Over Christmas break, my dad and I went on a hurricane relief trip to Manahawkin, New Jersey, through Adventures in Missions. We were divided into groups for our work assignments and worked with people from all over the United States and Canada. We played games, let loose, shared our hearts, and bonded in the way that mission trips facilitate bonding. Despite the cold weather, it felt like an awesome week at summer camp.
Though only six days long, this trip served as an introduction to Adventures in Missions and gave me a trial run of sleeping on the floor, living in community, working as a volunteer, not showering, and eating a lot of “white” food. It confirmed again that I do not, in fact, enjoy sleeping on the floor and keeping my stuff in a giant pile, but that it’s nothing compared to the hundreds of displaced hurricane victims whose possessions are riddled with mold and water damage.
Had I not gone on this trip, I never would have met the amazing people who came from 14 different states and two places in Canada. There were people from all different backgrounds and denominations, which made praise and worship time interesting – I don’t think there was even one song that every person knew – but it was still so awesome to see everyone join together in our love for the Lord.
Working on this trip with Adventures in Missions confirmed for me that God is actively working in and through this organization. It was so cool to hear everyone’s testimonies in how the Lord was using the experience to play a larger role in their lives.
Since being accepted to go on the World Race this coming September (Route 2), I’ve struggled with how to start fundraising. I’ve never felt comfortable asking people for money outright, so finding sponsors has been put on the backburner the past couple months.
While on this Sandy Relief trip through Adventures, God blew the doors wide open on that front. In getting to know people on the trip, I shared with them that I’m graduating from Oklahoma State in May, which of course prompts the question, “What are you doing when you graduate?”
I shared with a few people my plans to go on the World Race, and everyone was really enthusiastic and encouraging! I’m not used to people knowing what this program is, but since World Race is a program through Adventures in Missions, many of them had at least heard of it before.
Friday night rolls around, and having begun the trip on Wednesday, we are all feeling like best friends at this point. Everyone is sharing their testimonies and how the work we were doing with our host church and in the community was impacting their lives. At one point, our trip leader Dave called me up to the front with another lady named Tatiane whom I hadn’t gotten to know very well yet. Tatiane ended up being the first person to contribute to my World Race fund and gave me a really encouraging note.
I was shocked, thinking, “Really?? You don’t even know me!!!” I was so blessed by her gift. From there, three other individuals and one family gave me money for my World Race account. God definitely had big plans for me on that trip, and it was amazing to see how faithful people were to His call.
Please enjoy this hilarious video of the "work" we did in some of the houses on the Jersey Shore: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRWlXC7sNTg&feature=player_embedded
Video credits to Alia Burlew.
