Away From Home

I spent the last week in LA for our annual missions trip to the Dream Center in Los Angeles. For updates on it check out "fosmissions.blogspot.com

Skid Row

On Friday morning, 9 people from our team (required to be 17 and older) got the go ahead to visit "Skid Row" in downtown LA. This is an area of 12 city blocks that is "home" to about 1,000 homeless people per block. As we drove past in our vans to park, it was incredible to see every single sidewalk full of people. Some were sleeping on mats, others pushing carts, and others still standing "innocently."

We pulled over and as we were receiving our simple instructions (to invite each person to a free meal at 1:30 pm)a man decided it was time to impart some wisdom. He told us how he was a product of Skid Row, how he had grown up there and the streets made him who he was, and how he could smell the "Hills" (Beverly Hills) on everyone of us "rich white folk." The tension was high enough without this guy stirring us up, but that didn't help. Some of the kids (and leaders) were afraid, so we took time to pray and ask God for courage and protection.

As we walked the streets, I saw things that I know will never be erased from my memory. After speaking with one man, I was walking to catch up with the group when a guy stumbled around the corner. I was a bit startled, but as I went to invite him to the meal I noticed his eyes rolled back in his head and a band tied around his upper arm. He had just finished shooting up in the alley. I tried to start a coherent conversation with him, but he was not following. We passed a few more blocks when I stopped to talk with 2 more guys. They were surprisingly friendly as I made conversation, and when I had finished (about to ask them if I could pray with them since they were so nice) speaking both started to reach into their pockets. One pulled out a large wad of cash, the other a small baggie filled with white powder. I was 2 feet from them and in broad daylight, but there was no shame on their part, it was simply a part of every day life.

Then we stopped by San Julian Park. I had only seen places like this in the movies. There were probably a hundred people inside, groups of 10-15 spread out around covered tables with their music blasting from old school boom boxes. I decided to approach one table and apologize for interrupting. The conversation went something like this-

Me: "Hey, sorry to interrupt, how's it going?"
Guy: "You don't care."
Me: "Oh, I'm sorry...I just wanted to tell you we are serving a free meal..."
Guy: "Good for you."
Me: "Well, it's at 1:30 at the V.O.A..."
Guy: "Shut up."
Me: "Yes sir, well I hope to see..."
Guy: "I said SHUTUP!"

Needless to say, I shut up. I wasn't sure what it was that set him off. Maybe it was my tone, or the fact that I was interrupting. Maybe it was the fact that I was white and he thought I had no business interrupting his day. I could feel the bitterness, anger, and hatred coming from his soul.

A few blocks from there a large camper sat on the side of the street that had a bucket inside. Junkies could come drop off dirty needles and exchange them for clean ones. It was like the city had given up, saying, "Well, we can't stop them from shooting up, so we might as well keep them from getting AIDS while they do it."

I had never seen anything like Skid Row. So many people hurting, broken, desperate, and lost...and they don't want any help. Years and years of neglect have left some angry at the world; and others searching for a way out. Stepping out of the car you could feel the weight of the place you had entered. You could feel the oppression, and you could sense the hopelessness. Somehow, seeing through the anger and desperation and the high most were riding, I saw something unexpected. I saw people. There were souls in there. Some maybe hidden deeper than others, but there were real, genuine people who were made in the image of God! There were people who had never known love, who had never seen the beautiful feet mentioned in Romans 10. Sin had hidden the message from them for so long, and we tried to bring it through food.

I left unsure of what to feel. I wanted so badly to do more. All of us wanted to rush out of our van and weep, crying out to them, "It doesn't have to be this way! There is another life, a better life! There is hope and infinite joy! It's not just Chinese food we were inviting you too!"

It left me thinking this- No place on this earth is God-forsaken. No matter how dark and lost a place is, God is there. But as I looked around and saw the misery all I could think was what hell must be like. Similar in a place of torment and hopelessness, but there is no sunshine that brings light in the morning. There is no free meal on Friday afternoon to fill your belly. There is merely the tragedy of dead souls who never knew the life that was at stake. And as the thought hit me I could not help but think I will not be a part of people going to hell! If sinners go then I will do all that is in my power to stop them! I will beg and plead and weep with them to find Christ in their lives so that they must not experience hell! They mustn't go to a place worse than what I had seen! God give me beautiful feet to bring that message.

