He Isn't Done Yet
If you were to tell me a few years ago I would be going on a summer mission, I would say that you’re crazy. I thought summer mission wasn’t for me and so I didn’t ever think I was going to go on one. But sophomore year after much encouragement I put in my application. When I look back on my summer mission I am filled with such happy memories.
Our first day in Puerto Rico was one to remember. Waking up at 4 am driving to the airport, getting out of the plane and the heat smacking us in the face, being crammed in a van that was about to breakdown, finding out my room wasn’t ready, having a team dinner where everything was in Spanish and none of the waiters spoke English. It was truly an eventful day where I was tired yet so excited that this was going to be my life everyday. Our first week was all training and getting to know everyone on the team. We had meetings all day everyday. We talked about prayer, evangelism, bible content and community. We learned a lot and would later apply them when we talked to students. Now our plan was to go to University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras and talk to students there but we learned that school was under protest and barricaded all the doors. They were under protest cause the government was taking a lot of the university’s money. Everyone was worried cause the whole mission was supposed to be on this campus and now we have to create a whole new plan. Our leaders told us we would go to other campus near the area and this made everyone feel better. This feeling would not last long because when we went on the campuses they were empty. Either no students were there or the campus would be super small. My first day on campus felt like a total fail. We talked to no one and when we asked if there were clubs people would look at is weird and thought we were trying to enroll in the university. This went on for a week and everyone was so disappointed. I thought is this going to be my whole summer? What am I going to say to my supporters? We prayed a lot as a team saying God where do you want us to go?
It wasn’t until Thursday when we all went to University of Puerto Rico Bayamon that our prayers were answered. When I walked off that bus there were so many students on campus I couldn’t believe it. We learned it was their first day back after being on a protest. Now while I was overjoyed to see students I realized I actually have to talk to them now. My heart was about to come out of my chest and I thought why am I here I don’t like talking to people. But guess what we aren’t supposed to live a comfortable life; we are called to step out in our faith even when it makes us uncomfortable. The beginning was a very rough start to say the least. I put so much pressure on myself to make sure they hear the gospel that I made it about me and not God. I wanted to have full control over the conservation and not let God take control. I was so mad at myself that my conservations weren’t how I wanted it to be and how I was so bad at evangelizing. There was many times where I felt alone. I was the quietest person on the team and so talking to students took a lot out of me and there were times where I thought God wasn’t there. Going into a conversation I would blank and wonder where God was. Then it all hit me where I realized I need to stop being in control and putting all this pressure on myself. I don’t save people, God does and me thinking that I could save people always sets the conversation up for failure. My team leader helped me and told me to pray before every conversation and it works! Do not underestimate prayer it is such a powerful tool. I prayed before every conversation and the Holy Spirit gave me the words to say and all the pressure was taken off of me. Not every conversation will lead someone to Christ; maybe you were just supposed to plant the seed.
During our second week we learned that the Rio Piedras campus was going to open up Monday and out team was super excited. We split our group into two campus teams one would go to Bayamon and the other would go to Rio Piedras. I was apart of the Rio Piedras team and I was so excited to get on that campus. When Monday came and we walked on that campus I was filled with so much joy. I was finally stepping on campus after so many months of just staring at a picture. The campus was beautiful and fairy large. My fear of talking to students was going away everyday. I was able to have better conversations and really listen to them. When people say they really liked what we were doing I was so happy. They really enjoyed our conversations and we were able to keep in contact. We were able to spend time with the local students and eventually turned into friendship. We would get lunch, play basketball, go to bible studies and talk about God. Taylor and I had the opportunity to build a relationship with a girl named Tiffany. She has such a kind heart and a passion for God I admired. She seeks God in everything she does and wanted to see her campus change. Being able to spend that time with her was so sweet. I never thought I would be able to form a relationship with a student but it just shows God will use you even if you’re the most timid person. The people we met were so friendly and hospitable to us I was so blown away by their kindness. The churches we partnered with gave us everything even when some of them had so little. They didn’t know us yet they were willing to give so much because of their love for God. They blessed us with dinner every weeknight and it was amazing to have authentic Puerto Rican food, probably some of the best food I’ve ever had. We were also blessed to lead a Sunday service at C.A.F.E church. I was apart of worship and we had to sing in Spanish. My Spanish is not very good and it required a lot of practice. When we sang and we saw everyone else singing I was in awe. My fellow brothers and sisters in Christ worshiping the same God in another language was so beautiful. At the end of service they sang happy birthday and the pastor gave encouraging words to me, truly a moment I won’t forget. During our time we were preparing for training session to give to the students of Puerto Rico. We taught them everything we have been learning and it was so cool to see them engaged and wanting to bring all this to their campuses. During our final days we were able to look back and see how far we’ve come. We learned so much as a team, that everything is in God's timing, nothing is wasted and how faithful God is. He provided so much and gave us more than we could have asked for.
At the end of this mission I was mentally, physically and spiritually exhausted. There were days where I was dealing with a lot of spiritual warfare or I didn’t want to talk to students but with God's strength I was able to get through the day. One moment I’ll never forget was during prayer time some girls and me were in a group together and we were honest with each other and we all cried during our prayers. We didn’t hide our struggles from each other and that moment was so sweet. As a team we grew so much together in Christ and in friendship. They all were such a blessing I was able to learn something from each of them. We did life together for five weeks that soon we became a family. We cried, laughed and held each other accountable. I miss them all so much. They were my support system they saw me when I was down and they helped me work through my problems. I can’t thank them enough each of you were such a blessing in my life. Now that I am home and I look back there's so much joy in my heart. I am forever grateful for taking the step to go on mission. My life has changed for the better. I was able to grow more in God and now have a new passion for sharing my faith. This was the best summer of my life. It was very challenging and eye opening. I wouldn’t change anything that happened. God is faithful to the end. Puerto Rico is a beautiful place full of life, my heart will have a special place for this amazing country. I am grateful to be apart of the first mission to San Juan. I give God all the glory for what he did in Puerto Rico and he isn’t done yet.
