Follow. Trust. Worship. Trust.

Follow. Trust. Worship. Love.

By Jazmin Frank, Team Participant
January-March 2013

They say every story has two sides. Usually that involves two different perspectives of the same experience from two different people. But have you ever realized that as we experience things individually, there are also two sides to the story—the physical side, which is what we actually experience; and the emotional/spiritual side, which is the internal experience?

I want to share my internal experiences (the spiritual side) of my missions trip to Papua New Guinea. This side of the story revolves around four words: follow, trust, worship, love.

Follow. Every day, we are taken out of our comfort zone in some way; we are changed by our experiences and the people we meet. It doesn’t matter if God calls us around the world or across the street. Following Him simply means laying down our lives for Him daily and trusting in His good and perfect plan.

Trust. Throughout my preparation for this missions trip and the trip itself, God kept asking me one question: “Will you trust Me?” Again and again, He would ask me if I would trust Him, and again and again, though my answer was a bit delayed at times, my answer was always, “Yes, I trust You. I commit to follow You wherever You lead, doing whatever You ask of me.”

Worship. The first Sunday we were in Hagen, I have to say I had never experienced a worship service as joyful as that one. I wished I understood Pidgin, the main language of PNG, so I could sing along!

Love. On the last night of VBS, I received so many hugs and handshakes, but what touched me the most was their tears. We had been with these people only a week. We had only sung songs, played a few games, done some crafts, and shared a few Bible stories, yet in that short time we had poured out love on them, and the people of Papua New Guinea had loved us in return.

This is the stuff that matters. The activities are fun, but sometimes the lessons are what stick with us the longest.

ACT: Saying yes to a two-week missions trip is just part of the experience. What God will teach through your experience may be the most important part. Join a team or create one of your own by sending an e-mail to Noritta Carter atteams@wgm.org.