Traveling Part 2 - Minnesota Missions

So, we've already talked about my college visits, now I want to share about a missions trip I took earlier this year to Minnesota.

Saturday July 3rd, I left with a group of fourteen other people from my church to go to Red Lake Minnesota.  As we were making the trek, by car, from Pennsylvania to Minnesota, it took us approximately 23 hours of driving both ways for the trip.  Fortunately, we were able to stop at a hotel in Chicago both ways as well.  But once we got up there, the trip was well worth it!  We were working on an Indian reservation, and it was quite a change from the comfortable Pennsylvania atmosphere I'm used to.

One of the kids from the reservation and me

As we worked with the kids through a VBS program, it broke my heart to see that many of the kids came from broken homes, or didn't even know whose house they were going home to on a given night.  It was important to show them God's love for them through us.  A lot of them grew close to my heart, and I was privileged to find that three of them dedicated their lives to Christ the next week!  Within a day, they were hanging all over us and really loved us.  We shared the story of salvation, a story some of them already knew.  Of course, not everything went smoothly.  Due to threatening weather, we weren't able to go to the lake on our third day of VBS, which disappointed many of the kids.

We also were able to help out by painting a house while we were there.  Just a simple coat of paint does an amazing job of lifting a person's spirits and is a great way to show that we care for them.  Best of all, we all enjoyed doing it!  We had a great time over the course of the week, just being able to help them and work with them.  It was a great opportunity to grow in my personal faith over the course of the week.

I also met some people that will hold a special place in my heart from now on.  Carmen and Caitlin are two girls that are really walking with Christ and on fire for him!  I will be continuing to pray for them and encourage them in their walk.  I am so thankful that I got to meet them, they really inspired me to be a better Christian myself.  I see the hardships they walk through and it is a motivator for me to go out and face my hardships with the strength of God at my side!

I learned a lot in Minnesota, and I'm glad to be able to share the experience!

Any questions, get my email address at: http://scr.im/aqy