm. And this past month I had the privilege of seeing why!
