Our Second Meeting!

Last night we congregated together once again for the second meeting in preparation for our mission trips coming up in December. Just as last time, the teams entered into the room at 12 Stone Church to find aesthetically-pleasing decor resembling their countries origin on their team's table, this time accompanied by tasty foreign snacks. I myself couldn't help but break into a box of coconut cookies, while others on the Haiti team all passed around a liter of pineapple soda. I was only awakened from my state of coconut bliss when people began to stand up all around me; it was time to worship.
After a few amazing worship songs led by the talented Katie Morgan, we all felt spiritually awakened and ready to receive the message that pastor Miles Welch of our Water's Edge ministry was about to give. As he spoke, his message unfolded to be about opportunities in our lives... "How you make, manage, and miss opportunities will determine your life", said Miles. He went on to prepare us for "7 Opportunities in Short-Term Missions", and get our hearts and minds ready to be molded in ways we may not expect (or even want) when God does his thing on this mission trip. I won't write all seven of the points he made about opportunities we would see on this trip, but a few of my favorites include:

The opportunity to re-clarify our life's purpose for Him on this trip. To solidify God's calling on our lives. While on this trip, we will be asking ourselves "Is this more important that anything I could be doing at home?"

The opportunity to experience God as a provider. It's amazing to see him provide the finances and resources for this trip that we could never provide by ourselves.

The opportunity to grow in our servant heart. "When we begin to go to church to serve, and not be served."

And the opportunity to deepen and sharpen our prayer lives. "Pray because there is a God with the answers!"


I only put those few up for the sake of brevity, but each of the seven opportunities rang deeply within every one of us going on this trip, as a new commission to those who have never before done a mission trip and as a needed reminder to those who have. After Miles was done speaking the teams split up into their own groups, and got together for some team-only bonding time. It was then when we shared our testimonies with the rest of the group. As each one of us told our testimonies of how Christ came in or moved in our lives, we got to know each other just that much more, and we got to see how God is such an amazing person to each one of us in his own individual way. Each meeting the group continues to grow a little bit and get to know each other a little bit more.

Thank you for reading, and please continue to pray for us on the Haiti team. Please pray that we will continue growing and maturing and never stop seeking God in everything we do; all the way up to the day we board the plane and after. God Bless you all, and have a great week.