The time had finally come. All the months of fundraising, preparing our hearts, packing 500 times…all to get to this one day, which turned out to be several days. Launch! I thought it would be more emotional than it was. Sure it was hard to say bye to family and friends but it’s different when you have the peace that you are doing exactly what He has planned for you. That peace is such an incredible feeling, one that I had been missing for some time.
My last few weeks in America had been difficult. The anxiety that had come over me was something I had never experienced. I questioned if I had prepared enough for this upcoming year. How can you? You’re going to forget things. You’re going to wish you hadn’t packed as much. You’re going to want to be near the ones you love. Most of those thoughts disappeared when I saw my squad family. The security I have with these people is so incredible. I can’t even explain it. We had several sessions before we actually boarded our first plane to Miami. One of the ones that hit me the most is that we are the church.
What is the church? What is its purpose? What does it look like? Our last day we were sent out to the streets of Atlanta to minister to anyone we could. I was excited but at the same time concerned that it was going to be a “go convert everyone” kind of experience. Not really my thing. I’d rather build a relationship and find out about the people; plant a seed if you will. It was definitely good practice for me as well as for my team. We learned patience and how to pray for direction.
I learned something bigger at launch though. I learned that we are the church. The church isn’t a building with four walls and a roof. It’s a community. It’s full of love and compassion. It loves everyone because let’s face it, we’ve all sinned. The most important thing about the church is that its center point is Christ. Everything is done according to His will and not our own selfish desires. That’s the church I want to be a part of. I believe that that is the church we are building with S Squad. We mess up sure but ultimately we have the same goal. We are your average 20-somethings wanting to spread a message of love that is so great it’s overwhelming. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” That’s the kind of love I long for. Verse 17 then says, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but to SAVE the world.” We need to put every judgmental thought on hold and love every individual whether it’s easy or not. That’s our mission. That’s our purpose as Christians. Go BE the church outside of the building!
