I want to start this blog post by thanking every person who has helped in supporting my journey here. I arrived in Quito, Ecuador at 1 am on Monday, but even before that, we had 4 days of training camp plus an entire day of travel on Sunday. The Holy Spirit showed up so much in those few days and continues to do so. I’m already experiencing a change in the way I interact with people on a daily basis.
“Life is ministry and ministry is life.” This is a phrase that stood out to me at training camp. My prayer is that God would work through me as a human vessel everyday of my life.
Our first day “back in the real world” after training camp was travel day. This isn’t a “day of ministry” for us – simply a day to get to the place where we are expected to do ministry. But as I already mentioned, life is ministry. There is not a ministry switch that you turn on and off. Ministry is all around, even on days like this.
There was a man playing the xylophone in the Atlanta airport and I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to go up and talk to him. Normally, I probably wouldn’t have because of the fear of rejection in a public place. But with the support of my leader, Kelly, I stepped out of my comfort zone and spoke to him. I am so glad I got to hear part of his story.
Here are just a few things about him…
– He grew up in the Caribbean and longs to go back one day
– He went to the Berklee College of Music
– He toured with multiple artists, including Marvin Gaye
Because I showed an interest in his life, he asked me about what all of us were doing in the airport. My actions stood out to him because I was one of the few people that took the time to listen to him. This gave me the opportunity to share my heart and explain what my team and I will be doing in the next 3 months. This wasn’t a planned day of ministry, but that’s the beauty of it. Ministry can be as simple as taking time out of your day to talk to a stranger.
It is very apparent to me that God used me before this mission trip even “officially” started and that ties to the fact that everyday is meant to be ministry. While training camp was great in preparing us for this mission trip, it also helped to prepare me for life and I’m excited to see how everything I continue to learn and experience can be used in the future. I am so incredibly thankful for these 3 months God has blessed me with, and especially thankful for how they will impact ministry the rest of my life.
