This will be my 3rd Mission Trip with Movement Mortgage - I have been to Recife Brazil and La Paz Mexico. I believe we all have our own personal reasons for taking a mission trip and we all bring back something special and different about our experiences.
My first trip was to Recife Brazil and it was a such an amazing experience for me. Going to another country, experiencing the culture, meeting the people and hearing their stories really opened my eyes to so much and touched me in ways that other volunteering or outreach experiences had not. I also came back feeling a little “out of sorts” to be honest. Part of me felt guilty for having so much, part of me felt a bit lost about how I could now make an impact at home and I also felt like no one around me understood my experience. I was also extremely upset about the fact the fruit I purchased in NC tasted nothing like what I experienced in Brazil 😊. Once I got back to my reality, the feelings of guilt dissipated and turned into feelings of thankfulness and appreciation. My feelings of being a bit lost turned into wanting to make a difference here at home and making an effort to encourage and help others fund their mission trips.
My second trip to La Paz Mexico was also impactful but in a different way. I knew each person on our team which was a great bonding experience, but I was lucky enough to have my son join us. I still got so much out of this trip but the most impactful part for me was watching my son interact with the staff, community and children that came to the camp, it was an experience that I will never forget. We met so many people who have been impacted by Rancho El Camino and I felt so blessed to have experienced a small part of what they do for the surrounding community and people on a daily basis.
The teams in Brazil and Mexico are serving their communities, doing amazing things through God and it has been a privilege to work alongside the missionaries and my mission teammates. I considered returning to Brazil last year with our team however there were some personal life events happening that just made me feel a bit unsettled about committing. After making the decision not to go, Danae told me about the trip to Thailand that was just announced the day before she told me. She briefly explained the purpose of the trip and I automatically felt the desire to go. God works in amazing ways and after praying the night before, I signed up the next morning for Thailand. After months of feeling unsettled about the timing for Brazil, I felt calm and prepared to make the decision commit to this trip.
For some reason, the preparation for this trip feels very different for me. I have been feeling a bit anxious about what we will experience there and just yesterday one of our team members actually sent out an email stating she was a bit anxious as well, wow.. it wasn’t only me feeling this way?? I think part of the anxiety is something we put on ourselves, we want to make a difference, an impact, and we may be scared as to if we will be able to accomplish that. I am not a person who is comfortable saying a group prayer, I am a worker, I need a job to do and I wonder to myself if that makes a difference as well. As I reflected on these feelings this week, I just decided to hand it over to God. I pray he uses my gifts and abilities to make a difference in the way he sees fit as well as those of my teammates. I feel something really special will happen in Thailand and I will continue to pray for safe travels, meaningful connections and experiences for us all. My goal for this trip, I would like to take more time to be present with those I come into contact with, not focusing so much on the “job” at hand.
My first trip was to Recife Brazil and it was a such an amazing experience for me. Going to another country, experiencing the culture, meeting the people and hearing their stories really opened my eyes to so much and touched me in ways that other volunteering or outreach experiences had not. I also came back feeling a little “out of sorts” to be honest. Part of me felt guilty for having so much, part of me felt a bit lost about how I could now make an impact at home and I also felt like no one around me understood my experience. I was also extremely upset about the fact the fruit I purchased in NC tasted nothing like what I experienced in Brazil 😊. Once I got back to my reality, the feelings of guilt dissipated and turned into feelings of thankfulness and appreciation. My feelings of being a bit lost turned into wanting to make a difference here at home and making an effort to encourage and help others fund their mission trips.
My second trip to La Paz Mexico was also impactful but in a different way. I knew each person on our team which was a great bonding experience, but I was lucky enough to have my son join us. I still got so much out of this trip but the most impactful part for me was watching my son interact with the staff, community and children that came to the camp, it was an experience that I will never forget. We met so many people who have been impacted by Rancho El Camino and I felt so blessed to have experienced a small part of what they do for the surrounding community and people on a daily basis.
The teams in Brazil and Mexico are serving their communities, doing amazing things through God and it has been a privilege to work alongside the missionaries and my mission teammates. I considered returning to Brazil last year with our team however there were some personal life events happening that just made me feel a bit unsettled about committing. After making the decision not to go, Danae told me about the trip to Thailand that was just announced the day before she told me. She briefly explained the purpose of the trip and I automatically felt the desire to go. God works in amazing ways and after praying the night before, I signed up the next morning for Thailand. After months of feeling unsettled about the timing for Brazil, I felt calm and prepared to make the decision commit to this trip.
For some reason, the preparation for this trip feels very different for me. I have been feeling a bit anxious about what we will experience there and just yesterday one of our team members actually sent out an email stating she was a bit anxious as well, wow.. it wasn’t only me feeling this way?? I think part of the anxiety is something we put on ourselves, we want to make a difference, an impact, and we may be scared as to if we will be able to accomplish that. I am not a person who is comfortable saying a group prayer, I am a worker, I need a job to do and I wonder to myself if that makes a difference as well. As I reflected on these feelings this week, I just decided to hand it over to God. I pray he uses my gifts and abilities to make a difference in the way he sees fit as well as those of my teammates. I feel something really special will happen in Thailand and I will continue to pray for safe travels, meaningful connections and experiences for us all. My goal for this trip, I would like to take more time to be present with those I come into contact with, not focusing so much on the “job” at hand.
God's going to work everything out and use you guys to make a BIG impact! :) Praying for you all.