YOUTH IGNITE

"Take me where love is needed." ~Unknown

Sunday afternoon (yesterday) fifteen youth and seven adults from our church headed out for a week on the 2018 Youth Mission Trip. Each one sported this year's "official" shirt printed with the goal and inspiration. On the front it simply said, "Go. Serve. Love." The back quoted Galatians 5:13 - "Use your freedom to serve one another in love." (NLT) Their destination was near Altoona, Pennsylvania where they will be God's hands and feet. Next Sunday will be devoted to sharing their experiences and how God used them, along with a slide show of their week. The details will be specific to this trip and their experiences, but some things tend to be the same each year for the kids who go. I've seen Youth Mission trips:
~create a lasting and often strong sense of community among the youth, as well as with the adults who have come alongside them. Everything they do, they do together - traveling, working, eating, playing, staying up late, waking up tired, etc.
~help kids see beyond their own world. They may have never before experienced the real way others may live - below the poverty level, in a small town, in an inner-city, on a reservation, etc.
~take kids out of their comfort zones to learn new things. They may need to work on building projects, painting, playing with young children, conducting VBS, serving meals, handing out food to homeless people - to name just a few.
~reveal possibilities and passions. Kids find out they are capable of things they've never done before, and confidence grows.
~help kids to anchor their faith and move forward in their walk with God.

Yesterday as kids arrived with their luggage and "stuff," their enthusiasm was the evidence they were eager to "Go. Serve. Love."