We've been wanting to go on a family missions trip for a while, after being inspired by the many friends who have taken their family on long term and short term missions trips. We were so excited when we heard about this trip to Duckwater because it seemed like the perfect trip for our family. The conditions didn't seem too harsh or dangerous, the time frame was perfect, and we were able to go with our church family here at CCIC.
My biggest concern entering the trip was, how will we be used by God to do his work in such a short time? I felt like we didn't really have much to offer. We weren't there to build houses or be medical missionaries or teach English. We were there just to hang out and see what God can do through us. We were there just to make ourselves available for what God had planned.
Looking back, I think we definitely got more out of it than we gave, because just by being on the trip, we were able to witness some amazing things that God was able to do through us.
One example of how God was able to use even the littlest things that we have available was seeing the impact of bringing our kids on the trip. Most of you already know I have a 10 year old son named Jacob, and a 7 year old daughter named Joanna. Besides that Joanna got bug bites and a minor eye infection, and Jacob suffered from a bloody nose, they pretty much nailed the concept of "just hanging out". They immediately made friends with the local kids and played with them like they were their neighbors. And the amazing thing is, just by playing on the reservation with a few kids, they attracted more kids, who attracted their parents, to our activities. In fact, God gave us strong bonds to one particular family whose children were instant friends with our kids. Those kids showed up at every single gathering we had including coming to church on Sunday. And what was even better was that those kids' parents started hanging out with us, and one evening, instead of going to the 4th of July party at a neighborhood reservation, which is something a lot of the natives did that night, their family spent the whole evening, till almost midnight, with us. The parents were playing volleyball with me while the kids were just playing like they've been friends forever. By the end of the three days, we felt pretty close to that family, and I exchanged email addresses with the wife, so I hope to stay in touch with them, and I do hope we can come back next year just to continue our relationship which developed so quickly and so easily.
Another example of God's amazing power was being able to witness Him draw people to our activities. Since I was in charge of the kids crafts, I had to purchase some craft supplies ahead of time. I calculated to have enough supplies for about 30 children. I was a little disappointed when I heard that I should expect only about 6 kids, and even more disappointed when the missionary, Marv, said not to be surprised if only 2 people showed up to our activities. Those low expectations started seeming more realistic the first morning, when our groups were split up to do the prayer walk to invite locals to our activity. Out of the 13 houses we walked to, only 4 families opened the door, and of those, only 2 seemed receptive to coming to our activities. But to my amazement , at the first session of crafts, God drew about 30 kids to the church, and their were enough crafts for everyone. Not only that, but the kids came with adults, and some of those adults even participated in our crafts and activities. And later on, the missionary told me that the community was being brought together through their kids, and that it was rare for certain families to be in the same building as another, due to unresolved conflicts in the past. But God was able to bring these families and children together to enjoy an afternoon of crafts together, despite anything that we expected.
One way I felt really blessed from the trip was spending time with the rest of the team. For one thing, I really don't get a chance to meet the youth, and I was really encouraged to see these future leaders serving. They labored with the youth, they cooked, they cleaned, they led worship and prayer, and they even got down on their knees to play with all the kids. It was also nice to spend some time with the other members of the English congregation, and I'm amazed at all the coordination and all the cooking that was done. No stomach was unfed, no shower was missed, and everyone had a comfortable mat to sleep on over the school floor.
On a final note, probably one of the most touching memories I have of the trip was of a photograph that was hung up inside the school. It was taken 18 years ago by a Chinese church that had been coming there for 18 years to have VBS. Next to the picture was a quilt, and on the quilt were some of the kids handprints and artwork, and the words "God Loves You" . What was the most touching was that two of the kids in the picture were now adults participating in our events, both of whom I spent a lot of time with. In fact, one of the "little boys" in the picture, was Lorin, the father in that family that spent practically the whole 3 days with us, and his wife made us a beautiful visor for us during one of the activities. She decorated it with the words, "Thank you CCIC group".
We still have to pray for Lorin, because as an adult he still hasn't come to accept Jesus as his personal savior. However, the seed was planted in his heart 18 years ago, and now his kids continue coming to the VBS held by that Chinese church every year. In fact, to my surprise, when I was teaching the kids during Sunday school, they already knew how to sing "Awesome God" and a song called "Joshua 1:9". I just felt in awe to think that we are just a part of God's plan in Lorin and his family's life, a part of something that was started at least 18 years ago. It reminds me of one of my favorite verses that I think about when I am a short term missions, From 1 Cor 3:6,7
"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." 1Cor 3:6,7
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