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View Photos from Youth in Mission 2007
"One day, our team went to a village in the middle of nowhere Senegal. There were about 300 kids waiting for us when we arrived. We did crafts and played games and had a wonderful time. In the afternoon, we had the opportunity to hand out Samaritan’s Purse boxes (the boxes many of our churches put together at Christmas with toys, school supplies and a book about Jesus). We were so excited to be a part of the handing out process. But, we soon realized that the number of boxes was no where near the same as the number of children. Now, not only did we notice the looks of pure joy and excitement on the kids’ faces that had received boxes, but we noticed the kids’ sadness that were not getting them. Our hearts broke. It helped our team realize that when we feel one box is not going to make a difference, it actually changes the lives of children around the world. We are now more motivated then ever to support drives like this and get our churches involved." "There was a little girl that we met at the beginning of our trip. She spoke like most people in St. Kitts speak, very negatively with what we would consider hurtful words, and she had more attitude and sass than most. We spoke to the children consistently about using kind words and acting like Jesus would. At our Vacation Bible School this young girl asked Christ to come into her life. Later, we caught her telling one of the other children to be nice and use kind words. We got to see her transition. She began very hard and by the end of our trip became vulnerable and let us in – and let us influence her, and most importantly she let Jesus come in and let Him change her." "Through this experience, God taught me to have no expectations and to fully rely on him to use my weaknesses for his strength. What we did at our site was nothing that was planned when we signed up for this experience, but I wouldn’t want it any other way…God showed me that my mission field is wherever I am. He can use me as long as I am surrendered to him." "Our second week at the hospital, my teammate and I were sitting at the nurse’s station on the surgical ward. A man passed by who had white patches of skin all over his body. Curious as to whether this could be an effect of leprosy; we asked the doctor when he made his rounds. The doctor explained to us that the white patches were a type of psoriasis that is caused by a lack of calcium in the diet. It was not painful, though. The man was so sweet. He would smile at us every time we passed by. The next week, we were informed that the man with psoriasis died. Before he died, he told the doctor that he was glad he got to see us. We learned that compassion is not always having the right thing to say or being able to do something for a person. Many times it is just being a presence in that person’s time of need. I think that is what we were at the hospital this summer, a positive presence in a dark time." "I learned a lot about loving people – realizing that no one is beyond the reach of God’s love." "God taught me that when you wholeheartedly serve and try to bless people, you will be blessed even more. God taught me that showing love to someone, even just a little, can make a world of difference. The words of Jesus came to life this summer. The Bible is a living text." |
