Once again I put my baby girl on an airplane for a destination I myself have never ventured to. She's 15 and this is her 3rd foreign trip in 3 years.
Why would I do this? Because God has called her to these places. I know she has an impact on people's lives where she goes. But the great thing is what I see it doing in her life!
She is bright, caring and resourceful. It gives her a focus outside herself. In this day and age children are so self-focused and it is our (the parents) fault. Somehow there is this generation of Middle class kids that think the world revolves around them. We have done that to them. Insisting they have it "better" than we did. They never want for most material things even if we can't afford it. Life handed to them on a platter. I too am guilty of this.
When Naomi was called to Missions she was only 8 years old. We knew right then it was serious business. So we began researching opportunities.
Her first "trip" was to a camp in Florida with Teen Missions International. She was 9. We drove her down there and left her in their capable hands for a week. It was really rough...I mean the camp. They were focused on preparing the kids for a future of roughing it on foreign trips. They slept in tents, bathed in buckets and put up with a ton of mosquitoes. Bathroom during the nights was a big coffee can behind their tent. It rained. Their stuff got wet. Yep that one was really hard. But I would not trade the lesson she learned for anything! I was so proud of her when we picked her up. She was covered in mosquito bites (she had lost her repellent, only to find it later at home in her bag!) But she had a bright smile on her face and was so on fire for World Missions!
Her next trip would be when she was 12. We discovered Teen Mania Missions. She went to their Junior camp in Texas and came home even more sure of the life God had called her to.
When she was 13 she took her first foreign trip. She went to Romania. They worked out of a local church in Oradea (Salem Church). That trip was 1 month. Probably the longest month of my life! There was a time period where she was not able to call us for about 2 weeks. I was getting anxious but God in his wonderful way reminded me to look on the website. I was able to pull up pictures of her trip and tada, there she was walking down a beautiful street in Oradea, Romania. My heart was peaceful again & then she called within 2 days.
When she was 14 she went to a tiny village in Russia. To work with kids in a Orphanage. Now this experience did more to take away the self factor than anything else! She met kids that had no parents or family. in fact, they had nothing of their own. They weeded gardens with these kids, played soccer & did crafts. They were told that they could not "offer" the plan of salvation to them unless the children specifically asked. That was killing her....but God is so good. As the team lived their lives out in servanthood in front of these kids, there was a 12 year old boy that said he wanted Jesus in his heart. Talk about pumping up a team's spirits! And if it was only this 1 child, it was worth it! There will be much fruit from their time there.
So this year at age 15 is her longest trip away from us yet. She will be gone for 2 months to Thailand. She will once again come back with amazing stories of God's wonderful provision and His sustaining Love.
She has participated in several Mission opportunities at Living way as well. She has done the downtown homeless outreaches & she went on the trip to Kentucky.
The most important thing I believe on these trips is not only the lives touched in those countries & at home, but the change in the lives of the teen missionaries. They come home full of hope, love & a focus for this World that really isn't as big and far away as they first thought. They come home and fire up their friends & churches with possibilities!
We serve an amazing God.
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f you want to go or send a child, go to www.globalexpeditions.com You will not regret it one single bit. But you have to put your selfish wants aside and allow God to speak to your child. He will and they will never be the same.
Naomi was born for such a time as this!
Blessings
Michelle
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