C.H. Spurgeon once said, "If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms around their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for."

Make it so, Sweet Lord. Precious Jesus, please let the people of Skid Row see that "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned."

Who wants to wash clothes? You?

It's really Friday this time. I'm in a hotel room in Laguna Beach (which may be the most beautiful place I have ever seen) and we have begun our "decompress time." After a week of waking up at 6, taking cold showers, and doing ministry for roughly 15 hours a day, I think the team has earned a night of relaxation. We are taking them to Red Robin for dinner, and most of us have been swimming in the frigid Pacific.

Here is how this morning looked for us- A group of 10 went and loaded 5 food gigantic trucks full of food to help the hungry on Saturday morning. A group of 8 did laundry with the Men's Discipleship group (see previous post for description of discipleship), and a group of 9 went to Skid Row to invite people to a free meal.

The food truck team labored hard and got to share some connection with each other, as well as some leaders from the Dream Center. One of the coolest parts of this trip is the amount of connections you make with brothers and sisters in Christ- all of which seem to have an incredible story.

I plan on posting a blog solely on "Skid Row" tonight- so for now I will talk about our laundry team (sounds exciting right?)! I saw a lot of eyes roll when I said laundry, just like I did the day before when people heard we were cleaning. But in the end, I heard one of my favorite stories so far. Some of the guys working on the laundry team were with some men from Discipleship, and this was their description of the day.

"Well, at first, we weren't very excited. It's just laundry, who wants to come to California to do that? But then, we made it a competition. And when we were hanging out with ________ (I can't remember his name) he started telling us about his life. They really aren't supposed to tell anyone, so he told us not to say anything, but it was SO COOL! I mean, we all have it so easy compared to these people. And I can't really say what he told us, but it was just amazing to see that God is powerful enough to bring a simple man out of a lifestyle that he chose. It's so much evidence that when God grabs on to someone, there is nothing they can do to stop it, no matter how much they want to!"

Laundry. Washing clothes on earth, building souls in the kingdom of Heaven. I will never do laundry the same. I don't think these kids will ever eat the same...It's a different world here, and we are learning so much from these people.

For crying out loud, it's just laundry, right? Wrong.

It's Thursday (but really Friday)

Here is the update for Thursday, but written on Friday. On Thursday morning we took part in a campus wide cleanup! I think the kids were a little shocked to be scrubbing toilets and floors all the way in California. Parents- feel free to use the advanced training the kids have gotten in this arena upon our return. The entire campus was under massive cleanup mode, and we got to pitch in a helping hand. Some of the girls hung out with members of female discipleship. The discipleship program at Dream Center is phenomenal. They take people in off the street and for at least one year this person has to wake up at 5 am every day, work, eat, read, memorize Scripture, and sleep. It is heavily structured and enforced in order to keep the members from the trouble they left behind. Most of them are recovering drug addicts and/or alcoholics. They all have incredibly unique stories of transformation from "broken and lost" to "redeemed and saved." The kids got to help them and hear some of their stories, but most of all take part in their lives. They came back without a lot of pictures, but full of memories and joy.

The second half of the day for most of us was a ministry called "Food Truck." It's simple- you fill a truck up with food, drive it to a location, unload it, put it in bags by category, and hand them to people who are hungry. It didn't take a whole lot of thought to come up with it- but as Pastor Tommy Barnett says, "See a need and meet it, see a hurt and heal it." These people saw a need that they could meet and they met it. So we got to go out and help hand out this food, speak, and pray with people; most of whom don't speak English anyways. The kids have a ton of stories on running around with little kids whose families were waiting in line, or talking with women and trying to plug their high school Spanish lessons back in. I think they have realized a few things on this trip:
1) How easy their life is.
2) How real hurt can be, even for people who haven't "thrown their lives away."
3) How easy it can be to touch someone's life- simply handing them a bag of green onions and 4 apples donated by a grocery store can light up their day.

I am going to post a blog of just pictures from this ministry up tonight, I hope. Thanks for following us, this has been one of the greatest experiences of my life.

