by Kelly Lapp

Created on: May 07, 2008

Working a backyard VBS in inner-city Atlanta. Climbing up a muddy hill in Venezuela. Singing songs of hope on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Sitting in a women's prison in Argentina.

Regardless of the time, the location, and the method, all these events have the same mission: telling people about Jesus. In addition, they all have the same result: an unforgettable experience with the living God.

It doesn't matter if it is across town or around the world, mission trips have a way of changing a life forever. I know. My first mission trip was a choir tour I went on when I was 16. Since then, I have traveled to several states and several countries. Each one has taught me something about my world, something about myself, and something about my God.

My first foreign mission trip was to Quetzaltenango, Guatemala in January of 1999. I was 18 years old, and I had the world all figured out. After spending a week in a Third World country, I realized I didn't know anything at all. I was amazed to learn that not everyone wanted to be like me; some people didn't want to have anything to do with me when they learned I was from the US. I was humbled to learn how blessed I was, and how little appreciation I had for the blessings I had. I was mystified how people with so little could have more joy than I had ever known.

In 2002 I went to M-Fuge, a missions camp for teens sponsored by the Southern Baptist Convention. I was 21 years old, and I was actually there as a chaperone. Yes, that's right I was the adult in a group of teenagers. I worked that week in a variety of locations, from a Boys and Girls Club to a food pantry, all in Charleston, South Carolina. I never considered myself a prejudiced person, but after spending a week on mission, I found that I was. It wasn't about race or gender. I had a prejudice against the poor. I saw them as a group, not as individual people who all had a story to tell. I saw them as faces, but I never noticed the souls, the hearts that Jesus died to save. I am ashamed to admit having such apathy toward the poor, but I am also so grateful that God sent me to Charleston so that I could discover and overcome my prejudice.

Learning about my world and about myself were awesome experiences, but nothing compares to what I have learned about my God while serving on a mission trip, especially a foreign mission trip. I have seen God heal the sick. I have seen Him overcome a language barrier by allowing people to speak and understand a language they have never heard before. I have seen God provide protection from evil forces. As a result of mission trips, I stand amazed at the God I serve. I went from a church attendee to a passionate pursuer of God Almighty. He overwhelms me, but I crave more and more of Him.

Go across the street. Go across the ocean. It doesn't really matter. Go and explore the world you occupy. Go and find out who you really are. Go and see God work His wonders.

Just go.

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