Making Straight All My Paths: Oh the Places You'll Go

"How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news"

Romans 10:15

I've had the blessing to go on many different trips in my 25 years, 2 band trips, 1 choir trip, and 5 missions trips. In high school our graduating class was the 'lucky class' who landed on the year where we got to attend 3 trips! Throughout high school I've been to Seattle, San Francisco, Boston, D.C, New York and San Antonio. All of those trips were awesome! Not only did we get to sight see, and take fairy rides to different islands, but we also got to march in some big parades and sing at the Alamo! My high school trips quickly turned into a love of traveling, but it wasn't until the end of my senior year that I was introduced to mission trips.

The summer before moving to Brookings, I was able to go to Lame Deer, Montana with my youth group where we served on an Indian reservation. I remember being so scared to go, but really felt God calling me to break down that wall and take a chance. It turned out to be an amazing experience full of VBS with the kids and playing games with them! After this trip, I was ready for the next trip! My freshman year of college I had the opportunity to go to Pine Ridge, South Dakota and because of my experience in Montana, I was really excited to go and serve on this reservation! That trip was another great one, we had a lot of interaction with the kids there and even had a 'girls only' volleyball game night with some of the women from Pine Ridge. I ended up meeting one of my close friends on that trip, and to this day we still keep in touch and meet in Sioux Falls every once in awhile to catch up. My third trip was to Minneapolis, and well, long story short I broke my wrist right before we were heading out for out first mission trip event so while everyone was out doing their thing I was in a hospital trying not to pass out (pain=not my thing!). But the next day I decided that I wasn't going to let a broken wrist get in the way of what God called us there to do, so with a little Advil and a lot of will power, I was able to attend the next event and make the rest of the trip the best it could be, sling and all!

My all time favorite Mission Trips were our back to back years to San Francisco. This city has become special to me because our team was the first team to launch the Bay Area for Praying Pelican Missions. Now I'll be honest, the first year I almost didn't get on the plane because I was terrified of flying and I was so scared of what was to come on this trip. But as the week went on, my walls broke down and I had the experience of a life time, and a hard time saying goodbye to my new friends!

Each year we got to chose what we wanted to do, and I thought it was really cool that we got to pair each event for the day to each of our talents and gift that we brought to the table! Both years we teamed up with Spreading the Love of Jesus Ministry where we got to pack meals together and then go out in the community and feed the homeless. It was very heartwarming to put a smile on someone's face and to be able to sit down with them and hear their stories. We also took a day where we passed out water bottles in downtown San Francisco which was a great experience! Not only were we able to bless others, but it was also an opportunity to enjoy the day and enjoy each others company and take in the sights and sounds of San Francisco. We went to Chinatown our second year and had a photo scavenger hunt. While we were there; we were encouraged to eat a meal and I'll be honest, I don't like Chinese food, but I promised Linda that I'd try something, and I did! Linda is all about diving into different cultures in the Bay Area, and each year has taken us to different restaurants as asked that we at least try something new, even if we didn't like it!

We spent a day at Golden Gate Fields which is a horse racing track where we got to come up with different games to play with the ranch hands and horse trainers and their families who don't leave the fields too often. After our day of games we then served a meal to them and had an awards ceremony where we handed out gift cards to those who participated in the games! We prepped and served meals at the Bay Area Rescue Mission House and in-between meals we attended chapel time and shared our testimonies with the homeless community and residents of the shelter. We also woke up at the crack of dawn to go to Teen Challenge and attend chapel and eat breakfast with the gentlemen who lived there. All of them have a pretty tough past, but all are learning to love Jesus and live a life with Him! One of my favorite nights however, was when we got to attend youth group with our host church Community Alliance, and sing on the worship team with them, share testimonies, and hangout and play games with them. I love that church family and was so happy to have been welcomed back the next year!

Lately God has put it on my heart to take another team back to San Francisco. I'm not sure what that looks like right now, or how to go about putting a trip together, but I truly believe that if it's God's will for another Brookings team to go, He will get us there one way or another! There's something about the west coast and the people there who have a piece of my heart and always will. To be able to take a team back there and introduce them to my friends would be an honor! But until then, I'm going to continue to pray about it, and believe that when the timing is right, the trip will happen!

Here's a few pictures from my past trips: