Mexico 2010, Rwanda 2013, Estonia 1992

“Missions” for my family was an opportunity for my wife and I to take our children to foreign lands/cultures and give of ourselves in practical ways. It was a tremendous joy to see people respond so enthusiastically to the small gestures of kindness that we provided. I believe my children were substantially impacted by seeing the conditions that some foreign children have to live in. My personal highlight was presenting the gospel in the Tijuana City Dump, and having 8 people sincerely give their hearts and lives to Jesus Christ. Each mission trip has encouraged me to look forward to the next mission’s opportunity.

India 2006, Mexico 2011, Kenya 2015, Bulgaria 1991, Estonia 1992

I’ve been blessed to travel to Mexico with my son, Samuel (then 14), and to Kenya with my daughter, Brooklynn (then 14), along with several trips without my children. Missions are a great opportunity to actually live the gospel. I also like how you come to appreciate the different abilities in the people on your mission team. It gives you a greater love for both the people of the world, and those within your local church. 

Rwanda 2012

I went, in part, to help as best I could at the Victory Home of Champions, and in part to see the country which had a rather negative stigma from what I had heard. For my part, I did some minor plumbing and carpentry as well as helped work with the children there. I also helped encourage the family that was running the mission there. They thought it was nice to have some people from North America to visit with. All in all a great experience.

Ensenada, Mexico 2010

I saw the unexpected contentedness of the families living under tarps in the midst of the Tijuana dump, contrasted with the aggression and greed of others who had briefly tasted wealth; the delicate balance of empowering verses enabling.  I apprehended that I am but a drop in the bucket, but I am part of a deluge of possibilities for help and salvation as a member of the church.   Ultimately missions have confirmed for me that God is who I want to serve, and leave my children a faith-filled thanksgiving as a legacy.

Rwanda 2013

The biggest thing that impacted me was how much opportunity we have in North America, versus the children that were in the orphanage I visited. The things I enjoyed the most were the kids at the orphanage (their singing, joy and laughter), spending a day living like a Rwandan (Azzuzi Life) and eating the goat meat!

China 2016

As a nurse, for the second year in a row, I had the pleasure of joining with EMAS on a surgical team to South East China. EMAS is a Christian organization that provides medical and surgical teams throughout the world. Our team consisted of two groups: the surgical, and the post-operative team. I was part of the surgical team which comprised of 3 surgeons, 5 anesthetists, other physicians, nurses, pharmacist, occupational and physiotherapists along with numerous volunteers. In all the first team comprised of approximately 60 dedicated volunteers from all over the world. Our focus was on cleft palate and burn reconstruction. During our mission we served over 60 patients in the operating room. While it is a Christian mission being in a country closed to the gospel we had very strict instructions on witnessing thus the majority of our focus was a mission of love.

Ensenada, Mexico 2010

This as my first mission’s trip was a great introduction to missions. It showed me how teamwork on the mission field is so crucial to carrying out a successful mission. It made me realize how limited I was in my own abilities, but how valuable I could be as part of a team. I was able to help in several initiatives, from sharing my testimony to neighbors, to getting my hands dirty in a building project to bringing food, water, basic life items, the gospel, and fun activities to people living in the Tijuana city dump and in migrant worker camps. I highly recommend going on a short-term mission’s trip. You'll make memories for life, and probably change lives in the process, yours included.

Various Countries

I started doing missions with absolutely no expectations, but with an open heart to bless and be blessed.  As it turned out, being able to travel the world doing God’s work, meeting new amazing people, getting to know them and their stories and helping where I can has become my God addiction.  It is very humbling to see people living in extreme poverty yet still have joy and to see their love of God even in their direr circumstances.  God has open doors for me that I would never have imagined possible and I’m so blessed and grateful to be able to do HIS work both at home and in other nations of the world.