Last Summer I decided to go on a four month mission trip with people I didn’t know to places I’ve never been to. The mission trip started in fall and it was one of the most incredible and transformational experiences of my life. So much so that I stayed longer than I intended, and I am so grateful I did. I grew so much as I was constantly being pushed out of my comfort zone day after day. It was definitely hard, but in the end I didn’t want it to end. As it is at an end though, I am trying to make the most of my time on the mission field by implementing the things I’ve learned into my life at home.

Now, let’s rewind back to the beginning so you can understand why I stayed for two semesters and how that changed my life. In the first couple weeks of the trip, there was an opportunity for us to stay for another four months after a break at home for Christmas. I thought about it for a while, and after some thought, I realized: “Hey, if I go back home for the spring semester, I’ll just take classes and work. This would be a lot more interesting, and I’ll grow in my faith!” So I decided to stay for the second semester. After the first semester, though, when I went back home for the break, I didn’t think that I was going to miss the mission field. It was hard and uncomfortable, but it also grew me and the relationships I made on the trip. As I lived at home, I started to miss being out there. So when I went back out to the mission field I was ready and excited for more. More missions, more community, more growth. And I was not disappointed. 

The first place we stayed was in an orphanage in Mexico. We helped with whatever they needed around the orphanage. We played with the kids, built a garden for them, and near the end of our time there we had a huge party for the kids. After that we lived in Guatemala, and our ministry was often to lead worship and prayer sets where anyone could come and join us. It didn’t really feel like we were doing missions at first, but as we would pray and worship for hours on end, I started to realize service is about serving God more than it is about serving others. 

As we were in Guatemala, I not only grew in service, but also community. I connected with the people we were serving alongside, and on our last day with them we had an amazing time. We hung out, talked, prayed and worshiped together. I never thought I would be able to make such good friends in another country in such a short amount of time. But now, to quote Winnie the Pooh: “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

Finally being back home, I do miss my friends a lot. I miss the people we worked with in ministry, and I miss the excitement of living with 25 other people. I do try to focus on the present, though. So being home I am trying to implement what I learned out on the mission field in my life at home.

There is a passage in John 16 where Jesus is talking to the disciples and he is telling them that he has to leave. Jesus says that  “it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper (the Holy Spirit) will not come to you. But if I go I will send him to you” In the last few weeks I thought about that passage a lot, because doing life with my friends who are just as passionate as me about pursuing God felt like walking with Jesus every day. Going back home kind of felt like Jesus leaving and even though it doesn’t seem better Jesus says it is to our advantage. I was in a place where we went and served the Lord everyday, but now I am  in a place where there’s always so much to do and everything is pulling me back into living for the world. I’m not alone though, I have the Holy Spirit, my friends and family alongside me. God is with all of us in this struggle against the world, and “for those who love God all things work together for good.”

I’m so excited for this next season of my life and what God has planned for me! In this last season of life there was so much growth and hardship, but also an amazing community that I had such a great time with. 

And going into this next season of life, I am finally FULLY FUNDED!!! Thank you all so much for all of your support, I seriously couldn’t have done this without your financial help and prayers. This trip has impacted my life in huge ways and I will never forget it or all of you whose support allowed me to do this. Thank you so much.