Shaping Service

Last April my dad, brother, and I had the privilege of going on a medical mission trip to the Yucatan Peninsula. An eight-day trip, our team traveled to small villages (“pueblos”) around the city of Valladolid, Mexico. We spent each day from Monday through Friday in a different village, opening medical and dental clinics to minister to the needs of people in the area. Local pastors and missionaries used this opportunity to share the gospel with those who came for treatment. It gave my heart joy to hear of the Holy Spirit’s work in lives as a result of the trip.

For those considering short-term missions, know how worthwhile the effort is. Not only does it bless others, but God can use the experience to strengthen one's faith and relationship with Him. The Lord used our trip to Mexico in an instrumental way both in my life and my brother’s life. Not only were we exposed to a challenging environment, we also learned more about what it means to serve and cultivate a servant’s heart. Having studied Spanish two years, we found it encouraging to apply and practice what we had learned. It meant so much to communicate with the people even at a limited degree. We found that cultural immersion is absolutely crucial when learning a language. By the end of the trip, our Spanish speaking skills and accent had really improved.

Overall, the Lord has worked in the past missions opportunity to kindle an interest and reveal a purpose in learning the Spanish language. My brother Steven and I occasionally visit a Spanish-speaking church service nearby to exercise our Spanish and at the same time receive nourishment from the Word. How wonderful to observe the fervent love for Christ in other believers and feel the presence of God–a bond which ties us together as the Body of Christ–even when worshipping in a different language! In addition, we have just been accepted to go on a medical missions trip to Lima, Peru which will take place at the end of February, Lord willing. I find it encouraging that God has placed this opportunity in our pathway and hope that He will continue to use these missions experiences to shape our lives.

A Meaningful Journey

(The following essay was written as a part of my advanced composition class):

Last June a portion of my family embarked on a trip of a lifetime. My dad, older brother, and I traveled to Sweden with my grandparents. Planning to trod the ground of my great-grandparents' homeland, we looked forward to getting a visual account of our family's background. Our schedule overflowed with ambition as we tried to pack as much as possible into short trip. We enjoyed exploring the past together as a family, digging deep into history, and learning more about the lives of our predecessors. God brought our family close together as we spent time with each other and contemplated his sovereign work in our history.

While traveling and sharing the experience together, I noticed our hearts bond in a unique way. Watching my grandmother converse fluently with family members and other Swedish people gave me a new respect for her. Her crucial role in translation helped us immensely, building a bridge between us and those who could not speak English. As we visited numerous family farms and churches, my grandparents joyfully shared facts and information with us. They related interesting stories about our forefathers and pointed out many landmark locations while we caravanned from place to place. I knew those walkie-talkies we packed would come in handy! Such quality time -- a total of almost two weeks -- gave us a deeper relationship with our grandparents as we listened to them share their heart. How meaningful for them to come alongside us to pass on such rich legacy!

Our tour of Sweden also brought a realization of the Lord's blessing on us. God directed my great-grandparents to America and gave them a solid faith. In America they could grow in the discipleship of a strong evangelical environment. Despite leaving their families behind, they gained something far more valuable: a deep love for Christ. As believers, they passed the torch of faith to the next generation. However, through our interaction with relatives and cousins in Sweden, we observed that those who remained had not handed down their faith to their children. Out of all of the relatives we met, not one of them demonstrated a relationship with the Lord. We grieved over their blindness. This instance highlighted God's mercy towards our family, a fact which humbled us and kindled an attitude of gratefulness.

In closing, our journey provided the means to visit and enjoy our heritage as a family. It served as an opportunity for my grandparents to share and expound on the depth of the legacy we will continue. That we could reflect on our family’s history together made this trip especially meaningful. We found a new appreciation for the lives of our ancestors but more importantly saw how God used their lives to affect us down the road. As a whole, the experiences we had during our trip to Sweden illuminated God’s hand in our history and knitted our hearts together in thankfulness for the grace he has shown toward us.

*Click HERE for pictures of our Sweden Trip