Mission Trip to Galveston

After a 3 hour nap, I think I'm ready to start trying to process and share some of my experiences from this past week!

First, I feel so privileged and thankful and amazingly blessed to have been a part of the trip this week. 6 adult leaders took 23 jr high students to Galveston Sun-Friday to work with EFCA and Galveston Bible Church on the Rebuilding Galveston project. Sounds like a normal mission trip. But what we all experienced far exceeded our expectations.

To anyone who discounts middle schoolers and thinks they are just a nuisance, you should have been there!

Our assignment for the week was to work on 2 houses that had been damaged in Hurricane Ike almost 2 years ago. Ours had a watermark on it about 5 feet up on the front door. All over the island we saw on many buildings marks that were reminders of how high the water was- until I saw those, I couldn't even begin to fathom how awful that must have been.

Anyway, our house was almost finished- our job was to prime all the walls and ceilings, then paint it all, and paint we did! We used 40 gallons of paint in 3 1/2 days! And how blessed we were to be able to finish the painting job and see the house completely painted.

Most of our students had never painted before- but they sure know how to now! I was amazed at how hard they worked and how willing they were to stick with the job. It was a learning experience for all of us, as we as leaders learned how to teach our kids to paint as well! And did I mention the heat? We were painting in an unair-conditioned home (that wasn't put in yet) in July in Texas- need I say more! We would start at 8:15 or so, and by 9:00, we'd be soaked through with sweat. It made us thankful for the big fans we had and any breeze coming through the windows.

I was amazed that our kids didn't complain! Just amazed! They were a huge encouragement to me to not complain. The house we stayed in was near the church- it had been gutted after the flood, (it had a water mark on it at least 14 feet above the ground) then made habitable for work teams. It had 2 small wall units and several big fans, but it was still hot. And still the kids didn't complain!

And actually, I'm glad it was difficult because I think our lives are pretty darn soft. I think this small suffering made us all appreciate what we do have. As I lay in bed at night, sweating, I was thankful we had fans, running water in the showers, flush potties, good food, beds with mattresses, etc. It totally refocused my thoughts from not what I don't have, but to what I did have. And we talked about this a bunch.

The homeowner was living in a garage apt at the back of the property and he was so appreciative and kind. The last day we were there, he grilled hamburgers for our lunch as a thank you. The kids prayed for him often as we were there.

And speaking of prayer, another huge part of the trip was prayer walking. As we were working during the day, groups of 4-5 kids would take a break from painting and go on a prayer walk. They would each take several bottles of cold water, and begin walking around the surrounding neighborhood which was a pretty run-down area, stopping to give people they met water, and then asking if they could pray for them! You would not believe how bold our kids were! I think this was their favorite thing to do!

And I was amazed at how well this was received- how open these complete strangers were to these 7-8th graders coming up to them and praying with them. Just amazing! They asked for us to pray for their health, for jobs, for wisdom. And to see their faces after we prayed- a look of hope and comfort.

I have to admit that I avoided going on these walks until the last day when Staja said I really needed to go- and I knew I did, I was just scared and uncomfortable. That was totally way way out of my comfort zone!! But I headed off with about 6 of my 8th grade girls, letting them take the lead. We first stopped by a wreck of a house and prayed for the man on the porch. Then we stopped by a house and gave water to another group that was working on repairing a house that would become a shelter. Then as we were walking, 3 men working in a warehouse waved us over and wanted to know if we had water. We did and went back to the house to get some more for them. Then we asked if we could pray for them, and we did, and they so appreciated it.

The whole experience was humbling, and made me think about when Jesus said, when you gave a drink of cold water, you did it unto Me. That simple act of giving cold water was such a huge act of kindness that opened the door. And those guys knew it and told us that we were really doing good work.

And after the first time of asking someone if I could pray for them, it was way easier! And actually pretty fun! To see the joy and hope it put in people's eyes! Such a simple thing to do, but so powerful.

And it was all God. The whole week. I hate being hot. My shoulders don't work so well anymore. I didn't sleep much. But God poured out His grace and mercy and sustained me physically, emotionally, and hugely spiritually. The first night I slept 2 1/2 hours, and should have been a zombie all day. But I was able to put in a full day of work- and it was all God, none of me. I struggle meeting strangers and striking up a conversation, yet at the end, I could walk up to strangers and ask to pray with them- it was all God, none of me.

So now that I'm back home, how do I keep this going? How do I apply this week to my daily life? Instead of saying I'll pray for a friend who shares a need, why not pray right there, on the phone, in the hall, at the store. What can we as a church do to reach out to our community more? What can our middle school ministry do to reach out?

I don't want to wait till next summer to go on another trip.

More to come later: our day at the park doing Bible club, our "Drive By Prayer" hotdog dinner.

Praise God for His amazing grace! Parents of the students who went: you have some amazing kids!