Adventures in Missions

How Leaving Home Helped Me Understand What I’ve Always Known

While serving God in Botswana this summer, Haley Teel realized there was one other person God wanted to minister to in Africa – her. It feels rather stereotypical to talk about what I have learned about myself since coming to Botswana, how the Lord pulled me halfway across the world to reveal more of himself to me. I guess that makes me cliché because that is exactly what happened. Seronga, Botswana isn’t densely inhabited by any meaning of the word. It’s in the bush; goats outnumber the people and threaten property invasion anytime a gate is left...

God Sent Them on a Prayer Walk; Then This Happened

While walking with his Ambassador team in Jamaica, World Race Alum Tyler Shugart led his team through the empty streets of Spanish Town, looking for people to share the love of Christ with. Then God led them to Camien. This summer I co-led a team of ten teenagers in Spanish Town, Jamaica. One morning, we went into a new part of the city for community outreach. Normally a busy area, as we walked the streets were empty. It was disheartening to be eager and ready to share the gospel, but have no one to share it with. As the morning sun beat on my back and dogs barked in the distance, I heard...

It’s not all fun and games

Imagine throwing up, feeling shaky and weak, being in over 100 degrees weather with nothing to cool you off but a little fan plugged in the wall, laying on a mattress overcrowded with bags and suitcases and crumpling in the corner to try and get some rest. Meanwhile, right outside the room, there is a movie playing loudly and kids are screaming and running around. Not exactly what you picture when you see me posting pictures with cute little children. The reality is, missions are not all fun and games. I haven’t felt warm and fuzzy the whole time here. On the day I described above, I...

Tough Love

To be honest, this month was hard. Harder than I ever thought it would be. God really had a funny way of showing me to put my trust in Him this month. It started the first week we were here in Cambodia. I was feeling under the weather and homesick one day so my team gathered around and prayed for me. I woke up that night soaked in sweat, congested and had a 102 degree fever. I felt miserable for a few days. And I kept asking “Why God? Why me? Why now, when I’m trying to do your work in the middle of Cambodia on the other side of the world?” But God kept saying “Trust...

The Patient Teacher

Moments that shape you, that convict you, that teach you. Moments that lead to revelation and radical change. There have been many of these moments while in Cambodia, but one I really feel God has called me to share. I am walking in the crowded streets of Siem Reap on a busy Friday night. There are nice restaurants and shops to my left and right, bright lights and music, and tourists everywhere with smiles of excitement and adventure on their faces. I feel a huge knot forming in my throat and I’m paralyzed by what I currently see and am walking up to. Feelings of helplessness,...

Never Stop Speaking to Mountains

“Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O LORD. How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings. You feed them from the abundance of your own house, letting them drink from your rivers of delight. For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see.” Psalm 36:5-9 Mountains, mountains, mountains. Friday was one of my favorite days ever....

What Poverty Taught Me About Generosity

While witnessing heartbreaking poverty, Zambia Passporter Mikayla Sauerbrey saw a little girl named Precious redefine everything she knew about sharing selflessly with others. I learned so much from my time in Zambia, but perhaps the greatest thing I learned was the power of generosity. And it just so happened that my teachers were two little girls, Precious and Judy. Both girls were full of sass and laughter, but behind their giggles and tough girl facades, I sensed brokenness. In their beautiful faces I saw hurt, desperation for love, and sky-high walls. I saw it because I’m still...

Woah, Jesus.

Day 16. I have officially been on Cambodian soil for 16 days. Throughout the duration of this trip, I can officially say I’ve mastered using the squatty potty, I’ve learned how to survive on MAYBE one water well shower throughout the week, how to sleep in a hammock, (since my kids backyard tent decided to betray me) and successfully survive without air condition and Wi-Fi, although, who really needs those? To give you a more in depth picture of what my time looks like here, I am serving with a team of six other super solid girls who love the Lord with all their hearts, might I...

Small but Significant

This week in the village of Po Peyl seemed to happen so fast. Each day felt like weeks, but the week as a whole felt like a day. The days are slow and not filled to the brim with this activity or that thing to do. There is a lot of time for reflection. A lot of time to sit and soak and be still in the Lord. In my reflection the Lord has shown me how important it is for us to pursue God. This trip has been no ‘mountain top’ experience. Quite the opposite really. But it has taught me that even in said ‘valleys’ the Lord is worth praising. He is teaching me in so many...

You see them as worth dying for, so why don’t I?

Loving on these kids has been far more challenging than I expected. I knew that I would be doing ministry with street children, but I clearly was not aware of what all that would entail. The past couple of weeks, the Lord has called me to love in a way that I have not had to do before. Through this, He has shown me how immeasurably perfect His love is for us. We pick up our kids in the mornings covered in dirt from sleeping on the ground, trash from digging for food, and feces from not being cleaned. They have open and infected wounds all over their frail bodies, lice in their unbrushed...

The Time I Shared My Testimony in Front of an Entire Village

She stood in front of 150 strangers and was asked to speak. When Guatemala short term trip missionary Kathy Sikora was asked to give her testimony at a church service, she expected only 15 people in the audience. While on our mission trip to Guatemala, our team was asked to share at a village just outside of Chichicastenango. I was excited, anxious, and nervous about this village visit, mainly because I had decided to share my testimony for the very first time. As I started to pray about what I was going to say, one thing was very clear to me: I was to do this without any notes....

Where are you right now, God?

Where are you right now, God? I find myself asking that question as a dozen kids run past me. For this month, I have flown away from home for a God-sized adventure in Cambodia. The organization my team of 6 girls and I are working with bathes, feeds, plays with, takes to school, and loves on the street kids of Cambodia. Right now it’s the children’s summer break, so we are here to help keep an eye on the children and give them the love and attention they so desperately need. But amidst piggy back rides and tickle wars, I want to see God. See Him in each moment. In Luke...

Author: Adventures