Author: Adventures

Not Resisting Anymore

Passporter Shannon Budnick shares how God has used her time in Thailand to show her how great his love for her really is. I have struggled with shame for nearly my entire life. There are times when my brain keeps me up at night going over every mistake I made that day, and then each mistake of my lifetime. That usually lands me in tears and wishing for someone to hold me, but I’m too ashamed to ask, so I cry alone. The thought of letting someone else in terrifies me; I think I’m too broken to allow anyone to get close. This shame has affected my self worth as well. The...

Continue reading

I Couldn’t Be His Mom

While leading an Ambassador trip to Jamaica this summer, Adventures Staff Caitlin Roberson met a little boy who reminded her of the power of what it means to love from a broken heart. While leading an Ambassador trip to Jamaica last summer, my team lived on the Salvation Army base in Kingston. There was a nursing home and orphanage on site. Because it had been a while since I came back from the Race, I had forgotten was how difficult it was to love orphans at times.  My team was in charge of VBS while there. It would have been easier to teach Bible stories to a room full of...

Continue reading

They Dig Through the Trash to Survive

After a blistering morning shoveling garbage in Nicaragua, Passporter Madison Miller was ready to throw away her soiled gloves and take a long shower. Instead, she jumped on the back of a garbage truck with her teammates and rode to the dump, where she met people literally digging in and living amongst trash just to survive. Morning came and like usual on mission trips, things didn’t go as planned. We didn’t have anything to do around the community so we were assigned work on the compound. We were told to grab shovels and head out to the garbage pile on the project. When...

Continue reading

“Yes, Tita, We Cry Because You Hurt.”

After 48 hours of running an orphanage of 30+ children in the Philippines, Passporter Michaela Finn was exhausted. Nerves fried, every muscle in her body aching from running after children, all she wanted was a moment to sit alone, still before God. Instead, she found herself surrounded by three children who reached out and touched her heart in a way she will never forget. My team and a few World Race teams were left in charge of an orphanage of 30ish children in the Philippines for two days while their staff went to a retreat. Oh and they don’t have school. These 30 children have...

Continue reading

Guatemala Didn’t Need Me

Alene Sondgrass left for a week in Guatemala stressed from her full-throttle lifestyle, hungry to not only be used by God but to meet with him. What she found was a call to a messy, unapologetic, counter-cultural, faith-filled life. I left for Guatemala rushed and frazzled. There were deadlines to meet and my to-do’s seemed overwhelming. The world was rushing and so was my soul. Traffic roared by, my phone constantly beeped, and the American way of life had sucked me in. Life was happening full-throttle. My soul longed for something more. Having been to Guatemala three times in...

Continue reading

Missions at the Kitchen Table

It might seem odd to say that mission trips are as much for the person going as for the people being to served. But the truth is, often what we get out of going on the field impacts us just as much as what we go to share. This is the beauty and gift of a mission trip – the personal impact for everyone involved.    “If only this were real life.” “I wish I were back on the field.” “I can’t wait until I (graduate/quit my job) so I can go into missions full time.” Surprise. This is real life – and we are on the...

Continue reading

Summer 2015 Passport Trips are Open!

It’s early morning in South Africa as Passporter Christie Sanchez watches the sun rise over Pretoria. Her family and friends back in the States are still asleep, as are her teammates in the building beside her, and thoughts keep racing through her mind.  It’s just her and God.  At ministry the day before, as the children surrounded the vehicle before it even stopped, little hands pulled her from inside and tugged for attention, beautiful brown eyes and laughing voices, longing for love, desperate for the touch of God. Through the language barrier, the clearest English...

Continue reading

Just Another Night in Thailand

While in Thailand June 2014, Tameka Rish’s heart broke for those she met in the Red Light District. The stories she heard inspired her to write this poem. Adventures returns to Thailand in November to share the hope and love of Jesus Christ. We will continue the work begun by teams past through prayer walking and living intentionally in the heart of Bangkok. To sign up or find out more, visit our website.   Broken by: Tameka Rish   She pulls on the few clothes she’s provided.Applies her make up to cover all she is...

Continue reading

Not Your Typical Summer Vacation

For the typical college student, summer is a time to sit back and relax. Classes are over for the semester, usually concluding the end of a school year. Time to put in a few more hours at work and spend the days finding adventure, vacationing with family or friends, sleeping in, and staying up late. Cameron Shelton’s summer was very different than the typical college student’s. Instead of sleeping in, he woke early to roosters and cattle announcing the break of day. Instead of a blazing sun and endless blue skies, he lived through another winter, this one in the Southern...

Continue reading

Thy Kingdom Come: Praying God’s Will of Freedom

 On our short-term trips, our participants experience new cultures and some incredible things as people are healed, released from bondage, and experience the love of God for the very first time. On a summer trip to Haiti, a team witnessed a woman receive freedom from years of spiritual bondage. Project Leader Dayna Bickham shares what can happen because of just one prayer.   Haiti is a nation ripe with harvest. It is also a nation that has been steeped in darkness and voodoo for centuries.  Yet, we are not afraid of the dark. After all we bear the Light and when the light...

Continue reading

A Semester Like No Other: Passport Fall Launch

At this point in the year, most young adults 18-22 are beginning a new semester at college. For nearly 60 students, last week began a whole new kind of adventure for them as our fall Passporters spent a few days in training before launching last Saturday. Over the next three months, five teams will be doing ministry in India, Thailand, Peru, Nicaragua, and on an African Expedition serving in South Africa, Mozambique, and Swaziland. It’s sure to be an incredible and unforgettable semester abroad as these young adults experience new cultures, minister to the least of these, and get...

Continue reading

“I’m Leaving Now. I’m Going to Lunch.”

Adventures in Missions staff Connie Rock leads Adult missions trips to Thailand and Cambodia. She shares how God uses prayer walking to impact those around her teams:   First, there were the 3 Men Who Walked into a Bar in Thailand.     Then there was the man in Cambodia who backed himself right off the bench while acting all casual (and literally fell onto the pavement).     The man who was ridden with guilt and covered his face when we drove by … as other men glared at us.       The man who walked a woman back to a hotel....

Continue reading