Before I get into the trip, let me give you a little background on how and why this came about. Last summer, Todd Zimmerman, the leader of my church's young adult ministry, Engage, announced that he felt God leading him to take a group of us on a short-term mission trip to Kenya. The summer before that, Todd had been to Kenya himself and received the conviction and vision to begin Engage. Originally, when the trip was scheduled, it was around the end of May and into the first week of June. There was no doubt in my mind, somehow I just knew I would be going to Kenya. However, that was before I learned the dates were changing... and changing to be during my birthday! For most people, this wouldn't be a big deal. But, if you love birthdays as much as I do and my own birthday, specifically, you would know the dilemna I thought I was facing. My instant reaction was "Welp, there goes my opportunity for a mission trip. I couldn't possibly be gone over my birthday..." And instantly after I thought that, I felt God gently whisper into my heart, "Megan, what better way to spend your birthday than to be sharing the Good News about Jesus Christ?" So there it was, I was going to Africa.
On the morning of Thursday, June 7th, I woke up, packed a few lingering items in my suitcase, grabbed my backpack and headed to the church. Our bags were then loaded into vehicles to take us to the airport, and we were sent off with prayers, hugs and kisses from family and friends. Once at the airport with tickets in hand, Dan Crosley, the missions pastor at our church prayed over our group one last time and sent us off. While in the airport waiting for our flight, I saw the Vice President of Operations for Dow AgroSciences and got the opportunity to share with him that I was going on a mission trip. This would be the first of many doors God opened for me to grow in courage and boldness to share my faith.
Our flights took us from Indianapolis to New York to London and then on to Kenya. One of the best ideas someone ever had was for our group to wear the same t-shirts every day. This way, we were easily identifiable in crowds of people. We often got asked what our group was doing, opening countless opportunities to share about being on mission for Christ. While in the New York airport, we met another mission team headed to Kenya, too! Turns out, two in our group had sat directly behind two in their group at the Passion Conference in January. This may not seem like a big deal, unless you knew that roughly 45,000 students attended Passion!! How awesome is our God?
(Circle picture...laying on the airport floor!)
Good bye USA, hello London.
The journey had begun.
Jesus came and told his disciples, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." - Matthew 28:18-20
No comments:
Post a Comment