Recommended for you

Start writing a post

Lifestyle

To The Student About To Leave On An International Mission Trip

I feel like there's a stigma about international trips. SO many people expect there to be such massive life change just because they make the choice to go international.

Abigail

Jul 03, 2017

University of Arizona

To The Student About To Leave On An International Mission Trip

Abigail Staiti

Well hey there! If you're reading this it's probably for one of two reasons: 1) because you're about to go on a mission trip 2) there's a student in your life that's about to go on a mission trip.

International missions is something that holds a real big place in my heart. Between my sophomore and junior year of high school I had the opportunity, through a mission organization called GlobalX, to travel to the Philippines for two weeks. I came from those two weeks as a completely different person. I fell in love with a place and people that made my heart feel at peace and the next summer I spent two more weeks there.

So, whether you fall in one of the two categories I listed before or you just enjoy a good read I just want to take a second and express my excitement for you as you or your student prepares to hop on a plane and go be the hands and feet of the Lord.

I feel like there's a stigma about international trips. SO many people expect there to be such massive life change just because they make the choice to go international. I'm not saying that doesn't happen. God reaches everyone in specific unique ways, and hey, that might be the way he reaches your heart.

Yes, international trips bring heavy personal change but it's your job as a student to prepare your heart for this change. Open up a dialogue with God leading up to your trip and ask him to use you in the way he sees fit. Remember that it might not be the way you see fit but you're not there to stay in your comfort zone, that'd be silly.

I encourage you to be flexible in everything. I say this because not everything will go as planned and that's the beauty of it all. Mission trips are meant to be messy. If everything went according to human plan then there wouldn't be opportunities for teams to watch the Lord work. It's all about realizing that His plan is so much bigger and better than we can imagine

I'd love to give a special shout out to two groups. First, the 2017 Browns Bridge Philippines team that's leaving on the 6th. I'm praying for you guys as some of you return for the second time to the place you love and as some of you step into a new place that I guarantee will steal pieces of your heart forever. Seriously soak it all up, write it all down-- you'll be glad you did, friends.

Also tell Rap that I love him and give him a hug for me. Second, hey Schoen! I know this isn't as immediate as the last one but in August you're leaving your comfort to spend 3 months serving in South Africa and I wanted you to know how excited I am for you. I'm praying that you continue to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to humbly serve and that your time in South Africa is full of growth and overflowing love.

Before you click off this page and go back to normal everyday life I would love to invite you to take a moment and pray for either your team, your student, or the students mentioned above. Write your best friend or your loved one a letter of encouragement to take with them. I hope that this letter encouraged students and parents alike to embrace the crazy that is international missions because I'm sure happy I embraced it.

Report this Content

This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.

Health and Wellness

5 Ways To Bring Positivity Into Your Life When All You Want To Do Is Drown In Self-Pity

It seems like life has been serving up more bad than good and in all honesty, the only thing you want to do is crawl under your covers and hide from the rest of the world.

Grand Canyon University

151

5 Ways To Bring Positivity Into Your Life When All You Want To Do Is Drown In Self-Pity

Photo by Kinga Howard on Unsplash

The first two weeks of classes have come to an end and they have been anything BUT easy. It seems like life has been serving up more bad than good and in all honesty, the only thing you want to do is crawl under your covers and hide from the rest of the world.

Although this seems like the best solution, it is also the easy way out. Take it from the girl who took basically a whole week off from her life because she just could not handle everything that was being thrown at her. This caused her to feel extremely lonely and even more stressed out for being behind in classes that JUST began.

Keep Reading...Show less

self-pity

Entertainment

11 Things We Learned From Brooke Davis

"What's more important? What we become or how we become it?"

St. Thomas Aquinas College

"She was fiercely independent, Brooke Davis. Brilliant, and beautiful, and brave. In two years she had grown more than anyone I had ever known. Brooke Davis is going to change the world someday, and I'm not sure she even knows it." - Lucas Scott, An Unkindness of Ravens

Brooke Davis of the hit show One Tree Hill was the it girl - she had it all, or so we thought. She started out as a stuck-up, shallow, spoiled, head cheerleader who didn't have her life together. She slept around a lot and loved to party - sounds like your typical high school teenager right? Wrong. B. Davis had so much more to offer. Caring, loyal, and outspoken, she has taught us some valuable lessons throughout the 9 seasons that OTH was on the air:

Keep Reading...Show less

brooke davis

Relationships

11 Signs You Have An Honorary Roommate

Make yourself at home, why don't you?

Appalachian State University

1859

Rachel Zadeits

For some of us, coming to college was the first time we ever had to share a room. It was a big change, but a fun one. As you meet more and more people over the course of your college career, it seems to be a pattern that you will at some point have that one friend that doesn't live with you, but acts like they do. We call those people, "Honorary Roommates" and here are 11 signs you have one in your life.