Adventures in Missions

He Was Shocked to Realize God Saw Him

While at a baptism service on a public beach in Cuba, Adventures staff Connie Rock picked up a heart-shaped rock, intending to take it home as a souvenir. But it turns out the rock was for someone else. The waves crashed over us as we attempted to keep our frail friend from being swept away into the Caribbean Sea. She was dressed in white and all smiles. Her eyes lit up as one brother talked about the meaning of baptism and the other translated into Spanish. “I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” “Yo te bautizo en el nombre del Padre,...

Buried Alive in an Earthquake, God Brought Her Back to Life

While on a short term mission trip to Haiti, Denise Heesch met a little girl who, after being buried alive in the earthquake, was declared dead. Then her mother cried out to God. The beautiful hot Haitian sun shone overhead as we followed our host up the steep, rocky road. We were visiting various families in the local community, praying and talking with whoever we met. We scrambled up and around rebar and rocky, dusty, cinder blocks to walk across a concrete slab. Around the back of the attached cinder block “home” we approached the door on the side and call out,...

What It’s Like Teaching Women About Their Identities in Christ

At a Beauty for Ashes Retreat in the Dominican Republic, Kingdom Journeys participant, Erika Michael, taught on what it means to be a daughter of God. Our first retreat was for the women in the mountain town of Lajas, Dominican Republic where we are living this month. We had about 20 women there. We spent the day talking about our worth. We use an illustration with a crisp and clean dollar bill. I ask the women if they want it. Of course everyone says “Yes, I want it!” Then I crumple it up and ask if they still want it. They all still say, “Yes!” I...

I Sat Next to a Man Who Buys Girls. This is What He Said.

While traveling to the Philippines last month, Adventures Staff Meghan Tschanz sat beside a man who has purchased girls from the Red Light District for years. This is what she learned from that conversation. “Do you know where to go next?” I was staring at an arrival board in Tokyo when she approached me. Fresh off a twelve hour flight with greasy hair and fuzzy teeth, I stared at the transfer board. It looked like the next flight to Manila was departing from terminal two. And I knew before she said anything that is where she was heading, too. Her name was May...

She Was Ready to Give Up On God, Then This Happened

May 17, 2016
Adventures
Youth Missions

While passing out water on a hot New Orleans day, two teenagers met a woman who had literally just prayed, “God, do you even care about me?” Their meeting changed her life. It’s amazing how something as simple as a bottle of water can change a life. When this group of 109 students and volunteers came to New Orleans, they were ready for anything. So we split them into smaller groups and sent them throughout the city. Some painted and sorted clothes. Others did doing VBS clubs. Some went prayer walking. But all groups at some point in the week, got on the street...

Sharing God’s Love Helped Me Realize How Much God Loves Me

May 10, 2016
Adventures
Youth Missions

While on a youth group trip to Nashville, Olivia MacIsaac realized two very important things: 1) God wanted a relationship with her and 2) she didn’t have to hide her heart. I went to Nashville expecting to interact with others and God in a somewhat mundane and quite general way. Never did I think I would gain so much knowledge on who God is, nor did I think I would see a worship leader practically jump out of her skin to pray for a stranger. My adventure in Nashville was not nearly as mundane as I had expected, and I learned a lot more about God than I ever thought I would. Being a...

To My Friends and Family: I Have Found My Passion. Don’t Let Me Forget.

April 26, 2016
Adventures
Human Trafficking

Liz Newman thought she understood the reality of human trafficking. Then she went to the Philippines and saw it for herself. Now, she’s found her Kingdom purpose—sharing God’s love and hope with sexually exploited women. I thought I knew. I thought I knew a lot about the issues of human trafficking and the sex trade. I’ve done my research. I’ve followed a friend’s blog of true stories of the women she’s encountered along the way of her many journeys over the years. I thought I knew. But it’s one thing to hear tales of heartache and...

I Felt Freedom for the First Time in my Life

Shannon Cornuke went on a mission trip to Guatemala thinking she had life figured out. She knew Jesus died for her, but she didn’t really know Jesus and didn’t have a reason to need to know Him. Through the people she met, Shannon fully realized God’s love for the first time—and got to share it with everyone around her. All my life I thought I was on the right track. I thought I could control my life. I knew Jesus died for me, but I didn’t strive to know anything else—like knowing Him. I thought I could go along with my life and look to God...

I Thought He Wanted Food, But He Was Hungry for Something Else

While on a mission trip in Chicago, Hanna Miecznikowski paused to give a man a few coins. But it turned out he wanted something else. The traffic whirled around me as I headed downtown that afternoon. I grew up in Chicago, but five or six years had passed since I’d driven in the Chicago rush hour traffic. To call it an adventure is an understatement. As I approached Pastor Robert’s house for a late afternoon ministry planning session, I noticed a homeless man standing in the middle of the road holding a sign and asking for help. I scrambled to get ahold of the few coins in my...

God Reminded Us He Had the Power to Heal

While leading a missions trip to the Dominican Republic, Neil Bruinsma saw a man healed in a surprising way. One of my favorite things is helping people realize they can hear God speak. At the center of Adventures trips is listening prayer. It’s a part of everything we do, from nightly debriefs to setting aside entire blocks of time for God to lead us into ministry we wouldn’t have found ourselves. There’s not anything mystical about it, but every time God does something amazing, something that only He can do, I get excited. That’s what happened in the Dominican...

I’ll Never Forget Him: How a Syrian Man Changed My View of Refugees

While on Greece on a short term trip, Adventures Fellow and Race Alum Hannah Midgett met a man she will never forget. It was my last day working in Lesvos, and my first day working at the International Rescue Committee (IRC) transit point. After 2 weeks, I had become very accustomed to receiving refugees and making them feel welcome. Most refugees were timid, yet very thankful. While some kids would open up and play, others would attach themselves to their parents, and start to tear up the moment their parents weren’t in their line of vision. Most would huddle into circles,...

A Mission Trip to Jamaica Changed My Life

Christian Bunch went on a 2 week Ambassador trip to Jamaica in 2010. And that trip changed his life. My first encounter with missions was on an Adventures Ambassador trip to Jamaica in 2010. My life was completely changed as a result. It began when I saw the power of God in a tangible and physical way for the first time. A severely lactose intolerant teammate accidentally ate cheese at Training Camp, one of the Adventures staff prayed for her—and she was healed as a result. I was shocked by this because I didn’t think God did those kinds of things. Then, the night before my...

Author: Adventures