Day 3- Hope, Hollywood, and "Half Baked" (Ice Cream)

It is the end of another long day at the Dream Center in LA. We are all in bed and accounted for, and I think most were asleep when their heads hit the pillow. They adopted a block of Los Angeles this morning- walking for about an hour and a half and picking up the garbage in the California sun. We returned for our afternoon devotional time and lunch, and then hit the streets again for our “Hope For Homeless Youth” ministry assignment. We had lots of guesses as to what this would be, but I don’t think anyone had it down! We headed down to Hollywood Boulevard to search for homeless 18-25 year olds to bring the gospel to. We walked possibly the most famous street in the United States and sought out young people who had come to Hollywood in search of stardom. They were hopeful actors, singers, stars, and ambitious at one point- and now they are homeless, broken, lost, hurt, disillusioned, and bitter. Most of them are on drugs to keep their mind off of what has gone wrong. In all honesty- I wasn’t sure how the kids would respond to it. The entire layout was so different than what we were used to- and they were going to be forced to pray with strangers and have real, deep, meaningful conversations with people they didn’t even know. I WAS WRONG! They stepped out and stepped up. Kids 15-18 were sharing the gospel with a smile with Hollywood’s lost stars. It was incredible to see.

After this ministry, we turned towards our night ministry (of course after eating dinner). We laced the shoes back up and headed to Santa Monica Pier to feed the homeless in the area. The Dream Center has been providing hot meals on Wednesday nights for the homeless in Santa Monica for the last 12 years, EVERY WEEK! It is an incredible ministry. Our first job was to walk the famous promenade and inform any homeless people that there was a dinner. After this was finished, we were privileged to join with the other teams and connect with these people while they ate their dinners. We talked with them, prayed with them, laughed with them, and some even shed tears. It was incredible to see the disparity between the people with money shopping on the promenade, and the hundreds of people looking for a hot meal- literally around the street corner.I cannot wait for you to hear some of the stories from this night. These are kids- but the compassion in their hearts for hurting people so moved them that they would be willing to talk to a 40 year old man or a 35 year old lady strung out on heroin and on their last leg- just to bring them a little hope and love with their chicken pesto pasta. I was in awe as I saw the amount of conversations going on, and the love lifted from that place. Hope was in the air, and for most of those men and women in was an unfamiliar smell. I think they liked it.

Our night finished with grabbing Ben & Jerry's and stuffing our faces. It was a good day :)Pictures coming when internet access is BETTER!

What A Day...

This morning, my room woke up at 6:20 am, and I promptly hopped into the shower. I have to say, the amazingly hot shower was truly an awesome way to start my day. After breakfast, the team went down to the cafe for devotions, and to reflect on the events of the previous day. Soon, it was time to head out to our first activity... Adopt-a-Block. Our team split into two smaller groups, and each met with a staffer from the Dream Center. From there, we walked around the neighborhoods of intercity LA picking up trash. While picking up garbage around the city doesn't seem like the most glorifying task, all of the students did it faithfully, and had fun doing it. After we finished picking up trash, we were able to go to Los Angeles' gorgeous Echo Park to meditate and pray on what God had been showing us, and speaking into our lives.

After lunch, we all loaded up and headed over to the "walk of fame"... Hollywood Boulevard! However, this was no leisure trip. Before we had left, we loaded up our vans with sandwiches and Vitamin Water. We would be handing out food, and talking to any people that might have been in need of it. Having a star on Hollywood Boulevard has always kind of been a dream of mine... Until I actually got to experience Hollywood for myself. It is a sad sight to see. Once you begin to traverse past the well traveled areas of Hollywood, you begin to see the world behind what the media shows you. It's not all glammed up as you have probably seen on TV, or in the movies. In the real world, it is full of desolate people, longing for something more than what they have. The streets are filled with dirty stars, plastered with names of people the world has long since forgotten, many of which only have a star on the boulevard as their only reward, earthly or otherwise. It was about that time that I realized that I want something more meaningful than just a dull star with my name in it to show for my time on this earth. And it was about that time that I found a star with my name in it. No joke.

After Hollywood, we returned to the Dream Center for dinner, and soon, we were driving again. This time, our destination was the Santa Monica Pier. This time, we set up camp at a statue of a cannon, and picked up some food from a local restaurant which donates food to the program we were participating in. Then we walked up and down several streets, and along the bluff and invited any people who looked like they could use a good, hot, meal. Once people began to arrive, we got the opportunity to talk, pray, and share the love of Christ with them.

