Post #1 – Preparing for Costa Rica

Hey guys,

 

Just wanted to make this post to give a little insight to where I am in my life right now and how I ended up choosing to go on this trip.

So, to give some background on my own faith, I grew up knowing who Jesus was and knowing the answers to all of the ”church questions“ but I wouldn‘t say it truly clicked for me until a lot later in my life. Up until the end of high school I mostly only went to church because my family did, and I never really sought out a relationship with the Lord. The only times growing up, however, that I had true faith and fellowship with God were when I attended Pine Cove as a camper. I’ll be honest, I don’t remember any of the messages the taught us, but the one thing I do remember is how much my counselor’s loved the Lord year after year, specifically through their passion to serve us campers. If we fast forward a little bit, I ended up applying to be a counselor at Pine Cove the summer after my freshman year at Trinity University. Somehow I got the job, but I was at a stage in life where I wasn’t seeking a relationship with God much at all and I really didn’t want to work there. The only reason I ended up working there was because my mom forced me. But my mom forcing me to work at this camp was the best thing that ever happened to me. That summer, I truly caught a glimpse of God in the people I worked with and their heart to serve the Lord. The way the Holy Spirit moved in the hearts of the campers that summer is something I will never forget. From that summer on, I realized that the way I had been living was not fruitful at all, and I knew that if I loved the Lord, I had to change the way I lived. I ended up transferring to Blinn, and eventually Texas A&M University which I where I go now. These past two years in College Station I have just tried to learn more and more about who God is and have tried to find ways to be more like Him. 

Why this mission trip though? Well, to start, I’ve never been on one. I’ve had a lot of conversations with people who have been on mission trips before, and have heard how drastically their perspective on life and on their faith has changed through their experiences on the trip. I feel that through these conversations that I had that God placed the desire to go and serve on a mission trip on my heart. So for at least a year now, I had been hoping to find an opportunity to go on one. The moment I decided was when I was at Passion Conference 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. Attending the conference was an amazing experience and I honestly don’t have the words to describe what it felt like being in a stadium filled with 60,000 believers just worshipping the Lord. The overall theme from the Conference was “going to make disciples of all nations.” I just felt a massive tug to finally go and apply for a mission trip and go on one. So that’s what I did. 

This semester I have been feeling closer to the Lord than ever and am just in full preparation for what the Lord has in store for me this summer. I have been blessed with meeting with a mentor every week which has hud such a great positive impact on my walk with the Lord. I can’t wait to let the Lord work through me and just point all of the glory to Him this summer. Thanks for reading guys:) Peace