Jr. High Mission Trip

We just spent 6 days in Cleveland, TX with about 50 Jr. High kids. Confession time: I did NOT want to go at all. I’m usually excited about going (we do this every year), but this year summer seems shorter than usual & I’ve been feeling really selfish with my time. Well, leave it to God to change my mind & heart about the whole thing. It was an amazing week. This was truly the greatest group of kids I’ve ever seen on a mission trip. They were polite, hard working, patient, & helpful. They were not just willing, but excited about spending 4 days in the hot & humid weather digging post holes, scraping & painting, tearing down old structures, and building new ones. God really taught me a lot through these ‘kids’ & His joy was truly flowing out of them as they served Him. He reminded me of so many things & I’ll try to sum up a few here: I had the opportunity to do 2 of the evening messages & I really love sharing His truth with kids in this age group. The first night was about our personal journey with God- how He meets us where we are, knows us better than we know ourselves, & loves us more than we know. The second one was about our response to God’s love though serving Him & ‘shining as stars in the universe’ as we live out His ways of love.

The Bible is so amazing! I was completely enthralled by Philippians as I read it this week. It’s always been one of my favorite books & one that I know better than others, but have you ever have those moments where a certain passage you’ve read a million times suddenly becomes new again? That’s what it was for me this week. I put a few of the verses that inspire/challenge me in the margin.

I also had one of those humbling experiences where I was reminded that it’s not all about me, & all those good things I think I’m doing for Him are really gifts from Him.