The first man that I talked to (I don't recall his name, as it was Hispanic and not common), was from Guatemala. He spoke in a fluent mix of Spanglish, and told me some bits and pieces of his story. He had come from Guatemala seven years ago, where he had once had a steady job. Why he came, he never revealed, but he did tell me that he had been homeless since then. From the time he had come, he had just been doing a barrage of whatever work came his way. While my conversation with him didn't get too overly spiritual, he began to cry as I was talking to him. Just reaching out and showing him love was enough. I prayed with him, and shortly after that, I saw him leave.

This one young man named Patrick (he couldn't have been more than 26 or so), shared his story with me. Patrick had grown up in Alabama, in a Christian home. I don't know when, or how, but somehow, he ended up being a male prostitute in Nevada. I don't quite know the circumstances that led up to it, but at some point, he felt the need to escape. To run away. He hopped in his car and just began driving. Driving to escape the pain that he felt. How did he get to California? It just so happens that that is where his car ran out of gas on the freeway. That was a year ago. He has been living on the streets ever since then.

The last man that I had the opportunity to talk with was named Brian. At one point, Brian had been quite successful. He was once quite a well known hairstylist. He had come to California from New York with his friend, who has since died. He didn't really allude to what it may have been, but at some point, business went bad, and he ended up on the streets. However, his outlook was amazing. He was grateful for the trial in his life, because it had grown him into a stronger person. All in all, I didn't really get the feeling that Brian and I saw completely eye to eye on spiritual standings, but he did let me pray for him. He asked for a prayer of protection.

After about an hour and a half or so of talking to people, things began to come to a close. I was so proud of so many students! I was proud of Lauren, who stepped out of her comfort zone and prayed with a person she had never met. I was proud of Tony and Dynasty, who brought an unbridled enthusiasm, and a light, yet serious religious standing into the mix. I was proud of Josiah, who stepped out of his shell and talked to complete strangers out of love! I was proud of the entire team, and I still am!

After we left Santa Monica, I jammed in the car to some awesome beats with the other members of "The Flavor" (our van), on the way to Von's to grab some ice cream. We ate. We laughed. We enjoyed. And that leads me to now. To where I am sitting in bed, in the dark, listening to a soft snoring, and sleepily pounding out words on the keyboard. That about sums up today. See you all soon, folks!

-David B.

P.S.

-Travis just hemorrhaged while letting loose a beast of a fart in our room... Then he told me to blog about it, because he was telling a story with sound effects.

Day 2

Day 2-
Another day has passed here in LA. Today was quite an adventure. I am putting a few pictures in this blog, but if you would like to see more I will try and post them to “fosyouth.com” when I get the chance. Here is an update on the day: We started with a mini-service/performance by “The Movement.” The Movement is a group of students that form a sort of Master’s Commission style education program here at the Dream Center. They did a great job leading musical worship and putting on a few skits. The kids responded well, and most of them are now temporarily considering being a part of the program (which is awesome).







After this performance, we headed to a campus wide tour. The Dream Center is a hospital that was formerly owned by Nuns, and they abandoned it in 1980. In 1995 the massive building was for sale for 16 million dollars- in an absolute act of God Matthew Barnett, the current pastor, bought it for 3.9 million. He has been serving God with it since then.







After the tour we headed to devotionals, which I will write more about soon, and then to lunch. Immediately following lunch we got to be a part of something that was pretty cool. A few months ago DC started a Youth Ministry called “Reach.” We partnered with a guy named Marcus and went to Belmont High School (the second biggest school in the country) and handed out flyers. We didn’t merely pass one off to any kid walking by, we struck up conversations, we learned their names, we smiled and joked with them, they made fun of us- and we laughed with them. It was amazing to see the boldness of the FOS kids as they moved towards kids who they did not know, and barely spoke the same language, and talked to them about coming to a church service to have a good time. I was so blessed by our students willingness to serve. Even those who are a bit uncomfortable meeting new people put forth a huge effort in talking to others, and were completely stretched in their faith. It was funny to see a bunch of suburban white kids from Olympia talking to Inner City Urban Hispanic kids and making genuine, real, fruitful connections. Being called "cracker" and "marshmallow" didn't seem to phase anyone :)

After dinner, we ended up going to the "Reach" service we were inviting kids to. It was absolutely incredible to see how many of the kids we invited showed up to service. It is one of very few times in ministry that you see immediate fruit from your labor. It was so encouraging for the kids to see, and they couldn't stop talking about it afterward. Our first full day of ministry is complete. Kids are in beds and fast asleep, and I will be soon too. Thanks for all your prayers, they have lifted us so far!

