Pre-trip Thoughts

The team met at the church on Tuesday night. Everyone is excited for Friday, the day we finally leave for our mission trip to Bolivia. We each brought one of the two bags we're allowed to take along. That night, we divided up our team supplies among the line of open luggage. The bags quickly filled with coloring books, crayons, clothing and shoes, medical supplies, and dozens of solar powered radios. Now I'm at home, I'm off work, and I should be packing, but instead, I've decided to start my first blog. I think it was a good decision.

We have been planning this trip for several months now. Even though we have gone through all the preparations and collected money and other donations, I think I am just now realizing the magnitude of this trip. Bolivia is in South America, and I've never been out of the United States. The Bolivian people speak mostly Spanish, and I can get by in Spanish but I have never been immersed. I have been on work trips before, but I have never been on a mission trip involving evangelism. This is a big deal!

Nonetheless, I rest assured that God wants me to do this, and that whatever happens is part of His perfect will. I know that my family, friends, and church family, along with many other church families, friends, and relatives, are praying for our team, so we will be protected and our words and deeds will be received according to God's will. My prayer is that God will use this team of twenty to reach out and connect with the people of Bolivia, and that He will also speak to each member of the team and allow our hearts to be broken for these people.

Several weeks ago, I came across this psalm, which fits our mission very well.

Psalm 96

 ¹ Sing to the LORD a new song;
       sing to the LORD, all the earth.
 ² Sing to the LORD, praise his name;
       proclaim his salvation day after day.
 ³ Declare his glory among the nations,
       his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
 ⁴ For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
       he is to be feared above all gods.
 ⁵ For all the gods of the nations are idols,
       but the LORD made the heavens.
 ⁶ Splendor and majesty are before him;
       strength and glory are in his sanctuary.
 ⁷ Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations,
       ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
 ⁸ Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
       bring an offering and come into his courts.
 ⁹ Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness;
       tremble before him, all the earth.
 ¹⁰ Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns."
       The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
       he will judge the peoples with equity.
 ¹¹ Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
       let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
 ¹² let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.
       Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;
 ¹³ they will sing before the LORD, for he comes,
       he comes to judge the earth.
       He will judge the world in righteousness
       and the peoples in his truth.
(Pasted from BibleGateway.com)

Now it's time to start packing. Please keep the team in your prayers over the next ten days as we travel, as we serve, and as we minister. I praise God for this awesome opportunity that He has given to us, for the entire team which is an incredible bunch of people, and for the support that we have received and continue to receive from our brothers and sisters in Christ, our families, and our friends.

God Bless!

-Scott