missions

So we returned from our mission trip late Friday night. The trip was…amazing! So many things happened in the course of one week that I don’t think my brain has had time to really process all of it. We had tons of fun but we also worked hard. Though we didn’t do anything overly amazing (such as build a house or whatever), we did serve. The thing that I realized is that we don’t have to wait until an official missions trip in order to partake in mission work. Missions can begin the second we step outside our doors and be applicable in all we do. Holding the door for someone, picking up a piece of trash or any other act of random kindness (also know as “ark” – Evan Almighty); all are examples of how we can serve others. We don’t have to go to another state or out of the country in order to give aid to someone else.

One of the things that was so cool to me was the worship. We arrived in L.A. Saturday afternoon and had to go straight to the evening service without having the chance to drop off our luggage or change clothes. We walked into the church and went down front to the altar, where many others were already congregated – a sense of expectation in the air. As soon as the band started playing, all of us immediately recognized the song and could enthusiastically belt out the lyrics (there wasn’t any of that awkwardness that comes with trying to sing an unfamiliar song). It was the coolest thing to be able to worship with complete strangers but yet be unified in our worship. We also met people from other parts of the world; their only reason for coming to the U.S. being the Dream Center. It was really fun talking to them and hearing their accents.
The most important thing about the trip, for me, is the desire not to go back to how things were before. I don’t want the feelings I’m experiencing to be strong for a while but then gradually fade until I’m exactly where I was before leaving for L.A. It can be so easy for us to let life invade our newly found peace or purpose or whatever we each discovered and we’re finding ourselves waiting for the next missions trip in order to find it again. We have to make the decision to not revert back to how things were because for me, I don’t want to go back. I feel like this trip was a major stepping stone for me and I want to continue to move forward, finding out what God has for me so I can fulfill the calls He’s placed on my life.

I really like this video by Brandon Heath. I think it fits with the whole “missions” idea because in order for us to love on others, we need to see them as God does; through His eyes. We need to take the time to step away from ourselves so we can focus on others. Plus, it takes place in an airport and I think that’s really cool :-)