Higher Ground’s high school mission trip to Oklahoma City was set to begin in the early hours of July 13th. As of June 12th, I had one other adult leader able to come on the trip. As departure day closed in, I kept repeating “God is good at surprises.” And while I knew that to be true and I intellectually trusted that God would fill in the gaps, my anxiety started to creep up.
On June 12th I sent a text message to Abbey (Meyer) Chesshir. “Want to go on a mission trip to Oklahoma City?” I didn’t expect a yes. Abbey faithfully attends a different church in town and hasn’t known most of the students since they were much younger. However, her name had popped into my head and I’ve learned to pay attention to those odd little insights over the years, so I sent the text. I also included “Do you have a friend who would want to go as well?”
Abbey said yes. And she did, in fact, have a friend (Olivia) who was interested in going as well. So as of the beginning of July, I had 3 adult leaders plus myself. I was feeling pretty good about the upcoming mission trip.
On July 3rd, 10 days before departure, the original adult leader had to make the difficult decision to stay home to help with a family emergency. I had 9 days to find at least 1, preferably 2, adult leaders and one needed to be male. The refrain came back, “God is good at surprises.”
On July 6th, after worship, Cindy Simon approached me and said she was interested in coming along. She heard during worship that there was a need and didn’t ignore the prompting to say yes. And on July 7th Pastor Matt said he was also able and willing.
God certainly surprised me. 6 days before the trip I had 4 adults. 2 didn’t attend our church. None had led a mission trip, and only Abbey had been on a Next Step mission trip as a student. These adults vaguely knew our students, if at all. And yet, all of them said yes to a God prompting. They didn’t let fear of the unknown stand in the way. They were exactly the right adults for this group of students (and for me!) on this trip.
These 4 adults had a crash course in listening for insight – both in saying yes to coming and in the day to day of leading students on a mission trip. Abbey and Olivia shared their reflections as to what prompted their “yes” as well as what resulted from listening for insight. Here are their stories.
ABBEY CHESSHIR: I have felt convicted recently of being too focused on myself; selfishly using my time and being too preoccupied with myself. The ask to come on the trip felt like an invitation from the Lord to focus on others. To pour into the lives of youth and to love and serve God by loving and serving others in need.
During the trip I was serving with a ministry that was serving the homeless population in OKC. The director of the organization put a strong emphasis on relational connection and providing for spiritual needs just as much as physical. Coming there to serve with the posture of a humble learner allowed me to listen for insight from this experience. As a result I experienced fresh motivation and inspiration to have that same relational/spiritual focus when interacting with people. I had the opportunity to have several conversations with people I wouldn’t normally talk to that deeply blessed and impacted me. By saying yes I met Tina, Dominica, Eric, and Luke and was impacted by their stories. By saying yes I got the privilege of seeing beautiful faith in our Higher Ground young people, watching them grow in boldness with those they just met and in support and connection with one another.
OLIVIA STRAMARA: I have been getting my footing after a very intense coming back to God experience this Easter. It’s been three months of discerning, submitting and listening. When Abbey asked me to go, I realized I have never been on a mission trip and my schedule was wide open. The opportunity went hand in hand with choosing a yes-relationship with God and actively pursuing to be like Jesus in service.
Because of my yes to go on the trip, I was able to see God work in ways I wouldn’t have otherwise. Our prayer circle Thursday night was the loudest God moment. I was overwhelmed by the kids’ vulnerability, my own vulnerability and our unity through heart-forward prayer in the presence of the Lord. Hearing them pray for one another through tears was beautiful, especially seeing some of the younger boys emotionally open. I also heard God’s voice at our service site the day Luke (the director of the center) took the group aside and was emotionally vulnerable with us about how impacted he was by seeing the students’ willingness to interact with everyone at the center. I felt my own conviction of needing to serve in my community more. I felt the genuine care from Luke for the people he serves and I felt the kids respond well to his vulnerability (what a great spiritual leader!).
I had daily opportunities to practice my yes-relationship with God on the trip. Responding with a yes every day came with surrendering the narrative I tell myself of how a day will go for me. I have a shorter social battery and need a lot of recharge time. I’m blown away by how much God helped energize me through the week. Being in communion with Him and everyone regularly focused on Him was eye-opening for me. I was filled rather than drained.
These testimonies are the result of people who responded to insight from God, said yes, and let God lead the rest of the story. A thread I noticed in their stories is how both Abbey and Olivia were filled up through their certainly daunting “yes God, I’ll go.” What insight has God laid on your heart? What yes is He calling you to today?
