Montana or bust

About this time last year, I was sitting on top of a mountain at Camp Bethel overlooking the town of Mandeville, Jamaica. One of the highlights of my year is leading our High School summer mission trip. I see students’ lives changed in ways that blow my mind. Certainly God doesn’t need a mission trip to draw students to Him, but He seems to use them anyway.






Last year we took 150 high schoolers and leaders to Jamaica for 10 days of cement and bucket lines (we perfected the art!), Vacation Bible School, worship, community and space. (There’s no other time of year you’d see that many high schoolers without cell phones, computers or iPods!) The last night we were there, we took time to debrief, end well and prepare for coming home. In our family groups we washed each other’s feet and each of the leaders had come up with specific words to describe and bless each student. After we shared those, we came back together to lift our voices in worship to the Lord. I sat with a girl I’ve known a few years–she had just graduated high school and was headed to college in the fall. As everyone was singing around us, I felt the need to just be still with her, pray for her–I knew the Lord was doing something in her heart. Before I said anything, without even looking at me, she said, “I’m tired of running.” I’m not really sure if she was talking to me or the Lord, but she proceeded to tell me that she’s been running for too long, living a double life and that she was tired. She didn’t want to fight anymore, to pretend anymore. She wanted to really walk with the Lord. As we prayed together, the music around us began to come back into focus and they began singing “Galatians 2:20”.