Appalachia:
1.
As a Youth Pastor, I was very encouraged to see
my teens be challenged. They have absolutely grown closer to the Lord through
this experience. Josh’s teaching connected with our teens on their level.
2.
On the very first day we were at City of Hope,
one of the ladies there told me her story within 10 minutes of meeting her. We
had been praying that God would open up the doors for us to share life with
these women, but we had no idea it would happen so quickly. Later she told us
that she had never told anyone her story and that it was her first time sharing
that with someone. We encouraged her and loved on her and by the end of the
week, everyone was in tears when we went to say goodbye.
3.
The staff was amazing and they were such a blessing to everyone here. We
had a great time and we know that God worked everything out for good.
4.
Over all it was a great experience for our
youth. They were able to see that there are many people in need of seeing God’s
love. I feel that this trip was a stepping stone to do more relationship
buiding at home.
5.
Tonight is one of those nights I hope to
remember for the rest of my life. I tried to take as many mental pictures as
possible, trying to soak in every moment, but even those don’t compare to
actually experiencing it in person. In our team debrief meeting tonight, our 14
middle schoolers sat in a circle on the floor to share about our day’s work.
After hearing some great stories from the day, Luke raised the question,
“How would you rate your spiritual life on a scale from 1-10 before coming
on the mission trip until tonight?” It was great to hear how much these
young teens have grown in the two day’s we’ve been here. Their eyes have been
opened. Their hearts have been changed. Our prayers have been answered. As the
group continued to share, it became evident that these teens desired to spend
more time with God on a daily basis by reading the Bible, but didn’t know where
to start. Like many of us, they struggle to make it a priority in their lives.
Little did they know, Luke had packed away One Year Bibles for each person, not
knowing if and when to distribute them. When he mentioned the Bibles to them,
their eyes lit up and smiles filled their faces. I wish you could have seen
their smiles! It was as if we just had given them new iPhones. It felt like
Christmas morning with everyone quickly tearing open their new One Year Bibles,
EXCITED to get on a daily schedule of reading the Word. While this was
happening, Luke and I exchanged glances and smiles as we watched their faces
light up. I have never seen anyone get that excited to receive Bibles. What a
special moment that God blessed us with! My eyes filled with tears as we bowed
our heads to thank God for that special moment. After we left the meeting, we
headed back to our host homes and the girls and I stayed up late, as I tried to
answer the many questions the girls were asking about the Bible. This morning,
they all bombarded Luke at breakfast with more questions. God is definitely
stirring their hearts and minds and drawing them closer to Him. It is an awesome
sight to see!!
6.
God is ever present in our lives and He can live
in us and change us. I saw, in myself, and in others a deeper understanding
between the people we are and the people we met. The connections we made are
invaluable, and God’s work in our hearts changes us. I am changed as I look at
my children working beside and with the Lord. Outside the box of home life,
they are still, and maybe even more so, giving and loving people.
7.
God did some really cool things in our hearts on
this trip. I love the ATL time. As a pastor I have told our group that I would
love to incorporate this into the life of our church.
