I have always dreamed of going on a mission trip. I have always been fascinated about the idea of traveling and being able to serve the Lord at the same time. Sadly, I have never been able to travel abroad on missions because of certain circumstances - but one summer He gave me an amazing opportunity, just 20 minutes away from my house. He opened my eyes to serving in the inner city of Indianapolis to serve as a Vacation Bible School group leader. I wasn’t extremely thrilled about the opportunity at first because nothing could replace my dream of going overseas.

I prayed that I would still find a way to serve him even though I couldn’t go overseas, and man did he deliver. I walked into a church that was an old warehouse. There were card tables and stackable chairs in what appeared to be a warehouse that had been turned into a basketball gym, but was now serving as a church. I was shocked to think that a place like this could exist in my own state, in a city less than 20 minutes from my home.

After taking in the scenery of the church, a rush of noise came through the door. As I looked around the corner, I saw kids running towards the check in table. My heart was overwhelmed with joy to see these kids so happy to be at Vacation Bible School. As the week of leading and loving on my group of six kids went on, I knew the Lord had put in me in the right place.

The kids' laughter, smiles and dancing gave me an unexplainable amount of joy. The second to last day of Vacation Bible School is when we teach the kids what it means to accept Christ into their lives, and then we give them the opportunity to do so. I was very anxious for this day and was not sure what was going to happen. I had butterflies in my stomach while driving to Vacation Bible School hoping that some of my kids would accept Christ into their lives. The time came, and I peaked my eyes open to see all of my kids accept Christ into their lives.

I cried tears of joy and happiness to think these kids were getting ready to begin their walk with Christ. Afterwards we even got to eat ice cream, so what could be better? Nothing. Nothing is better than eating ice cream and talking about Jesus with some amazing kids.

The last day of Vacation Bible School was bittersweet to say the least, and I didn’t want to let my kids go home for one last time. During our last message, a little boy who I had gotten very close with named Daionh sat in my lap. He grabbed my arms, put them around himself, and held my hands the whole time. The last message was all about how much God loves us. In the middle of the message I looked down to see him smiling at me. I smiled back and asked him why he was smiling. He replied, "Did you know God loves you and me and everyone in the whole world?” My heart was overwhelmed with happiness. I nodded my head and said, “Yes of course! How cool is that?” He looked at me with the biggest grin and said, “Really cool because one day we get to be with him forever!” He then laid back into my lap and listened to the rest of the message with that big grin on his face.

I have never been so happy and I never wanted to leave Vacation Bible School. However, it was inevitable that we would have to leave at some point. Closing ceremonies began and the buses began picking kids up and taking them home. I hugged each of them real close and told them I could not wait to see them next year.

After two years of serving the Lord at this inner city Vacation Bible School, I have realized that you can find mission trips in your own backyard. You just have to pray that he can reveal this opportunity to you. Finding that opportunity will bring you an unexplainable amount of joy that you thought you could only get on a mission trip. No matter where you live, there will always be people who are just barely making it by, or struggling with the inner city lifestyle. I can guarantee no matter where you are in the world you can find someone, or a group of people, who need your help and need you to show them God’s love, and it can be right in your backyard.

I still dream of travelling overseas to serve the Lord, but for now I am content serving him in my backyard. After serving at Vacation Bible School for two years, I have made relationships with kids who continue to come back. Although I only get to spend a week there every year, it's the best week of the year. I see the kids who continue to come back each year who remember my name, and it fills me with nothing but pure joy. To think that in one week I made enough of an impact on their life brings me so much joy.

Isaiah 6:8 says "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'"

I love this verse because God doesn't give us a specific destination - he has a special plan for each of us. So allow him to reveal to you a plan where you can serve him, whether it be overseas or in your backyard. Serve with love and grace, and soak up every second of it.