When I first decided to go on a mission trip. I was apprehensive. I was scared. I was nervous. But more than anything, I was excited. I didn’t quite understand how God was going to use a little, ole Southern girl to impact lives in Castle Rock, Colorado; but you see, that’s the thing about God.

He takes the ordinary, broken people and uses them to do extraordinary things. Remember Moses, the guy that parted the Red Sea? He had a speech impediment. Remember Noah, the guy that built the ark? He was a drunk. However, both men still went on to glorify the Lord.

And then there’s me, an ordinary girl with no real special talent, and a heart full of sin apart from Christ, called to minister to children and missionaries all the way in the West.

Looking back, I’m so glad I decided to trust that God had a purpose and a plan for me there. I was able to help lead Vacation Bible School and assist the missionaries with making progress on their youth building. It was a week full of serving, growing in the Spirit, and falling more in love with my Savior.

Christ called me on another mission after my senior year of high school. This one was overseas in Nassau, Bahamas. Here, I would be working at All Saints Camp, a place where people with various spiritual and physical needs lived. These people were some of the poorest people I have ever met, however, they were also the most joyful. During this week, I not only go to help build one of the houses for the residents, I also got to minister to them.

There’s not a time that I hear Amazing Grace that I don’t think about sitting on Mr. Arthur’s porch listening to him sing the song the Lord had placed on his heart. And thinking about the smiles and “Amens” of Mr. Patrick as he watched us use power tools, brings a smile to my face and puts joy in my heart. These people were so appreciative of the work that we did in our short time there and they taught me so much more than I taught them.

I think my favorite part about mission trips is what God teaches me about His character. On the trip to the Bahamas, the first thing you saw when you arrived at the camp was a tree with wooden signs containing phrases and words that described the character of God: “mercy”, “righteous”, “everything”, etc. At the beginning of the week, it was just the tree we all gathered around to pray before the day began. But by the end of the week, it was so much more. I realized that during the week, the Lord showed me glimpses of aspects of His character, just like the signs on the tree.

Christ has shown me that He truly is everything. At the end of the day, I could be the best physician, or a great journalist, but nothing else matters unless I am using my talents to glorify Him. He has taught me to be thankful for all of my blessings and to bless others as He has blessed me. He has taught me to trust Him with my whole heart and to hold nothing back.

Now that I am almost halfway done with my freshman year of college. Christ has called me on yet another summer mission with Cru (formerly known as Campus Crusades for Christ) and I cannot wait to see how He will change the lives of others and my own.