It has been a little over two weeks now since leaving the US making this officially the longest mission trip I have ever been on. I could easily call this trip a success, pack-up and go home, but I am so glad it is far from over, even though the thought of being gone for 11 months still has yet to fully hit me.
On August 5th, I flew to Atlanta, Georgia for launch. During the first two days the parents were invited to join in and learn more about this organization and the trips that their kids were about to embark on. Then it was time to say good bye to the parents, so I decided to pull the bandage off quickly instead of drawing it out, because it would have been so much harder to say a long goodbye. During the next couple days one-by-one each of my squad mates told me that my mom added them on Facebook and talked about how awesome she was. After the parents were gone we had some teachings and hang-out time until our flight early on Aug 9th.
Our first 3 days were spent in northwest Colombia in a coastal town call Cartagena working with an organization called YWAM (Youth with a Mission) until my team of six headed to an island call San Andreas.
God has given us such a weird ministry here in San Andreas, but it has been so much needed for in so many aspects for myself and each of my team members. For me, I would have never thought that going on so many short term mission trips could possibly have any downside and make this 11 month trip difficult, but honestly it really has. Because I have been on over fifteen 7-11 day trips I have lived in the mindset of a go-go-go do-do-do as much as possible in a short amount of time before heading back to the U.S. But this trip requires more of a marathon perspective than a sprint perspective. God has been using this time in San Andres, Colombia to help break this short-term mentality.
Being on a tropical island not how I expected or honestly initially wanted this trip to start. But it has forced me to step back from what I thought I was supposed to be doing and step into digging in deep with my teammates and getting to know them on a personal and intimate level.
God has showered us with blessing after blessing here on the island and we feel like we are being ministered to more that we are ministry. We have been asking ourselves why us…and the verse I got from God was this:
1 Kings 19:5-8
5Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!” 6He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again.7Then the angel of the LORD came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.” 8So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God.
I believe God is preparing us, Team Salty, for something that requires a team in whom the waters run deep. A team who will stick together no matter what the challenges are and will keep their hope and trust in the Lord. God knew that the members of this team are such big doers, and unless forced would not properly build a strong foundation with one another, because we would be far too focused on “doing ministry.”
I am not saying that we have not done any ministry, far from it. Most of our ministry so far has included going to neighborhoods in the evening when everyone is home from work and praying for them and telling about the hope we have found in God, going talking with teens in Juvy, preaching in churches, and ministering in the streets.
One of the times, when we were out going from house to house, we came to this one couple’s home and we went inside and sat down in their living room. While we were praying for the couple the Holy Spirit told me that the guy was having back trouble that was caused by a motorcycle accident. Once we were done praying I immediately pointed to Tiara, our amazing teammate and also part time translator, and said, “Hey! Can you ask him if he has any back problems,” she did and the guy said, “Yes,” then I asked, “Was from a motorcycle accident?” Tiara asked him, and again he said, “Yes” then as a group we prayed for healing. God is good!
We have also gone out with our host church’s drama team. We went to a busy strip in-between some shops and the beach. The drama team set up their stereo system and preformed a few skits, one of them being the Lifehouse skit. At the same time, we Americans were holding up signs saying things like free prayer, Jesus heals, Jesus saves, and free hugs. I immediately grabbed the free hugs sign and from that moment on I was on a mission, a mission to get as many people to hug me as I possibly could. Approximately 500 hugs later my mission was complete as my team was about to just leave me. It was one of the best days of my life and now my new favorite form of ministry.
Please pray for an easy transition for our teams as we move on to our next country next week!
