Personal Awareness : My First Mission Trip Essay

Last Sunday at church Father Ron said something that hit home for me. He said that a mission begins with an invitation. I grew up in a rural area in the highlands of Nairobi, Kenya. Life was not easy and I always made a point of maximizing the opportunities I got. I grew up knowing that I wanted to be in a profession that really helped people improve their wellbeing. When I got the opportunity to go to university I choose to do Biomedical Science because I was very good at science and I thought that being a scientist was my calling. However, becoming an adult and having varying experiences like volunteering in a children’s home, working in the field doing research, working in a laboratory and currently working as a nurse aide has taught me

"I want to do some mission work. I'm currently unemployed, and It hurts when family calls me a loser for having no job. God told me I don't need to do a regular job. I need to do something with a purpose. I will be a missionary by God's grace.

I am writing to you today to tell you about an exciting opportunity I have through my school, Liberty Christian. My senior class will be going on a mission trip to COSTA RICA from Saturday, May 6, 2017 to Friday, May 12th. During this time, we will be working with the mission agency SCORE International in order to serve God by serving the Costa Rican people. We will have opportunities to serve and minister to the people we meet through various service opportunities, such as: children’s ministry, preaching, drama, and humanitarian aid distribution.

This past summer, I traveled to New Mexico on a mission trip. For the first time in my life, I witnessed our spiritual battles, as Christians, against the darkness of this world. I could see and feel the darkness and that surrounded the vibrant and beautiful city of Taos, New Mexico, and my heart ached for it. Despite the many obstacles we faced as we shared our through sports camps, I felt God’s presence through it all. Knowing that God never left my side, gave me a rare peace that cannot be found anywhere else. It’s safe to say that New Mexico, not only changed my life, but saved my heart as well.

Fast forward, the Lord guided me through the U.S. Marine Corps, Desert Storm and four tours of U.S. Embassy duty, it was not easy as in those days you had to fight daily as a Marine. It was just par for the course, so to speak, this I believed harden my spirit along with frequent drinking. I think the drinking became a way of coping with the tragic death of my mother among other things. While in the Marine and living in Africa I had a vision of a mountain and a gathering of people dressed in white. I later determine that the mountain and the people were in Ethiopia. The people all looked as though they were in a trance and were walking to and from the mountain. When I would walk up and asked them what they were doing, they would only say one word to me "Exodus" the Greek word meaning to depart just as the Israelites had departed Egypt. At the moment I did not truly understand what God was saying, but I now I realize that God was telling me to turn away from my worldly ways. See as a Marine I became very aggressive and would fight at the drop of a hat. I was a drinker and womanizer and the more of both I had, the better I thought I was doing. That said, the vision I had was the embarkation line of my departure from the Egypt of my flesh and the beginning of my journey and transformation; not to say I am perfect now because I am still a finite being, but I am not who I used to be.

As a convert to the Church i felt prompted to serve a Mission, Having no clue what a Mission was or what to prepare for was a great lesson i learned to love.

We have spent some unbelievable time in Brazil, Nicaragua (X 5), Honduras (X 5), Africa, and Hungary. We are rolling to Mexico this June, and I am looking forward to serving in Haiti in the very near future. During these trips, my ministry focused on women and children. I have been called to be a carpenter, painter, roofer, journalist, photographer, teacher, evangelist, pharmacist, concrete mixer, story teller, clown, softball/soccer coach, and singer to name a few. God called me to be an ambassador for Christ, and He has never failed to be my provision. Any menial task that was my responsibility, He smiled as I enthusiastically performed my calling. From dodging scorpions and poisonous toads to running from a brood of chickens, I never had a dull moment on mission with God. My travels began in 1999, and the following pages are stories

