I am currently on a plane en route to SF. I am going on my first mission trip with my church from Nacogdoches, Grace Bible Church. There are about 35 people on this trip- students and leaders. We are going to be working with City Impact in a part of SF called the "Tenderloin" because of its central location in the city. This is where all of the homeless and drug-addicted people have congregated. It is a very rough part of the city, but that's what makes it an ideal place to do mission work and to share God's love with these people who really need it. I am very excited.
Part of me is nervous about not knowing exactly what we're going to do there, and also about the scary people and things I know are going to be around me. The other part of me is nervous about how God is going to use me on this trip - or if He is going to use me at all. I'm afraid He won't use me in a remarkable way to impact someone else's life. This is a selfish fear I think though, so I'm going to keep praying about it and about where my heart is during this trip.
This trip is not about me and my capabilities, but about God and how He uses the incapable to do His work.
I have to keep reminding myself of this. It's very easy for me to turn everything around and make the things in my life centered around me. This trip I am determined and excited about making an entire week centered around God and serving others. This week I will be selfless.
A group of girls and I are reading through a book by Elyse Fitzpatrick. Coincidentally a friend of mine in that group, Brooke, is coming on this trip with me and she found some awesome quotes that relate to our current situation. She shared these with me.
"The Lord has given you the freedom to seek to serve Him in whatever way He has wired you to. And then, in all the ways you fail, He also gives us His righteousness." (Minutes before she shared this with me I wrote down my fears mentioned above. What a blessing and encouragement this was to begin our trip!)
"All human efforts will fall short of transforming anyone's heart. The truth is that we can't transform our own hearts, let alone anyone else's. That's something only the Lord can do."
Whether I pray with someone to accept Christ into their heart, plant a seed of hope in someone's life, or serve behind the scenes to make a small improvement in someone's day, I will be glad however God chooses to use His and my time.
-THE TENDERLOIN-
Well we've made it! We rode the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) from the airport to the Tenderloin area. Initially walking out of the BART station the city looked like a typical city- the lights of the buildings and restaurants shone in the dark of the night, cars zipped around the streets honking and screeching, and lots of people were power walking as if they had somewhere they needed to be. We strolled two blocks taking in the sights, sounds and smells the city had to offer us, and then the mood instantly changed as we crossed a street and entered the Tenderloin District.
It smells like pee here. Like, they kept telling us it was going to smell like pee and I tried to prepare myself for it, but it really and truly smells like a straight up restroom. Looking down it makes sense. Lining the walls of the buildings on the streets were the homeless begging for money and addicts feeding their addictions. We were told to keep our eyes down, and after walking past human excrement I was grateful my eyes helped me avoid stepping in it. What a different world these people live in than I do.
The place we are staying is only about two blocks from the BART station so it wasn't a terrible walk with all of our luggage (thank goodness). The building has three stories I think, with the second and third being rooms to sleep in with cots. The first floor is an open space used for a variety of things I will talk about later on. This first night we unpacked, met as a group to talk about housekeeping and the plan for the morning/the following day, then went to bed.
Cot sleep isn't as good as bed sleep.
Part of me is nervous about not knowing exactly what we're going to do there, and also about the scary people and things I know are going to be around me. The other part of me is nervous about how God is going to use me on this trip - or if He is going to use me at all. I'm afraid He won't use me in a remarkable way to impact someone else's life. This is a selfish fear I think though, so I'm going to keep praying about it and about where my heart is during this trip.
This trip is not about me and my capabilities, but about God and how He uses the incapable to do His work.
I have to keep reminding myself of this. It's very easy for me to turn everything around and make the things in my life centered around me. This trip I am determined and excited about making an entire week centered around God and serving others. This week I will be selfless.
A group of girls and I are reading through a book by Elyse Fitzpatrick. Coincidentally a friend of mine in that group, Brooke, is coming on this trip with me and she found some awesome quotes that relate to our current situation. She shared these with me.
"The Lord has given you the freedom to seek to serve Him in whatever way He has wired you to. And then, in all the ways you fail, He also gives us His righteousness." (Minutes before she shared this with me I wrote down my fears mentioned above. What a blessing and encouragement this was to begin our trip!)
"All human efforts will fall short of transforming anyone's heart. The truth is that we can't transform our own hearts, let alone anyone else's. That's something only the Lord can do."
Whether I pray with someone to accept Christ into their heart, plant a seed of hope in someone's life, or serve behind the scenes to make a small improvement in someone's day, I will be glad however God chooses to use His and my time.
-THE TENDERLOIN-
Well we've made it! We rode the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) from the airport to the Tenderloin area. Initially walking out of the BART station the city looked like a typical city- the lights of the buildings and restaurants shone in the dark of the night, cars zipped around the streets honking and screeching, and lots of people were power walking as if they had somewhere they needed to be. We strolled two blocks taking in the sights, sounds and smells the city had to offer us, and then the mood instantly changed as we crossed a street and entered the Tenderloin District.
It smells like pee here. Like, they kept telling us it was going to smell like pee and I tried to prepare myself for it, but it really and truly smells like a straight up restroom. Looking down it makes sense. Lining the walls of the buildings on the streets were the homeless begging for money and addicts feeding their addictions. We were told to keep our eyes down, and after walking past human excrement I was grateful my eyes helped me avoid stepping in it. What a different world these people live in than I do.
The place we are staying is only about two blocks from the BART station so it wasn't a terrible walk with all of our luggage (thank goodness). The building has three stories I think, with the second and third being rooms to sleep in with cots. The first floor is an open space used for a variety of things I will talk about later on. This first night we unpacked, met as a group to talk about housekeeping and the plan for the morning/the following day, then went to bed.
Cot sleep isn't as good as bed sleep.
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