Lift Off! Summer Missions - Day 05
Sophomore, UCSD
Dates: July 4 - 17
Place: Aucklund, New Zealand
Organization: Redeemer's Grace Church, San Diego
We will be putting on a women’s conference at Shore Baptist Church in Auckland. We will also be coordinating a VBS at Community Baptist Church in Wellsford later on in the trip. In the evenings, we will be doing various evangelism activities such as door-to-door evangelism and visiting the University of Auckland to encourage the Tertiary Students Christian Fellowship.
I did not want to go on the trip at first, because I was interested in doing an internship for the summer, or taking summer school. In addition, my parents were opposed to me going. However, in praying about it and talking to some sisters, God brought it to my attention that I was not placing Him first in thinking through these things; rather, I was prioritizing career. Another reason was that my parents were not supportive of me going on the trip. In one conversation especially, one of my good friends asked me why I thought it would be better to not go. I said that my parents did not want me to, and that I felt like I would be trampling on their sacrifice (of sending me to school/paying for it/etc.) and disobeying God’s command to honor my parents if I did decide to go. Then she said, “Don’t you know, when you don’t love and prioritize God above all things, that you’re trampling on Christ’s sacrifice?” Her words really hit me hard. In talking to my discipler about the consequences of not doing an internship, such as it being harder to find a job in the future, she said, “Why is that relevant? Why not have it be harder to find a job in the future? Is that up to you? Do you really believe that when you seek God’s kingdom first, that everything else will be okay?” It was through these conversations that I realized that even though verses like Matthew 6:33 are very familiar, it was only head knowledge to me—not just in thinking about missions, but in life in general. These things made me consider what was more important—things of temporary value, like career, or things of eternal value, like proclaiming the gospel and serving the Church? Other thoughts included considering what it means to obey and honor my parents, but love God above them. In the end, by God’s grace, I decided to go on the trip because in my heart, I knew that my motivations to not go came from a place of selfishness and focusing on the temporal. I prayed that I would honor and respect my parents beforehand, then told them about my decision. In the end, by God’s grace, they came to support my decision, financially and in prayer. I’m really thankful for what God has been teaching me in all these ways even prior to the trip itself.
I think I’m just looking forward to see how God will answer the prayers of our team and how He will use the team to further His kingdom. I am personally very excited about the women’s conference and the VBS, but as a whole, I’m just excited to exercise the privilege of sharing the gospel and can’t wait to see what God will do!
Please pray for (1) preparation for the women’s conference, (2) that God will prepare the hearts of those who will hear the gospel, and (3) that God will prepare the hearts of our team to be bold and compassionate in sharing the gospel by first growing us each in seeing the gospel as a reality in our day-to-day lives. Thanks so much for prayer and support! Very excited to see how God will answer these prayers!
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