One of the sad impacts of COVID has been the inability of Grace Christian School to have our annual mission trips that we send students on each year.  I realize that there are people who feel short-term mission trips are not the best way to do missions, and I would agree with that if short mission trips were all that you did for your mission’s plan.  But I have found through the years of holding short-term mission trips that the benefit is so much more than just the trip itself.  There are so many people who have gone on these trips and found a love for serving their Lord and Savior because of the trip they went on.  Some have become full-time missionaries, while others have continued serving the Lord in some other form, including leading short mission trips.  Currently, we are planning to start our mission teams up again this year.  And while we are still in the beginning stages, I have been flooded with memories of past trips that I have been on that have had an impact on my life.  So, I am going to tell three stories of mission trips I went on that still have a long-lasting, motivating effect on me. 

First is a mission trip to Nogales, Mexico.  Our youth teams had been going to Nogales and serving at a church there for several years.  Part of our trip involved performing Gospel-centered mimes with an accompanying musical score.  These are very effective for communicating because then there is no language barrier to overcome.  Learning these mimes required a lot of time commitment, but it was well worth it.  The Mexican youth in the church very much loved having us around and watching the mimes we performed each year.  One year as we just finished practicing our mimes at the church in Nogales, the youth of the church asked us if we wanted to see their mime.  Our eyes got big as we had surprised looks on our faces.  We had no idea that they were working on mimes of their own.  As they performed their dramatic presentation, it had clear Gospel elements in it.  We were so excited to watch our brothers and sisters in Christ putting themselves out there to proclaim Jesus as we had done.  As we watched in silence, we realized that unknown to us, God had duplicated His Kingdom work for His glory.  What a humbling honor to be a part of teaching and encouraging others to boldly share their faith with their neighbors. 

The second trip I want to tell you about was a trip to Gambell, Alaska.  Gambell is a Siberian Yupik village on St. Lawrence Island.  The island is about 90 miles long.  The closest U.S. town to St. Lawrence is Nome, about 200 miles to the east.  Interestingly, Gambell is only about 35 miles from the coast of Siberia, Russia.  Grace to Alaska mission teams has gone to Gambell for 15 years.  On one of these trips, I was invited to tag along on a whale hunt!  Now, because I am not an Alaska Native, I could not touch anything or help in any way.  But I could come along and observe.  So I did and I had the most amazing experience seeing firsthand how the men of Gambell come together and harvest meat from the ocean that will feed their village for months.  The collaboration and the festive joy surrounding this amazing tradition was exhilarating to be able to observe.  As our team celebrated with the village during the harvest, one of the village women joyfully said, you are one of us as you join in our hunting and harvesting tradition.  What a humbling compliment to have stated.  The years of coming to Gambell and sharing our lives with them along with the good news about our Savior had made a strong impact.  I know our students who were on that trip will not forget that special time we were allowed to share with our friends in Gambell. 

The third trip memory is from a trip to Nulato, Alaska.  Our team was asked to come to Nulato and help encourage the youth of the village.  Nulato is an Athabascan village in Interior Alaska and on the Yukon River.  There was deep sorrow and despair amongst the teenagers of the village, and we were asked to come and help.  As our first team to Nulato arrived, not everyone in the village was excited to see us.  Our team was told that they should not be there and the village tried to get them to leave.  However the invitation from the village elders stood, and the team stayed.  Fast forward ten years of mission trips and a team from Grace traveled once again to Nulato.  On this trip the team was given a hand-made banner that was signed by most of the students in the village.  This banner symbolized ten years of coming to Nulato and encouraging the children along with their parents.  The simple colorful banner just had one word on it, “HOPE.”  The message from the elders of Nulato was one of gratitude for giving their children Hope.  What a difference ten years can make!  And what a difference the annual return to a village had on both Grace students as well as the people of Nulato.  Our teams have been going to Nulato for 20 years straight until the 2020 epidemic.  Sharing the love of Jesus Christ and the Good News of His sacrifice on the cross has had an impact on all involved. 

As I recall these few stories, I am flooded with many more stories as our school has reached out to others with the love of Jesus.  None of this though is about Grace Christian School or finding an enjoyable way to allow kids to learn and grow.  Rather it is about providing opportunities for people to learn more about each other and to introduce them to Jesus Christ.  For some, these trips are an exciting memory.  For others, it helps them on their journey to serve their Lord and Savior for the rest of their lives.  I miss not seeing our friends from all around Alaska.  I am very excited to see what God has in store for His people and for the state of Alaska in the years to come.