Mission Trip 2008 « Ramblings of Grace

Monday, May 26, 2008

Mission Trip 2008

Last year I went to Juarez, Mexcio with the LCA students to work at an orphanage. This year we were unable to go to Mexico, so we ended up going to New Orleans instead. It was a great trip, and I got a strong message from the Lord. If I could pick one thing God said to me it was this, "My ways are not your ways and my plans are not your plans." A whole lot of our trip was spent learning to go with what God wanted to do and accepting it when He changed everything you thought you would do.

First off, we started out on May 19 in five vans, headed towards New Orleans. It was a good trip, no accidents and we arrived safely at our home for the week, Berean Bible Church.

Our plan for the week was to spend the mornings on work crews that were doing work for various people and organizations and to hold a VBS in the afternoons. For the sake of clarity, I'll just tell what happened with the work crews and VBS during the week seperately.

The work crews went very well. The group split into at least three vans and took off to work on different things. One group was working on the youth pastor's father's home. This man's home was flooded during Hurricane Katrina and our crew helped him to fix part of it. We also prayed for this man, since he is not a Christian, but is now getting to see how Christians put their deeds where their mouths are. Another group worked to fix the floor of a deaf church that was flooded from the hurricane as well. One day, another group went and helped teachers at a school put up from the end of the year. I spent most of my time at the New Orleans Mission. This is a mission where homeless people can find shelter and even get on work programs. They needed various things done including gardening, cleaning and laundry help.

Near the mission was an old building that is being renovated into a church. They asked us to help them unload a truck and then demolish a room they are preparing for children's ministry. We got a tour of the building and it was fascinating! The building was built in the early 1900s and was primarily owned by the Shriners during its lifetime. It is three stories high and on the second story there is a large auditorium that was used, among other things, for a circus. Yep! A circus on the second floor! They showed us where doors used to be where elephants would be hoisted onto the second floor. We also got to go to the roof of the building (via a nice ladder with a long drop; I didn't look down) and got to view a good share of New Orleans. It was some neat history. We spent most of the time there taking apart the aforementioned room. I don't have any pics of that, but it was hard work and fun at the same time. I really admired how the students approached the work with gusto and had it done in no time.

Now for VBS. This was where we learned the truth that God is the one in control, not us. We thought we were going to put on a VBS for inner city kids. We had planned to have an intro with worship music and puppets and then split the group in half and do games and crafts. I was involved with the teaching team that worked in the beginning. The intro went fairly well, despite trying to work to get the kids quiet so they could hear the teaching. But when we broke for games and crafts, all chaos broke out. I don't want to go into nitty gritty detail, but suffice it to say we had an uncontrollable mob on our hands with messes everywhere and no respect for our authority. It took us twenty minutes just to get the kids to leave at the end of the VBS. I admit it was overwhelming, frustrating and maybe a little scary. We were all kind of shellshocked at the end. We realized right away that there was no way we could do what we planned. So we regrouped and replanned.

We came up with the idea of having several centers with smaller groups and our students corraling similar age groups. We also had to all get the strict gene right away. We needed to demand respect from the kids and have consequences for their actions. Basically, we decided that a kid would get three warnings and then they would have to leave the VBS. We also doubled our forces; more of the guys came to help us. The intro went well the next day, but we still had to learn that God has His own plans. Right after the intro, a woman came into the center we were using and said they had a meeting and we needed to leave. So out we went and our plan was never put into action. So we get to the next day and guess what? It rains, the building we're using is locked, and we can't get in. So we spend an hour just hanging out with the kids. Acutally, I think it was a good time and our students and the kids got to get used to one another and get to know each other. Well, at this point, we realized God was saying, "You aren't going to be doing what you thought you were going to do. This isn't the time to formally preach the word. This is the time to show the word through your love to these kids." So for the last day we planned a kind of block-party carnival. We had booths with face painting, puppets, worship, crafts and games. We handed out food as well. I thought that went better than anything else we had done. And I think we realized why were there: 1) We were there to prepare the way for the next group. We were there to make the presence of Christ known and 2) We were there to learn to love those that are difficult to love. And we did. We came away with hearts for those that need the Lord and desperately need His love. Below are two pics, Lindsey and Rachel sharing the love of God with the kids...

There were some other things that we did in New Orleans as well that impacted us as well. We had great worship and devotional time. The students led the worship and devotions and they helped guide us in our worship of and love for our Lord. The devotions were challenging and the worship phenomenal.

I was also leading the intercession group during the trip. Our group got together every morning at 6:30am :-o to pray and even took one day out of the week to fast and pray together. This group had a huge impact on me. I felt my prayer life revitalized. It made me hungry for more deep prayer not only with my God but with others praying along with me. I'm reminded of the fact that every big revival in history began with brothers and sisters gathered together in prayer. God was certainly present and I am energized now in my prayer life more than ever.

One of the most awing things on our trip was getting to drive through the places that were affected during Hurricane Katrina and the floods afterwards. There are still hundreds of homes that have never been rebuilt or are in need of repair. It was so hard to get my mind around the fact that these areas were flooded from 8-12 feet high. It breaks your heart and makes you humble to know what happened to these people. I felt honored and privileged to be there and helping the people of New Oreleans regroup and rebuild.

Finally, the most awesome thing for me wasn't actually things we did in New Orelans, per se. Whenever I go on a Mission Trip with students my goal is always to get to know them better and to serve them. As a teacher, I feel so much of the time I am focused on teaching that I don't get to know my students personally. This trip I got to know so many of them so well and I am so glad. God confirmed to me my calling to work with youth. For years now I have felt my heart's desire to get real with youth and to encourage their walk with the Lord. I feel that God did that through me this trip and that is the most rewarding thing of all.

What a trip! And how awesome to know that God is in control no matter where you are in the world and who you are ministering to. Lean on God; He's the only stable thing in this universe:

"'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'" Is. 55:8-9

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." Prov. 16:9

Posted at 09:37 am by Charis77

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