Adventures in Missions

How Baton Rouge is Responding to a Record-Breaking Flood

When a catastrophic storm hit Baton Rouge last month, it sunk southern Louisiana in over five feet of water. Over 40,000 homes have been destroyed, over 30,000 residents were displaced, and over 20,000 people had to be rescued by the Red Cross, Salvation Army, and Louisiana National Guard. The massive scale of this disaster prompted President Obama to declare a state of emergency for the state of Louisiana. It’s estimated a flood of this magnitude happens only once in every 500 years. In the wake of devastation, Adventures staff Reid Mason saw something...

I Would Have Done Anything Not to Go on a Mission Trip

September 20, 2016
Adventures
Family Mission Trips

Ric Peterson would have done anything to get out of going on a mission trip to Appalachia. But God told him to GO and his wife wouldn’t let him out of it, so he went—reluctantly. It ended up being a week he’ll never forget. When my wife suggested we go on a family mission trip, I begrudgingly agreed. Years ago I would have been excited about the opportunity but the older I get, the more set in my ways I am. Plus, I’m a law enforcement officer and over the years I’ve become increasingly suspicious of people, their motives, and their willingness to...

What These High School Students Did Was Totally Unexpected

September 13, 2016
Adventures
Youth Missions

While leading a student missions trip to the Dominican Republic, our Adventures Staff saw something that took her breath away: the next generation of the Church rising to the challenge of what it means to live out the Kingdom of God on earth. As Adventures staff, I have the opportunity to lead short term trips every year. While praying about where God was calling me this summer, the Dominican Republic wasn’t originally on my list. Yet I felt a nudge I couldn’t explain every time I saw the trip. Eventually, I requested to go as a leader. However, by spring of 2016, there...

I Felt Like a Failure. Then God Spoke to Me

High school student Rachel Holdeman didn’t think she had expectations for her mission trip to the Dominican Republic. Then she got a stomach bug at Training Camp. She expected it to go away quickly, but she ended up spending the beginning of her trip in the DR resting, unable to join in ministry. Rachel felt like a failure, like she’d let herself, her friends and family at home, her team, and God down. Then, in her weakness and disappointment, she heard God speak. I thought I had no expectations for my three week Ambassador trip to the Dominican Republic. All I wanted was to...

World Race 2017 Gap Year Routes are LIVE!

September 1, 2016
Adventures
World Race Gap Year

We know you’ve been waiting… and the moment is FINALLY here. Our September 2017 Gap Year Routes are LIVE! World Race: Gap Year isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s for those who are set apart. It’s for the wanderer and the adventurer, the dreamer, and the advocate for justice. It’s unlike any other gap year out there. This journey combines 9 months of mission work and experiential discipleship, all while journeying with other college-aged Christians. World Race Gap Year journeys into 3 different continents, and 5 different countries, working...

He was Desperate and Asked for Money. But He Really Wanted Something Else.

While leading a short term trip to Haiti, Adventures staff Colby Gardner met a man who aggressively asked him for money or a job. His name was Jean Pierre, and he was desperate for hope. While in Haiti, my team went out to share the Gospel out in the countryside. So we left our lodging and not long after, shared with two people under the tree not even fifty feet from our starting point. While sharing with the second person, a man rolled up on his motorcycle and sat, listening with great intent to what we were saying. When I turned and asked this curious motorcycle man how he was...

I’m Not Satisfied with Apathetic Christianity Anymore

Karson Wilkins just returned from a Passport trip to Albania, where she spent two months living life to the fullest while serving God with all of her heart. Now she’s back and life isn’t the same anymore—because she isn’t the same either. Now she faces a decision: does she go back to mediocre religion…or does she continue to pursue intimacy with God? “How are you?” seems to be the number one question asked ever since I came home from my time in Albania. I usually answer with the proper phrase that Albanians who spoke English were taught to say:...

She’s 13 and works 10 hours a Day, But That Day She Got to Just Be a Kid

August 16, 2016
Adventures
Long Term Missions

While visiting our Guatemala Base, Adventures Staff Amie Beth Beadling met a little girl who she will never forget. My heart is overwhelmed upon meeting 13-year-old Francesca, a little girl staying with Kellie and the crew at the Adventures Base in Antigua, Guatemala. Kellie met Francesca almost four years ago when her World Race team helped tear down Francesca’s family home to rebuild one with a better foundation. Francesca’s mother recently had to have surgery forcing Francesca and her 10-year-old brother to drop out of school and become the breadwinners for...

I Didn’t Think I Was Good Enough to be a Missionary

High school student Caroline Smith always loved hearing stories about mission trips. But she didn’t think she was good enough to be a missionary herself. She thought she was too young, too afraid, and even too insignificant to do something so amazing. Then God called her to GO on an Ambassador trip to Swaziland, and she discovered life beyond her wildest dreams. When I was in elementary school, I never would have imagined God would choose me for the mission field. I was always intrigued by the missionaries who visited my church. Their lives seemed so exotic and so adventurous, but...

A Typhoon Destroyed Her Family’s Farm; Now She Has to Dance for Men

August 3, 2016
Adventures
Human Trafficking

While on a short term trip in the Philippines, Adventures Staff Meghan Tschanz met a girl who used to dream of getting an education to support her family. But thanks to a typhoon destroying her family’s farm, she had to do something she never would have chosen in a million years: dance in the Red Light District. I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. Cigarette smoke clogged the air, and the dim lights barely concealed the filth of the bar. Some pop song pounded in the background, making it hard to have a clear thought. I’ve been to the bars on Walking Street in...

The August 2017 World Race Routes are Here!

August 2, 2016
Adventures
World Race

The moment you have all been waiting for is finally here: our August 2017 routes are live! Next August you could live out the Great Commission by reaching the unreached, preaching the gospel, and making disciples in some pretty incredible places found in the video below! That’s just a small sampling of the dozens of nations we’re headed to! Check out all August 2017 Routes here!

The Word “Leader” Terrified Me. Then God Called Me to Be One.

World Race Alum Sarah Baker didn’t see herself as a leader. In fact, she avoided leading in the past. And then she was asked to co-lead an Ambassador team of 18 high schoolers to Puerto Rico. It was two weeks of living by faith, listening for God and speaking His truth into students hungry for His hope and love, of praying for His Kingdom come, and leading by example. And by doing so, Sarah discovered two of the most powerful truths of leadership: 1) That the best way to lead is by being real, and 2) that by impacting one life, anyone can change the...

Author: Adventures