Mission Resources International
Mission Resources International
Meeting the children at the church in Pailon, a small church outside of Santa Cruz
July 6, 2008 I was aboard an American Airlines flight bound for Miami, Florida, originating in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. I felt excited to be going home, but also a sense of loss at what I had left behind. This had been my first short-term mission trip.
I was talking across the aisle to my new “brother” Jeff about all the amazing ways we had been allowed to work alongside the full-time SAM missionaries in Bolivia. The emotions we both felt were strong recounting our memorable experiences. Both of us knew there was so much more to be done. I believe any one of us that went on the mission trip would have turned that plane around if it were in our power. Deep down I hoped and prayed, that it would be in God’s plan that I would return. I had a yearning to continue what the Holy Spirit had started in my life and the work this mission team had started in Bolivia a decade earlier.
At the end of 2007 when Tony McCarver first asked me to be a part of the team I knew I had to go. God had been working in my life and putting everything in order that would make it possible. A year earlier I had not been able to commit to the trip, due to vacation scheduling, but this time every obstacle had been removed. I had been called by our Holy Father to serve. Now the challenge of my first mission trip was to come about.
When Tony first asked me to go I was excited and confident. When I learned of all the documents and vaccinations I would have to have my excitement and confidence sometimes turned to worry and fear. I needed a Passport and Visa, and enough inoculations to keep me very busy with appointments. I also had to raise financial support, and with the previously mentioned necessities the task seemed daunting. But every time we had a team meeting or I would speak with one of the other team members or a supporter, my spirit would perk up and I would find my assurance again.
Tony asked me to prepare a message to give at the Ayore church, and at first I thought he must be crazy. But I thought about it and then prayed about it a lot more. I felt Tony knew that I could do this, but I still struggled within my own strength. Finally, completely frustrated I gave in and cried out to the Lord for help. He instructed me to stop trying so hard and trust in Him. He knew the message I was to give, and when I relented, He supplied me with it. Everything fell into place when I put my trust in Him.
My supporters were fantastic as I received all the financial support necessary. I knew I also had the encouragement and power of their prayers. I really learned the strength of prayer when I presented the message to the church in Poza Verde. Speaking in front of a group makes me uncomfortable, but with the prayers of my fellow team members and of course with the leading of the Holy Spirit, the message went out without a hitch, twice!
These are some things I learned from my first mission trip:
Checking out the radios at Trans World Radio that we gave to the Ayore. These radios are solar powered and transmit the Gospel.
If you are thinking of going on a short-term mission trip I strongly encourage you to seek others that have gone before. If you have a heart for the Gospel and a love for people, what could be more rewarding?
I stepped up to the challenge and know that I returned changed. I left my comfort zone and discovered a whole world that aches for the Truth and the message of God’s love. If it is in God’s plan, I will return to Bolivia in 2009. Maybe I will see you there, or in another place God has called us to.
-Steve Harding