what now?

I just got back from my sixth missions trip. The last three I've been on have been out of the country but this time we stayed within the States. There were reasons for this and because of this decision, we went to the site of my very first missions trip: the Los Angeles Dream Center. If you've never heard of it, it's an amazing place! The Dream Center reaches out to the city of Los Angeles through food trucks, medical care, cleaning up trash off the streets and parks, praying for those in the community, and visiting the homeless on Skid Row - all in an effort to show God's love. They also have a rehab program for those wanting to get their life back together. There are so many parts to what the Dream Center does. I was amazed again and again at the influence the Dream Center is making. So now that we're back home, I must face the question yet again that comes up after every trip: what do I do now? I was gone for a week and it was great but now what? This year I feel like it's a little more clearer for me. One of the biggest - and yet smallest - things we did on our trip was...smile at people. Something so simple has a HUGE impact! I want to notice people and not be so busy with what I need to do that I just walk by those who are hurting or in need or just need someone to listen to them. Do we have to go somewhere else in order to do mission work? No. There is work to do right where we are. So I'm going to get busy tilling the ground in my own mission field...until the next time I pack my suitcase :)

ten days

I think about those ten days all the time. About the people we met and the message of Jesus we were able to share. Going to Guatemala was my first out-of-the-country mission trip and I know it won’t be my last. Coming back, I was changed in a way that didn’t happen with the other mission trips I’ve been on. Guatemala messed me up and opened my eyes to things I can no longer ignore. To talk to people and find out they’ve never heard of Jesus? It breaks my heart. I jotted down my thoughts every night of that trip to keep those moments alive in my mind. I didn’t want time to erode the emotions I felt or dim the power of God we experienced.

Prior to the trip we had been praying – not knowing the church we stayed with for part of the trip was praying too. We had the opportunity to meet with some of these people. They prayed over us the night before we were to begin our outreaches. They were so grateful for us to be there. It was so humbling to be a part of something bigger than yourself. As we practiced the dramas in preparation for the outreaches, I had the distinct feeling of this is so much bigger than us. We began something that will continue to grow and produce fruit long beyond those ten days.

 I know all of us who went had a different moment that stands out to them – when God showed up. Mine was a day that my group was talking with some middle school girls. Girls – who I don’t know their names – but will never forget. The four of us listened to these girls tell us about what they were going through and my…heart…broke. Each of us, through our translator, shared with these young girls and I barely had started talking before I burst into tears. I told them what they saw Jesus do in the skit, He did for them. That nothing they do can make God love them less. That they’re beautiful. All of us were crying. The four of us each opened our arms and a girl immediately wrapped her arms around each of us. I held the girl in my arms, crying with her but also praying. I didn’t have to know the language to pray for the hurting girl in my arms. I don’t know how long we stayed that way but eventually the tears subsided. I went to each of them, telling them “Dios te ama” (God loves you). I truly felt we were able to be God’s hands that day, loving those girls with His love. I left a piece of my heart in Guatemala. And now I’m figuring out how to let those ten days bleed over into the everydayness. I don’t want what happened in Guatemala to stay in Guatemala. I think the simplest way to achieve that is by loving people. To continue to be God’s hands. We can be a witness not just with our words but also with our actions. And looking back, I’m so proud of the team I went with. All of us gave 100%, playing soccer in an open marketplace with some kids and basketball at one of the schools we visited. We played with children at an orphanage. We did what was asked of us…and showed God’s love through every act.

hope

Wrapping up this month on missions, I hope there was something for everybody. The one thing I took away from my mission trip was the importance of hope. Hope is what keeps you going when things might be momentarily hard. Hope gives you the strength to try one more time. One moment that stands out to me was our last day in New York. We went to a park that afternoon and set up tables to give away water, sandwiches, chips and donated clothes. It was an area the Dream Center hadn’t done a lot of outreaches in but they wanted to. Shortly before we left, we had sidewalk chalk and got to work leaving our mark. I remember pausing at one point and watching the others. Some were drawing flowers and writing “we <3 NY” and other fun things. At the entrance to the park, one of the leaders had written “keep dreaming” and intersected the words “love” and “hope” to make a cross. One of the girls was drawing with two little girls who had walked up while some of our other students were playing with kids on the playground. It was one of those moments that you want to never forget. The picture for this post is the heart I made that day. This trip definitely left an impact on me. I don’t want to be too busy to love others. I want to love without expecting anything in return. Mission trips wake you up and make it hard to go back to how things were before. And I think that’s how it should be. 

