The Mission Trip

• • Last week, over Spring Break, a number of our WCS students embarked on a mission to Edmond, Oklahoma. The trip was coordinated by Casey Lankford, one of our campus ministers, and it focused on children who needed attention in the Oklahoma City area. I've offered my blog to any student who was part of the mission. This is from the wonderful Lindsay Moore, a sophomore in my Gospels' class.
    
    The mission trip to Oklahoma was very special to me. I really got close to two girls whose names are Celeste and Esmeralda. Esmeralda was eight or nine and was only at VBS for a day or two. What made her special was her smile. From the first time I met Esmeralda, we bonded and she just had that smile plastered to her face. Before I knew it, we were holding hands, skipping, and playing tag. The impact that I made on her and the impact she had on me are both everlasting, I believe. It's my belief that her faith in Christ will lead her to go places in life. I met Celeste when we took a field trip to the zoo. At first, she was shy and quiet but by the end of the day, she was acting like me: sarcastic. I think I really impacted her as in she started to copy me. This made me believe I could change her mindset that small people cannot change anything, and that even though I'm just sixteen, I can change lives, too. The last day we saw the kids, Celeste gave the one charm on her purse to me and Laura. The fact that she would give that to us is awe-inspiring. I think that we should give as freely as Celeste did, or at least try to give as freely. If there is one thing I would take away from the trip, it would be this: to never doubt that what you're doing is bringing God glory and impacting  someone else. To sum it up, I would do anything just to have another week with those kids because leaving just like that has kind of a bittersweet effect on me. I'm happy to go home but I'm also so torn apart having to leave the kids behind  just as I got to know them. I miss the kids and I think I always will, but knowing that I changed their lives means the world to me. I will forever remember the experience from this trip.
    
    Applicable Bible verse of the day:
    "He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
       miracles that cannot be counted."
    Job 5:9
    
    God bless,
    Steve/Coach
    Luke 18:1
    www.hawleybooks.com
    E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com