For the Glory of God,
Jake

Side Note- Davy Butler also got 3 corn rows of hair- awesome!

Free Breakfast...With a Price

Unfortunately, our flight this morning was canceled, even more unfortunate- we didn't find out until we were at the airport this morning. We awoke at 3:45 to head town, and once our first group of people arrived at the airport we were greeted with the rude news of our flight cancellation. Fortunately, we all will be squeezed onto a flight at 2pm today and will arrive in LA at 4:30 (ish). Instead of moping around, we made the most of the opportunity. The students responded fantastically as we got vouchers for a free breakfast (that came with the price of being awake for roughly 21 hours by the end of this day), and returned to the hotel to partake in some team building exercises.







The guys trying to untangle a "Human Knot."







The girls working on the same thing-







The girls were a lot more successful.



The guys did have some success here though. They had to put themselves in Alphabetical order by last name without being able to talk or see each other:







The games are a little silly, but they force team cohesion and we get to see who steps up as leaders. We also "disabled" some leaders so they couldn't talk; forcing others to step up. We learned a lot about each other and I am excited to press onward. It has been a good morning. God has kept us upbeat and life is good. We will rest now until we head to LA this afternoon. Thank you Lord for your goodness in all things.

Nights and Days

Los Angeles Dream Center 2010

Mini Update

I woke up this morning to the sound of someone’s alarm clock going off on their cell phone. This could only mean one thing. We had hit that wonderful time of morning known as 3:30 am. After a wonderful night of tossing and turning, I somehow I managed to drag myself out of the bed and take a shower. By about 4:30, I was all packed and ready to whip this day into shape. As we loaded up the airport shuttle and prepared for transit in between our two destinations, we were stopped by Leslie Ellingson. She informed us that our flight had been canceled. So now, we wait. Waiting at a hotel is by far, not the worst of things ever, but I can’t help thinking how this might just be some cheap shot against our team. I know that right now, the devil is doing everything that he can to try and discourage our team of 27 people. I believe that he knows just what we’re capable of. He knows the strength and the light that this team will be bringing to the desolate, broken, and needy of Los Angeles, and he doesn’t like it one bit. He is running scared, and that gives me hope and motivation. I know that if the devil is this threatened by what we are bringing to the people of LA, then God is going to do some amazing work with and through us on this trip. And that makes me more excited than ever!

Day 1/2?

It's bed time in Portland. We made it safely to our destination, and we are hitting the hay with full bellies, anxious hearts, and excited minds. It will be a short night's sleep this evening as tomorrow will bring a 3:30 am wake-up and day of work. I was impressed with the cohesion of the team even on the trip over. I have already challenged them, as they have seen their van assignments are a bit unusual. I have done my best to split up "cliques" and put together challenging groups that will force some to step up and lead and others to accept a different than usual position in humility. I am excited, the team is excited, and thank you all for your prayers. You will hear from us tomorrow after a day of travel and team building. Until then, we sleep with this in our hearts:

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." Isaiah 9:2 (NIV)

Lord Jesus- Make it so. Make us people who bring light. Amen

Dream Center 2010

It's Easter! Today is going to be a great day. It's a little bitter-sweet for me personally, because in about 9 hours we send a team from ECC down to the Dream Center, for our annual Spring Break missions trip. You can read the blogs from last years trip on this blog...needless to say, it was life-changing. Due to some other responsibilities I am not able to attend the trip this year, so the mantle of leadership has been passed to my capable and Spirit-led associate pastor Jake Gamble (alongside pro and 3rd time leader Christy Briggs), and an experienced team of leadership.

This is an email that Jake sent to the team last night. Unreal.