I have been praying for God to give me an opportunity to go on a mission trip this summer. Many opportunities have gone by but I did not feel God calling me to those places except for Africa but I talked to you guys and you said no, you would rather keep me alive lol. But anyways, about a week ago I was scrolling through Instagram and one of the summer mentors at First Baptist Woodstock, Natalie Priest, had posted a picture with a caption saying that her church Zion Hill Baptist Church is going on a mission trip this summer to Guatemala. When I first read this I thought to myself, oh my goodness that is so exciting!! Well, that entire night I could not stop thinking about this trip. So I started pouring myself out to God asking Him over and

Strangely, it seemed like God was saying, “You should be going there.” I didn’t see how I could do that. I had no money and I had to take care of the mission in Brockton. After the meeting, I went to get a drink of water and ran into a woman named Mrs. Rose. I didn’t know anything about her except for her name. She told me, “I have been watching you, and I really feel like you should be going to Nyack.” I then confessed to her my situation. She then said, “If God shows you clearly that you should be going to Nyack, I want you to know the Lord has spoken to me and that I will pay your entire tuition.” I then started praying for a leader to take over the mission, and as always God provided. I started going to Nyack when I was 23. I had a wonderful

This summer I have the honor and privilege to be able to advance God's kingdom with a mission trip to Costa Rica. I'll be going with a group of missionaries from Living Word Family Church to Siquirres Costa Rica. While there, we'll be doing street evangelism including ministering to the people and dramas for the public. The team I'm in is the Youth Team, and we'll be in Costa Rica from July 9th through the 16th.

I have been a missionary kid ever since I was approximately ten years old. I have lived in South Africa for a total of about 6 years within 3 terms. My dad was a successful businessman, but one day he felt the Lord calling him into full-time ministry. I can recall him telling us as a family about what was happening. Before we even went onto the mission field, God was placing in me a personal zeal for people. I remember receiving a picture in my mind of me playing with the kids in Africa and doing crafts with them. I told my mom and dad about this picture, and we began collecting craft supplies from craft stores around our area. It was a really awesome project and some people even heard about it and stopped by to give what they had. I was able

Laughter and the sight of smiles flooded my mind for weeks; thoughts of a place full of green trees, blue skies, and the happiest people kept on floating back into my mind, but I still felt horrible inside. My trip of a lifetime just ended and I did not know how to deal with the heart ache that came along with it. People have been telling me for years that mission trips change your life, but I never felt this way. I felt empty on the inside. How could I be living so extravagantly while there were people starving and homeless right across the ocean? How could I live in an air conditioned, five bedroom house while people lived in a mud, one room house? How could I eat food and throw out the rest while people barely had any? These questions haunted me for weeks

Have you ever been on a mission trip? A group of 27 from my church went to Baton Rouge, Louisiana this summer. This trip took lots of things like planning, getting the money I had to have, hospitality, and kindness. I knew going on this trip was gonna be an amazing experience and I was right. I got to spend the whole week with 26 other people who mean alot to me and help me when they can.

“The Mission” is a motion picture, directed by Roland Joffe in 1986, about a Jesuit mission that is threatened by greed and imperialism in the late 18th century in the Brazilian jungle. Father Gabriel, played by Jeremy Irons, climbs the mountains of Brazil to bring Christianity to the natives. He is successful and brings about a golden age among them. Mendoza, played by Robert De Niro, a slave trader, kills his brother, Felipe played by Aidan Quinn, in a fit of rage over a woman named Carlotta, played by Cherie Lunghi. Only Fr. Gabriel's leadership prevents his suicide. Gabriel brings Mendoza to work at his mission with the natives, and Mendoza finds peace and asks to become a priest. The Church, under pressure, gives the land up to the

I would like to reflect on a few key moments of my spiritual journey from childhood that has led me to my call to ministry. I do believe that as the prophet Jeremiah was called before his birth (Jeremiah 1:5) that some are called and know their purpose from an early age while others find their path later after stumbling through life. Perhaps it might be that they have heard the call but were uncertain or unwilling to answer the call. Looking back on my life’s journey, I can see the “God moments” and how they have influenced my faith journey.