I’ve been thinking for a while about going on an overseas missions trip. When I found Adventures in Missions through an ad on Instagram, it seemed like the perfect opportunity. As I prayed about it, I knew that God wanted me involved with this organization in some way. At first, I had looked at the gap year. Nine months traveling the world with like-minded believers and sharing the love of Jesus sounded pretty amazing, but I have a scholarship at the university I attend, and a trip of this length seemed better for after I graduated. So, I was conflicted. I wanted to take God’s love and truth across seas but didn’t have peace about the gap year. That’s when I found out about the semester trips that the World Race offers. I was so excited to discover that I could spend a chunk of my summer stepping out of my comfort zone and following Jesus’ example in loving others. I filled out an application and then I had to choose which trip I wanted to go on. Every opportunity looked wonderful and it wasn’t easy deciding. I was able to narrow my decision down to the June trips. I have a niece arriving in June and I wanted to be here for July to spend time with her and help out my brother and his wife (first time aunt as you can probably tell). So that left me with Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nepal, or Swaziland. I have friends who have traveled to Nepal and as much as they love it, I didn’t feel led to go there. I considered both Costa Rica and Ecuador and was leaning toward Ecuador when God put Swaziland in my heart. Initially I hadn’t considered Swaziland for a few reasons: the trip was more expensive, the culture was probably very different, and I’m not a fan of planes! But as I prayed about it, God made it clear that he could take me anywhere and Swaziland was where he wanted me to go. I started looking at pictures of the people and the country and instantly fell in love. The description for the Swaziland trip stated that the team would be working in orphanages. I have worked with kids for a long time and love doing it. I strongly believe in the importance of caring for and teaching the next generation. In fact, I’m studying to be a teacher, so working in an orphanage sounded like an amazing experience. I selected the Swaziland trip and took the next steps. A bit later I had a phone call with my admissions adviser about some general information. He told me that I would set up another phone call in about a month, so when I got a phone call a few days later it made me kind of nervous! Thankfully, there was no bad news… just a change of plans. Instead of working in an orphanage, the focus of the mission team would be to help with sports camps for kids. Ronny (my admissions adviser) asked me how I felt about this and if I wanted to consider changing trips. But God had already told me to go to Swaziland, so I already knew what my answer was. I explained that athletic abilities are definitely not my area of expertise, but as long as they weren’t a requirement, I was up for anything. To my relief, Ronny told me it was all about spending time with the kids and having a good attitude. At least I have a few months to try and learn this whole sports thing! I’m beyond excited for this trip that I know will pull me out of my comfort zone and shake things up. I’m ready to seek God through all of this and cannot wait to grow closer to him in the process. My “theme” verse for this trip (and for the whole year really) is Isaiah 7:9b which says, “unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm.” Please join me in praying that I would have firm faith as I prepare for this amazing experience. I can’t wait for all that is to come! Thanks for reading!