I hope Good Friday was wonderful for all of you. Just a quick word before we leave tomorrow-

We are leaving Olympia on Easter Sunday, the day of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is no coincidence that on this day His resurrection secured our place in heaven at the right hand of the father, and on this day 27 people from Olympia will head to southern California to display the love and righteousness of this very Savior to a group of people we don't even know. The knowledge that Jesus died for us yesterday, and rose again for us tomorrow pushes us and moves us forward. The fact that he was exhausted and overwhelmed, even to the point of death prior to heading to the cross urges us onward, no matter what our last week looked like. Knowing that he suffered much for our sake calls out to us to set aside our own lives, even if just for a week, to help the poor and the broken. The hope that comes from His resurrection is the same driving factor leading us to California, and for some of you eventually to El Salvador, Guatemala, Poland, Russia, China, or Pakistan. It is that hope that will keep us going as we push our bodies and minds to help others. It is that help that will bring light to the faces of so many in darkness. It is that hope that brings us joy in knowing that our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all! It is that hope that says we are pressed but not crushed! That forevermore we will press on and run this race with perseverance, throwing off everything that hinders. It is that hope that moves you from the comfort of your homes on Spring Break, to the heat of the California sun to see things that you have never seen before. It is that hope that will change the people we minister to. Let me say that clearly- we as a team are not much. We are young, probably immature, selfish sinners. But submitted to Christ and his mission, we are a mighty group. We are carriers of a light that cannot and will not ever be snuffed out, no matter how far we travel into the depths of suffering on this earth. That light we carry, that hope we deliver in the form of food or relief, it is greater than us- it is so much greater than Los Angeles! This very hope will turn us into messengers, and will change the lives of the recipients. I am so honored to travel there with every one of you and deliver this message. May we never be the same- and may Los Angeles forever be changed by the love poured into it by 27 humble strangers.
For the Glory of God,
Jake Gamble

I wish I was going! Nevertheless, as you undoubtedly can see, this trip is being led by a man of God with a pulse for the leading of His Spirit.

Commit to pray with me each day this week for this team. I can't wait to see what God is going to do through them and in them!

FOS Church on Wednesday, April 14 will be testimonies. Don't miss it!

Introduction to Dream Center 2010

The theme of FOS Missions has taken on a new identity. The overarching theme for FOS Missions is “Let the nations be glad…” which is taken from Psalm 67:4. The point of this theme- that every FOS missions team will be sent with the express purpose of bringing the joy of God to people around the globe. This Spring, 28 people will travel to inner city Los Angeles to bring that joy to people who have never experienced it, never known it, and possibly never heard of it. There is no greater purpose on this earth, nor a greater glorification of God than reaching people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The unique theme of this year’s trip is “Light in Darkness;” taken from Isaiah 9:2. There are a few major ways that this light will manifest itself in our lives during this trip. First, we will be carriers of light for people living in a land of darkness. The city of Los Angeles has a population of roughly 4 million people, 800,000 of which live in poverty. Twenty-five percent of those 800,000 (200,000) are children ages 11 and younger. If you would like a comparison- the total population of Thurston County (Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater, and neighbors) is 204,300. There are as many children living in poverty in the city of Los Angeles as there are people in Thurston County. The light we will be bringing to these people isn’t preaching and it isn’t discipleship- it’s things like food, water, soap, and tears. We will bring the light of the love of God as we give them basic necessities that they couldn’t have had on their own, and through that they will know the love of God and the value of every human being in God’s eyes.

I believe we will also see a light shine out of darkness in our hearts. As a community we are blessed, but we often take for granted the blessings we have when we sit down to eat dinner. There are needs we have met every day that we don’t even give thought to, and on this trip we will see people who are lacking in those needs. It is my greatest hope that your perspective will be changed before returning home. And not changed for a moment, for a few weeks, or even a year; but having your heart and mind changed for a lifetime as you see the reality that people face every day. Things we never gave a thought to will be highlighted as essential and incredible, and through this God’s grace in our lives will ring out. He will shed light on dark corners of our hearts that we did not even know existed, and we need to return home changed.

Finally, we will bring light to FOS. There is a message, an attitude, and a heart that returns from a missions trip. Many of you have seen it before. We should never forget that message. Through this trip some of us may be called to world missions for a lifetime, some for a season and others will recognize the desperate need to help in our very own town. But we can never forget what we witness, what we hear, what we do, or even what God reveals in our hearts as we serve. That is a message that has to be passed on to FOS, to Evergreen Christian Community, and to the body of Christ as a whole. It is a message of grace and compassion, a message of heartache and brokenness, but most of all a message about hope. It is a message that brings joy where there was none, and a message that brings light to those trapped in darkness- whether that is Olympia, Los Angeles, Burma, Indonesia, Mexico, or Spain- it must go on.

Take a posture of humility in this trip, and allow God to do with you as He wills- you will be surprised to find the depths of joy in serving such a caring God.