For a month this summer, God called me to Dublin, Ireland and it was truly a life-changing experience. I was an intern for the Dublin Christian Mission serving at their homeless ministry: The Light House, their cafe: Taste and See Cafe, and working in the DCM Office. I went into this trip being very open-minded and that I was there to do whatever was needed of me and I was open to, however, God wanted to use me. Yet I never expected how much of an impact this trip truly would have on me.

From the other volunteers to the people who came to take advantage of the services that DCM offers, I was truly impacted by them. Now, of course, there were some times where it was hard, but that just showed me how much I truly needed to lean on God and trust Him in all situations. The people I met and got close with, it was truly and special experience. From the conversations to their stories, it was truly amazing to see God at work in the lives of others.

Conversations were a huge part of this trip. Most of my time was spent in The Light House and I was able to have a lot of conversations with the homeless people that came through the doors and even if it was just a simple short conversation, they were all so impactful. The fact of being able to have someone tell you what they have gone through to be where they are, but work towards getting better or even just to tell you what they went through which shaped who they are is truly an amazing conversation.

Being able to be in a place where God is so present an at work was something that was so truly inspiring and just continually opened my heart to being at work for God. Even in the little things God was present. It was so inspiring that even a hot meal would allow you to be able to see how much of an impact that and a simple conversation can have on their day.

There is always talk about how God can be present when someone goes on a mission trip, yet at the same time the trip is what you make it and the experiences you choose to take and that's really what this trip was for me. I was there by myself, so I didn't have any friends to do things with like if I had been on a team. Now both experiences are truly beneficial, but being by yourself brings a new air to it. I was able to learn so much and take more steps out of my comfort zone because I had to and that was incredible.

This trip changed my life in so many ways, but the biggest thing was truly being able to come alongside God and do this trip with Him wholeheartedly. I couldn't have imagined a better trip and God blew me even farther past what I imagined. To see Him at work there and amongst the others, I was serving with was truly an amazing and life-changing experience.