We were asked to write about what we were expecting to happen on our mission trip….
I’ve been thinking so many different things since I learned I was accepted to go on this mission trip. And it’s so hard to put them into words sometimes so I thought this might be an easy way to explain it to yall…
Emotional overload
X-treme adventure
Praising God
Experience of a lifetime
Courage in the face of adversity
Taking up my cross and following HIM
Accepting all God’s people
Thanks be to God for all his blessings
Insight into my spiritual being
Overcoming physical struggles
New family
Sharing the love of God with others
I expect to my have my emotions pushed to the limits and I’m actually looking forward to it, which sounds crazy. But in reality I know these emotions I will feel will be from God and I can’t wait until I can begin to feel the “weight of the world”.
I expect to experience extreme adventure. Looking at other world racers blogs and the things they have been able to experience excites me!! I will have opportunities to bungee jump in South Africa, hike through a volcano in Guatemala, ride an elephant in Thailand, or even go on a safari in Kenya.
I expect to praise God on all four corners of the world. I can’t wait to experience God’s amazing beauty and live with the different people that he has created in his image.
I expect to have the experience of a lifetime!! I know that this is what I am supposed to be doing with the next year of my life. This is something that I will never forget and will take with me wherever I go. It will change my life forever.
I expect to need courage in the face of adversity. I know that some of the things I will go through and see in my 11 months overseas will test me emotionally and spiritually. There will be personality clashes within my squad, temptations to be negative, feelings of failure, and spiritual valleys. But I also know that God will give me the courage and the strength to face each new day with a smile and the hope of teaching other’s about his amazing grace.
I expect to take up my cross and follow HIM. I will literally taking up my pack and following God’s direction around the world. This trip is exactly what he meant when he said for us to make believers of all nations.
I expect to accept all God’s peoples and to be open to the different cultures I will encounter. I know that I will see things that I am not used to and will try foods I have never heard of, and I am so ready for it!! I have always wanted to travel and experience new things and having that combined with sharing the gospel is the best thing I can do with my life for 11 months.
I expect to give thanks to God for his blessings. I know that God has blessed me so immensely throughout my life. No matter what struggles I have been through, I still lead a great life filled with a family who loves me, friends who would do anything for me, great health and an education some people would kill for. I thank God every day for everything he has given me, and I know that I will be met with even more blessings while I’m on this mission trip.
I expect to gain insight in my spiritual being. I know that this trip will bring out the best that God gave me and I’m ready to be closer to my Lord than I have ever been before. I am ready to feel his presence in all that I do and to learn more about him.
I expect to overcome physical struggles. Once I became accepted to this trip and I began telling people about God’s plan for my life I was met with lots of questions and concerns. A main concern that my family and close friends came to me with was, “what about your back? Will u be able to carry around that heavy pack all day?” And those are very valid questions in light of my past issues I have had with my back. But whenever someone asks me I always reply that I will be just fine. And the reason that I can have such confidence in that response is because I know God will be with me each step and he will take away my pain if that is his desire. If not, then I can still seek comfort in him and know that I am not alone.
I expect to inherit a new family. There are people all across the country who are in the same place that I am, they are preparing for their trip and they are writing their expectations blog. These are the people that I will be lucky enough to share my life with for a year. These are the people that I will call family and we will make our home in a different country each month. I am ready and willing to adopt these people and hope they are ready to do the same!!
I expect to share the love of God with others. I pray that each day I will come across the people that God has placed in my path for me to meet and share God with. I know that God has been preparing me for those people and for those situations my entire life. And I know that he is using other world racers to plant seeds in those people’s lives that my squad and I will begin water and the racers that will come after us will watch grow into strong men and women of God.
