Welcome to Adventures!
Society tells us to graduate college and get a job. Well, after nine months of being free from classes, I can finally check off that box. At the start of February I moved from Virginia to Gainesville, Georgia to join the staff at Adventures in Missions, a non-profit Christian organization that strives to make disciples of all nations. Adventures is best known for sending individuals out on the World Race, which is 11 countries in 11 months. I, however, work for the Encounter department, which focuses on sending teams out on short term trips, usually lasting one week.
I will be working primarily from the home office in Georgia as a Project Developer, planning out the short term mission trips for five locations, which are Hilton Head Island, Western Pennsylvania, Haiti, Ecuador, and Romania. I am currently working on setting up the logistics for the upcoming Romania trip, meeting with our contact there and talking with her about lodging and ministry aspects for the team, as well as putting some of the final touches and beginning touches on the Haiti trips that seem to be happening non-stop all summer long. I love being an instrument in allowing the team to have a life changing experience and encounter God for themselves as well as share Him with others. Every mission trip I have participated in has changed my life in some way and I am excited to help provide that opportunity to others. Another great aspect of this job is that I am also a Project Leader, which means I will be sent out on three or four trips during the summer to lead groups during their week of ministry.
The first week of March I co-led a mission trip to Hilton Head Island, SC, one of my set-up locations. While your first thought, and it was mine also, is that it sounds more like a vacation spot than a mission trip, I can tell you there is need aplenty on that beautiful island. Unfortunately, it was cold and rainy the entire week of the trip, but we refused to let our spirits be dampened as we went out to ministry. During the week we partook in a variety of relational ministry. One of best moments was being with the older folk in the Alzheimer ward of a nursing home. There was one lady who was pretty despondent except when one of the workers (and then one of our own men) was around. When the two men got her to focus on them, she would smile so big and her eyes would just light up. Then there was John, who despite feeling pain when he walked, still had a quick wit and a mischievous glint in his eye. Marge who lit up when she got to sing and dance! These individuals are children loved by the Lord and you can see so much life lived in their expressions and the wrinkles on their face. Each step carries the weight of their travels in years past. It was a blessing for us to spend time with them.
I am excited to share more stories about my own travels with Adventures but also the stories of other individuals on the field, because their stories are mine as well. Here at Adventures we are a community that understands interdependence. No trip can happen without getting the logistics determined and the Gospel is spread by those who go out. I am a resource for Adventures to connect and build relationships with people and get them out on the field. I love what I do here, and to continue I need two things; a commitment to prayer and financial support. I invite you to partner with me to be part of the Great Commission. God is at work in some powerful ways and He is using us to accomplish it.