soles4souls

Soles4Souls came about when Wayne Elsey saw the devastation of the tsunami that hit Asia in 2004. He says he felt God telling him to do something about it. So he made some phone calls and 250,000 pairs of shoes were sent to those who had lost so much. And that's how it all started. The goal? To change the world, one pair of shoes at a time. Through the site you can find out how to host a shoe drive, donate money, go with Soles4Souls as they deliver shoes and watch a video about the organization. 

saturday spotlight: reject apathy

Relevant is one of my favorite magazines. And it's from Relevant that Reject Apathy came to be. "At RELEVANT, we’ve recognized the movement of a generation restless to change the world. A generation anxious to use the abundance God has blessed them with to be a blessing to others. RejectApathy.com was borne out of that desire—a desire to live out true compassion and to embrace justice the right way. Reject Apathy is a voice for the movement—a place where like-minded world-changers can connect, dialogue and challenge one another as we work to affect change locally and globally" (source).

I'm not super familiar with the site but there's all kinds of resources and links. You can also look at the current magazine issue of Reject Apathy.

hot bread kitchen

"Hot Bread Kitchen preserves bread baking traditions from around the world while creating professional opportunities for foreign born and minority women." These words are on the back of their business card. While on my recent mission trip, a friend and I stopped by a tent Hot Bread Kitchen had set up along with other vendors in Union Square. Hearing the story behind the business - that they invest their profit into those who make the bread - was exciting for us because we felt we had something in common since we were there to help people as well. We were even more excited to find out we could order from their website after returning home :)

to write love on her arms

TWLOHA is non-profit that seeks to help those struggling with depression, suicide and addiction. It's been a few years ago that I first heard about the organization and it's continued to grow since then. It all began when some friends wanted to help Renee, a 19 year-old girl who was scared to enter rehab, saying she wasn't ready yet. Seeing the cuts and scars she had on her arms, the friends wanted to write love on her arms instead. The site has links to resources if you or someone you know needs help with any of the things that have become TWLOHA's mission. 

To me, we don't have to always advertise the fact that we're Christians. We can simply love others and as Jesus would and let them see we're different. Let them see that we have something they want. Let our faith be a lifestyle instead of just words...

the a21 campaign

I was telling some of my family about the mission trip I just returned from. I was explaining what we did - hand out bottles of water, help deliver food with Meals on Wheels - and my mom was able to summarize it quite nicely. She said "so you helped them with their outreaches." We didn't do anything majorly big but were there to provide extra hands and feet, allowing the Dream Center to do things that maybe they haven't been able to because they simply didn't have the numbers to carry it out. We helped them love the people they reach out to.

The first organization I want to feature this month is The A21 campaign. I first heard about them when listening to a podcast by Holly Furtick. Their mission is to help rescue those enslaved in human trafficking. They opened their first shelter in 2008 in Greece and last year in the Ukraine. They're hoping to open a third one in Bulgaria this year. "We do not claim to be the "experts" and recognize that our fight for justice has only just begun, but The A21 Campaign rings true through the famous words of Margaret Mead, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." The campaign stands for Abolishing Injustice in the 21st Century. 

The quote at the top of the "Who We Are" page strikes a chord in me: 

"the cause within you" by matthew barnett

I just returned from a mission trip. We spent a week helping the New York Dream Center as they love the people in the community from which they operate. I want to take this month to highlight ministries who take seriously the call to spread the gospel and share God's love. I'll also be sharing mission-minded books that I've both read and are on my ever growing "list." While we had fun on the trip (including a trip to Time Square for some shopping), we also had our perspective challenged. We not only touched others but they left their fingerprint on us as well. 

I want to start with the book The Cause Within You by Matthew Barnett. I haven't read much of the book but I was excited when I heard he was writing it. I first heard about Matthew Barnett five years ago when I went on a mission trip to the L.A. Dream Center. It was there that we found out he was going to be starting a Dream Center in New York and to finally be able to go and be a part of that for a week was an extreme honor for me. 

His ministry is doing some great things to reach out to the hurting. I'm amazed at all they do. Everything is fueled by simply wanting others to know God loves them.