Erica here.
I met Phyllis about a year and a half ago at church.
We didn't talk much besides the usual "good morning" niceties. I
remember seeing her out one Saturday night in Lakeland. I had gone out
dancing with one of my friends and she was out with the girls doing the
same. She came up to say hey and ask if I was going to church in the
morning. I sweetly smiled and told her no. I was going to the beach.
She raised her hands as if they were a scale and asked which is more
important...Jesus (lifting up one hand) or the beach (lifting up the
other). I am a gentle and quiet soul with a dash of fiestyness so I
wasn't quite sure how to react to her in-your-face personality. Moving
forward a few months, I got my life together and started attending
church regularly and began attending a small group. Once that semester
was over, Phyllis invited me to the girls' Sistah group. I started
living life with these girls through the group about a year ago and am
thankful for each and every one of them. They are amazing women of God
who make me laugh, listen when I need to cry or vent and have helped me
grow in my walk with my incredible Savior.
So God placed me on this trip to the DR with this
great team. This was my first mission trip outside of the US and I
really had no idea what to prepare for or expect. I expected to be on
this HUGE spiritual high the entire trip, seeing miracles and making
huge accomplishments for God's kingdom. Instead, there were long,
tiring days in the heat with some manual labor, food I was scared to
eat or didn't want to eat and an absence of Big Papa (or so I
thought). There were times I felt spiritually starved and was
wondering why in the world God put me on this trip. Looking back now,
I see it's because I wasn't starting and ending my day with God the way
I do at home. I expected God to show up but didn't do my part to meet
Him halfway.
I wrote an email to my family about how I was feeling
one night. My amazingly wise younger brother, Jarrod, wrote me back
with this verse:
1 Kings 19:11-12 And he said, Go forth,
and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed
by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces
the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind; and after
the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and
after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire; and
after the fire a still small voice.
My little bro goes on to say, "It was in a still small voice that
God spoke to Elijah and it may be the same for you. We will never know
the weight of our actions until we get to heaven. What we do on earth
echos an eternity. It does matter. What you are doing does make a
difference. The important thing is that you obeyed God when you heard
him tell you to go to the DR... Think about how many "Christians" never
get off the pew. You got off the pew and are doing more than you will
ever know in this life. In my case, it wasn't until sometime later
after I got back from Peru that I noticed a lot of the work God did
while I was there. You don't know what this experience may lead to in
the future. Don't let doubt get to you because that is Satan attacking
you. He knows the worth of what you are doing and hates it." He
totally blew me away with his little sermonette and it revived me.
I came home trying to sort through all of the
different thoughts and emotions from the trip. I now see that my
little bro was right. It's the still small voice of God in the
aftermath that pierces my heart. Every day since I've been home, Big
Papa has spoken to me through that trip. I was told by several people
that I would come home a changed person and they were right
on. Through this trip, my eyes were turned from my small world and
myself to the bigger picture; to what really matters.
I am so thankful for the opportunity to attend this
trip. I was able to see the faces of many children fill with joy and
laughter. I was able to spend time with them and love on them as
Christ would. I was able to help build a technical school that will
help children build a better life for themselves (and learned
construction is not for me :-)). I was able to listen to the stories
of those who live the trash dump life every day. I was able to build
and strengthen relationships with my team and the rest of the group
from Kansas. But most of all, I was able to be the hands and feet of
Christ.
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