Day One; Or, The Journey Begins

I don’t know what my expectations were going into this mission trip; all I know is that I was in a place in my spiritual life that I did not like. I felt isolated and secluded, not to mention the fact that I was in a time of spiritual starvation. I needed a way out right now. As I was praying one night, I went on the Regent campus ministries web page to look for devotionals and for some way to connect with other Christians at Regent; I knew that there had to be something there.

Then I saw it: Fall Break Mission Trip. I knew immediately that I was supposed to go, so as soon as I found out that there were some spots left, I signed up. But as the time approached, I realized that I had finals and finishing touches for three classes that I would have to complete in four days. To make a long story short, I was very close to dropping out. But I will thank God every day that he gave me the strength to press through and go on the trip.

Let me just say that I had never been on campus before last week, so I did not know where everything was. My mother and I drove past the parking lot because we were expecting to see a lot of vans where I was supposed to be; but as it turned out, only two vans were going. So we drove back to the parking lot and I jumped out and asked the small group something like, “Are y’all leaving for the mission trip?”. Little did I know that this small group was going to be full of some of the best people I have ever met—but more on that later.

We started out around 9:00 AM; I was in the very back of Dr. Kidd’s van sitting next to a woman named Crystal. After some time driving, we had a conversation about things that I haven’t talk to anybody about in a long time. It felt amazing—and foreign—to be able to open up to a person that I had only known for the past thirty minutes. And that was only a taste of the friendships that would develop over those five short—or rather long—days.

When we reached our destination, we went straight in to unpack and get ready for orientation. First item on the agenda: reaching out to the homeless. I cannot fully describe in words what happened on Saturday night. (Did I mention that I have never been on a mission trip before?). Our team was charged with the task of passing out items such as blankets, toiletries, sandwiches, and prayer. I wish I could write about everyone we talked to that night, but alas, this post is already too long.

One man that three of us talked to was a Vietnam vet with PTSD. It was definitely a learning experience to listen to him speak. At first he did not want prayer, but after the three of us listen to him for about twenty minutes, he said that since we listened to him, he would listen to us. That night, I learned that missions are not all about giving people material things and preaching at them; it is about forming relationships and listening to people the way we want people to listen to us.

And…

“The Father Is Glori-fied!”