I have been in church all my life and had never been on a mission trip before. I’ve heard the stories and listened to amazing testimonies. I’ve witnessed how mission trips have changed lives.

Through the years, I’ve watched Kinsley Smith go to Haiti and fall in love with the people there. I’ve watched her fall more in love with God. I just felt like I was missing something powerful.

 

The Lord allowed me to quit my teaching job last year for this season of my life. The past few years I’ve really been trying to get serious in my relationship with the Lord. And when you start drawing close to God—you grow closer to His heart. And He has a heart for the poor, the sick, the needy, the outcast, the orphans and widows.

 “Who is like the Lord our God, who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, he seats them with princes, with the princes of His people.”

Psalm 113:5-8

I’ve sat here for 35 years in the comforts of this country and I feel like I need a good kick in the pants. I want more.

More of Him.

Yes, there’s a mission field here. Wherever there are people, there’s a mission field. But for me, this opportunity to go on this mission trip was an opportunity to get away with my Lord-to experience Him in a new and different way.

You know how it feels being in love with someone and you can’t wait to go on all kinds of adventures with them? I think the Lord wants us to be like that in our relationship with Him. We follow Him to different places and circumstances, and we get to experience more of Him. We see Him in the different places and faces. We see more of His heart.

It’s being a God chaser.

Going on a mission trip is a step of faith. The enemy will do everything he can to stop you from going. He will come up with every excuse in the book. When I made the decision to go, I didn’t know how I was going to pay for it. But He took care of all that, every single detail. Something I have learned about the Lord is if He says, “Go!” we just need to say, “Yes, Lord!” and go. What He wants is our obedience. He will work out all the details.

 

Spurgen said, “I’d rather bring one soul to Christ, than unpack all the Divine mysteries of the World.”

That statement hit me hard. That’s totally where I was at. I love to go to church, attend Bible studies, and hear messages. That’s my comfort zone! But there comes a time when we need to take that next step, out of our comfort zones, and do something about it.

We need to share truth with others.

My pastor, Robby Gallaty says, “The Gospel came to you because it was heading to someone else.”

Jesus said in Matthew 28:19, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

That’s what Jesus did. He was always about His Father’s business and investing in people’s lives. And He wants our passion to be the same.

 

I just got back from my first mission trip to Haiti yesterday. I went with a Christian ministry called Agape to the Nations, founded by Charlie and Kinsley Smith. Agape provides homes for orphans who have transitioned out of orphanages. These homes provide teenagers with opportunities to get an education, learn a trade or career, and most importantly, fall in love with Jesus. You can learn more about this amazing ministry here at https://www.agapetothenations.com.

Over the next few days, I will share about my mission trip on the blog. It was life changing. As my friend Krystal said, “We cannot un-see what we’ve seen.”  She’s right. And I don’t want to. I just want to figure out what God wants me to do with what I have seen!

I went to Haiti to spend time with the Lord, to see and experience Him in new and different ways–to find Him.

And find Him I did. But not in the ways I expected.