God Moments in the Gulf

Our group (left to right): John, Zanosha, Kayla, Sara, Me, Tisa, Gabrielle, and Aubree.

    I just came back from my first-ever mission trip and all I can say is ‘Wow!” It was such a

great trip. I traveled with a group from BCM down to Orange Beach/Gulf Shores, Alabama, to work with a group called ‘Barefoot Believers.’ The week included serving pancake breakfasts to folks in the RV parks, beach outreach (passing out water/salvation bracelets, doing face painting/hair wraps, and walking the beach talking to people), and helping with a low income after school program in Aaronville.

Here’s a quick photo montage of some of the things we did throughout the week:

     While I could go on about all the things we did, the two biggest blessings for me probably weren’t as obvious to everyone else. God used the week to reteach me and remind me of the power of prayer and the blessing of community.

     Before we left, we were asked to find at least 3 prayer partners who would pray for us before and during the trip. We were given a list of things we should ask them to pray for (like safe travels, good health, unity, etc.), but we were also told to include any personal requests they could pray for too. Here are the exact words I sent to my prayer partners almost a month before even leaving for the trip:

My personal needs:

- Emotional/metal strength, and words! I am extremely introverted and I will need to be extroverted and willing to talk/share with people for the entire week.

- Rest/health/preparation. I am working the several nights prior to the trip and after we get back (12 hour night shifts). Pray that I am able to get rest when needed, and be packed/prepared to go on time.

Talk about answered prayer! I was able to get enough rest to keep me going, and even though we woke between 5:00am and 6:00am every morning (which would normally make me a walking zombie), I was alert and ready to go for whatever the day held. There was only one morning where I felt super tired. I might also mention that I was not only packed and ready to go on time, but arrived at the BCM house to find everyone else still waking up/getting ready to go!

As for my mental/emotional strength, it was also a prayer answered in a big way. Nowadays when I spend lots of time around people and am very busy, I feel drained by the time I’m actually able to get some ‘me’ time. I was also nervous about talking to random people - about anything, let alone approaching them and talking about spiritual things. Because of the prayers of my prayer-warriors, neither of those things was really a problem. Oh sure, I didn’t go running enthusiastically up to every person at the beach, or sit down with every person at breakfast and have deep spiritual conversations with all of them, but when I did talk to people I felt (for the most part) at ease. It was not perfect, but it went far smoother than I ever dreamed it could.
     The biggest blessing of all, though, was just having a week to hang out and fellowship with other believers, friends. Working a rotating night shift and being very introverted, it’s incredibly hard for me to develop close relationships with other people. My very closest friend lives hundreds of miles away. I’m also one of those people who tends to believe I can make it on my own; that it’s safer that way. It’s been a really, really long time since I’ve had a normal ‘friend’ relationship with anyone. So the biggest blessing of the trip actually came in all the in-between times, not just serving side by side, but talking in the van, sharing stories over dinner, laughing together, and sharing bits of my life/story (and listening to their stories too). Despite my life being very busy, it’s often a lonely one, and for a week I got to live and breathe and laugh and walk in real relationships with friends. That was the biggest blessing of all.