Author: Adventures

Love and Discomfort

When I was told that I would be working at an orphanage for the next two weeks, I was stoked. Yes, I love working with kids! I thought. We'll get to run around and  play games and just be crazy! However, when told it was an orphanage that houses people with cerebral palsy, my whole attitude changed. I transitioned from being excited to nervous; confident to unsure; comfortable to uncomfortable. When we got to the orphanage, a few of my teammates jumped in: hugging, kissing, patting heads, and talking to these kids. I was overwhelmed. How were they all so confident? How did they...

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Why Are You Really Going On That Mission Trip?

We are an organization that sends people on mission trips. So obviously we believe mission trips are wonderful tools God uses to do his work in the world. But there are also a lot of things mission trips are not.  Kacie Lynn Lester works in the Admissions department at Adventures in Missions. She did the World Race in 2011-2012, and now she interviews future participants and helps them choose which trip is right for them. Kacie noticed some trends about why people want to go on mission trips, and she decided to remind herself and us why we should really be going. “Worship in the...

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Give freely

So if you've been reading this blog at all lately you will probably know how much the CP orphanage has impacted all of us.   We've learned that communication doesn't always mean talking. We've learned to get over smells and vomit and blended up food We've learned to rely on God even when we don't understand We've learned to love the abandoned.    My week at the orphanage, God was teaching me more. I have been reading through Matthew, and a theme that God continually kept bringing to my mind was GENEROSITY. He showed me that there is heavenly...

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Community.

Before this trip, I thought I knew what community meant. I mean, I lived at college for 3 years. But let me tell you – living in a house with 19 people and 2 bathrooms 24/7 for 2 months is a completely different story than sharing a room with one or two other people.   Community is messy. It’s overwhelming.  But I’ve learned to love it.   Community is using the toilet while someone is showering and someone is brushing their teeth and someone is fixing their hair. Having 25 bottles in the shower. 2 lines and a table full of everyone’s laundry,...

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JESUS HEALS

Let me start this blog out by saying that I am completely in LOVE with Jesus.   This week was different at the cerebral palsy orphanage. They asked us to come a little earlier so that we could help the nurses bathe them. IT WAS SO HARD. I am not comfortable at all, but somehow I was able to make it through carrying, washing, dressing, and loving 8 precious orphans. When I went to help her undress the last child she stopped me. First, she handed me gloves (which we hadn’t used on any of the other children) and looked at me with a look of sorrow that immediately broke my heart....

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What’s Love Got To Do With It?

When I first walked by Ever in the Cerebral Palsy orphanage, he pretended to be asleep. I obviously responded immediately by pretending to fall asleep on his face, and lemme tell you… He has a laugh that I'm never going to forget! The way he lights up every time I walk over to him, the way he starts to bite his hands so that I'll stop and pay attention to him, the way he lifts up his arms every time I tell him "Brazos!" so that he can experience what it's like to stand… he's perfect! Within the first week of laying on his mat...

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How My First Mission Trip Blew My Mind

Jade Ripp, a participant on our most recent Adventures Encounter trip to Haiti, wrote about her experience with homesickness. Haiti was her first mission trip, and it changed her life. Sometimes it's hard to throw away the life you used to lead and hand the pen to the Lord to write the rest of your story. Trust me, I know. It is not easy, but in the end it is worth it. When God directed me to go on a mission trip, I began looking for opportunities. When God helped me find Adventures In Missions, I began getting a little nervous to leave the country. When God...

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San Pedro Evening Ministry

Life here in San Pedro, Guatemala in a house with 19 people definitely gets interesting. Random dance parties happen. Spontaneous worship happens. I’m not shocked anymore to find myself brushing my teeth in the bathroom while someone’s on the toilet and someone else is in the shower. It’s easy to get caught up in this community. These 19 awesome people. This family. But today, yet again, God stepped in and reminded me of the larger community we’re called to be a part of. We’ve dubbed our newest unofficial ministry “San Pedro Evening Ministry.”...

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Reaching the top of my volcano

What did we do this weekend? We went on a 14 mile hike. On a HUGE volcano. At 5 in the morning.   Exercise and silence with 19 people at 5 am is not exactly my idea of fun, but nonetheless I ended up there…and I am actually glad I did it.   Considering this would be such a huge challenge for me and it was exactly one month from my Uncle Dan’s next brain surgery, I decided I would do it for him. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease just a few years ago and has been one of the most encouraging and inspiring people I have ever met. So, I threw on my...

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Heart of Clay

It was Sunday night, we were about to hear our ministry assignments for next week, and I was stoked. That was, until found out I would be doing manual labor for a week. I walked into our room, ready to have a serious talk with the Lord. To show him how disappointed I was, I even started tearing up. "Are you serious, God? Why?" —-I have a plan. "But the work's hard, it's…" —-Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these… you did for me.      Matthew 25:45 He began to mold my heart of stone into...

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Normal Life.

Yesterday, I was reflecting on our lives here and I started listing all the things that happen here regularly that we don't find too strange anymore, but y'all back home probably will. Regular things that aren’t regular back home. 1. Taking a shower in constant fear of being electrocuted. Just Google “Guatemalan shower heads”… 2. Squeezing into school buses that already contain at least 65 people. Not that I counted or anything. 3. Dipping dishes into bleach after washing them because the water is so contaminated. Because that doesn't defeat the...

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