“If you want more faith, do more stuff.” This quote from Bob Goff, which I came across a couple of months before my trip to Guatemala, seemed to fit my thoughts as I’ve reflected on my medical mission trip.  It is impossible not to see the multitude of ways God stretched my faith during the week and help me grow in many areas of my life. I hope this trip had as much of an impact on the people of Guatemala as it had on me. Here is a brief glimpse of my spiritual growth as a result of the trip. 

Your plans are not always God’s plan. Going into the trip, I was unsure what I was going to be able to do on the trip because I have limited medical training. I was assigned to help with the children’s program which provided some insight into what I would be doing. However, there was plenty of free time that would have to be fulfilled by other jobs. I was excited to fill this free time selfishly to learn more about medicine as I pursue a career as a physician assistant. God, however, had other plans for me, evangelism. Our group leader announced our jobs on Sunday night, and I got assigned to do evangelism. It was clearly God telling me what my focus should be for the trip. It wasn’t about what I could gain from the trip, but rather how I could impact people with the gospel. My job assignment not only changed my mindset for the trip but also put me out of my comfort zone which is where we can often see God working the clearest. I could see God working when I presented the gospel. The way that I presented the gospel was never the reason someone got saved. It was truly the power of the Holy Spirit. It was through evangelism that God revealed not only His plan for me but also the power of the Holy Spirit. 

The testimonies of other believers also had a tremendous impact on me. It was awesome to see how God had placed people on the team who had or are currently going through similar struggles as myself. Out of the thousands of mission trips going on in May of 2019, God placed me on a team with people who could relate and help with my struggles. God’s plan isn’t always clear, but I could genuinely see his plan for sending me on this mission trip. 

I was always hesitant to go on a mission trip because it never felt like the right situation. The perfect situation rarely happens. You have to put your trust in God and let Him use you. I am so grateful that I took a leap of faith by going on this trip because it forced me to be out of my comfort zone where I could see Christ and the power of the gospel.

 


 

Organizations related to this story: CMDA - Global Health Outreach

Comments

To leave a comment, login or sign up.