When they first announced that the spring break mission trip was to Baltimore, I was super pumped. I've known for a few years now that inner city missions are my jam. I don't know what it is about it, but serving people in inner cities always holds my heart so dear (I've even considered moving to one of the cities I've served in multiple times post-graduation). I didn't know if I was going to be able to go on the trip, but I hoped that I would be able to.
Time passed by and of course it was the night before the deadline to sign up for the trip. I was pretty certain I wouldn't be able to go because I did not have a stray $250 laying around and it was so last minute, but at the time I so desperately wanted spring break plans. After a long phone call with my Dad, filled with many tears, I emailed the missions coordinator to see if there was any way I'd be able to receive any scholarship money (without it- I wouldn't be able to get to Baltimore).
By the next day, I not only received and filled out the scholarship application, but received a full scholarship covering my entire trip. This was just the beginning of God showing His faithfulness over this trip. It was somewhat of a crazy whirlwind, but you're girl was officially going to be spending her spring break in Baltimore thanks to the grace of God.
The month or so leading up to the trip everyone got to meet their groups. These 11 strangers that you are placed with were going to be the people you shared the 12 hour van rides with, worked with each day, and ate every meal with. When there was about two weeks left before the trip, all the teams got to find out their assigned ministries. Our team's ministry was evangelism. This meant no schedule, no partner church, just straight loving on the city. There was a general consensus between a lot of our group members that we did not feel equipped or that we would be able to do this job- but, just like the scholarship, God knows how to show up when we can't do things ourselves.
After finding out our group's ministry, I began fervently praying over myself and my team that the Lord would show up and equip us for His kingdom work. I didn't know what this would end up looking like in the long run, but He did.
The day finally came when it was time to leave for Baltimore. God immediately started working in our group. It is astounding to me that 12 strangers, all so very different, could be put together and get along so well and love one another deeply. It is something only God could have orchestrated and it was amazing to take in. By the end of the trip, I don't think a single one of once could have imagined this entire experience without each member of our team.
Since our team's mission was evangelism, we knew that we could get to work the second we pulled out of Clemson. One thing I prayed for before the trip was not only for God to equip us, but to put people in our paths that He intended for us to talk to and love on. He did not fail in answering this prayer. All of us had encounters with different people- some so great and others not so much.
Here are few stories I thought I would share.
Before we started our work days, we got a day to explore the city of Baltimore and fall in love with it. We did not abuse this time to start reflecting Jesus' love to the citizens of Baltimore. This picture above is our group at dinner with our waitress Leetha (or LeLe). We got to love on her while she was serving us. Her job as a waitress is her second job that she does at night to earn extra money after she works at another job throughout the day. She is also taking classes working to earn her degree. We got to pray for her that the Lord would give her endurance in all the things she is doing. Leetha helped a lot of us reevaluate our attitude we have towards just doing our schoolwork when on campus. It was refreshing to have a perspective adjustment this early on in the trip.
This sweet lady in the photo above is named Joyce. On our first day out "working" in the city, after a few hours of walking the streets talking to people we ended up in the Inner Harbor. We were sitting, waiting to feel that pull from the Spirit who we should talk to next. We tried to go talk to a man, but as we went to approach him, he got up and left. Right before discouragement could set in, Joyce approached us. She works in the Harbor as a guide giving recommendations to tourists on things to do in the area. Joyce's name is so fitting for her because she radiated so much joy while we talked with her.
We told her our purpose of being in Baltimore, and she immediately opened up about her life story and how good God has been to her. She said if it weren't for Jesus, she would have died a long time ago. She told us how 15 years ago, she lived on the streets addicted to crack, snorting cocaine, when she felt God tell her she couldn't live the way she was living. She said she could hear Him so clearly. He told her to call her niece, so she walked multiple blocks in a snow storm to get to a phone booth and called her niece. The next day her niece took Joyce to Philadelphia where she got help and met Jesus. She also told us to share her story that it may help someone else (feel free to share it yourself with others as well!). She also told us about all she had going on in her life from her job, her new fiance, an injury in her foot, and readjustments of people within her household, but never once did she complain. We left her feeling so encouraged in what we were doing and the Lord knew all along that Joyce was just the person we needed to meet that day.
Another day, we used worship as a way of bringing people into conversation. Worship is something I treasure more than anything else, so to get to do this was so special. A cool way the Lord worked in this day was He allowed me to use my gifts that He gave me to love on someone else. This day I got to meet a four-year-old girl named Denim and her mother Ebony. I talked with the both of them asking Denim about her favorite princesses and what she did at school that day. Ebony told me that there was a man that would usually do tricks in the harbor on Wednesdays so she would bring Denim to watch him, but he wasn't there that day. I took that opportunity to entertain Denim to the best of my abilities and make her feel loved. I sang a song from the Little Mermaid for Denim and in that moment it was like nothing else in the world mattered. Denim's eyes were glued to me. After words, Denim and especially Ebony were so grateful. That was such a God thing that He would allow me to use my gifts to love on a little girl like Denim.
There are many things the Lord taught me throughout the trip. He was so faithful throughout and I felt that He was so close throughout the whole week, which I needed greatly. I don't know if I could have had the boldness I did have if He wasn't close to me in those moments. His love was revealed time and time again throughout the trip and it was so incredibly sweet to experience that.
He also showed His faithfulness through answered prayers. All the prayers I was constantly lifting up before the trip, He answered to the fullest. He prepared and equipped me to do His work. He even brought encouragement in it, that I wouldn't discredit myself from what work He had for me (something I am often guilty of). He put people in my path to speak to. There are more stories than shared in this post, but He put the people in my path that He intended for me to speak to. He took away all fears. There were very few if any moments were I was fearful while out doing evangelism, which is major compared to my past experiences. Not only was He faithful to my prayers, but some of my team members got to take part in some miraculous work through prayer and the power of the Spirit.
If I can encourage you in any way, here are my major takeaways from Baltimore:
- Know the Father is sovereign over all and has such incredible things in store.
- He will never, ever abandon you.
- If you feel the Spirit telling you to do something, do it. Don't worry about the logistics- He has you.
- Know prayer is powerful and that the Father is listening- He will be faithful to you through that.
No comments:
Post a Comment