Urban Mission Trips ::  Atlanta Mission Trips :: Experience Mission :: www.ExperienceMission.org
The following blog was originally written for Krista Jensen’s Facebook friends.

By Krista Jensen

Atlanta, GA - Summer Mission Trips
Most of you may know the opportunity that was given to me this summer but for those of you who do not, I was given a job as a student intern with a mission organization called Experience Mission with the title of Outreach Coordinator. Little did I know about the tremendous amount of responsibility that would be placed on my shoulders.

I was placed in the south side of Atlanta, GA with three other amazing interns, Adrienne, Lyndee and Matt, where we would embark on a journey of struggles and triumphs. I love these people to death and they have become such a great part of my life! Our task this summer was to take the leadership role of a short-term mission trip and coordinate each team that would come to Atlanta every week. Youth groups traveled far and wide from South Dakota, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and South Carolina and joined us for a week that would change their lives. For most of the teams coming from small rural towns, Atlanta was a big cultural shock for them and even those teams from inner cities themselves their eyes were open to a whole new life that they didn’t even know existed.

It’s amazing the poverty you can find in your own city, being fully aware that it exists but just never seeing it face to face. Why can we go to the depths of poverty, gangs, violence, drugs and prostitution in an unfamiliar city, but when it comes to our own it’s an untouchable place?

While we were in Atlanta, we partnered with the Salvation Army Lakewood Corps with whom we had most of our service and outreach ministries. These ministries consisted of painting the outside of an apartment complex in the scorching Atlanta heat, and two locations for Kids Clubs in the afternoon. Aside from the Salvation Army, we also had ministry locations with the Initiative for Affordable Housing where a nature trail was being made as well as other small construction projects, and a few times in the summer we spent time building relationships with the clients at the 24/7 Gateway Homeless services center and volunteered behind the scenes help at the Atlanta Community Food Bank.

Needless to say, us interns had our work cut out for us this summer. But we knew that we would not be only, not only did we have the teams that came in, but we had a huge support at the Lakewood Corps church but specifically Jason Pope and Daynes Viera were our biggest and greatest support. They were not only awesome, amazing people with a heart and a vision for their community and so much fun to work with but they instantly became our closest friends and family. I thank God so much for the relationships that we were able to build with each other and with the congregation at Atlanta Lakewood. Another huge blessing that i can say for all of us would be Ms. Lynn our amazing, comical cook who made dinner for us all summer.

With that just being a basic intro, many people have asked me “so, how was Atlanta” and usually I just give the short, “it was amazing, best summer of my life” not because I don’t have much to say but that if i were to tell everyone exactly how it was, i would be talking for years! Writing this is a good way of reflection for me but it also benefits ya’ll who read it as well!

God taught me endless amounts of things this summer, about my life and about him as well. I know that i will continually be learning from things that has happened this summer. Even things that i thought i had learned a while ago, God would just use situations and people as a reminder.

I would like to share this verse of scripture. It is one that many of you probably have heard before–Matthew 25:35-40:

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’”

I am a firm believer of this passage, you can serve God in a lot of ways but i believe that to truly serve the face of God you need to be serving the “least of these.” We need to look outside of our self-recognition and see these people as children of God, loved by God despite their circumstances. In the Bible, it is told that Jesus hung around the poor, unclean, liars, cheaters and prostitutes so shouldn’t we do the same? We are created by God, loved by God, chosen by God to be like him to others and demonstrate his love so what does it mean when we choose to not do that? Ultimately it shows that those “lower than us”(described by the world) are not deserving of that love. And who are we to determine who is deserving of Christ’s love, for it is a gift given to us by the one who wants everyone to know.

Matthew 16:24-26 says:

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Just like this passage says, we must deny ourselves, and deny our comfort and opinions of the world and although we might lose status in the world it would be much better than losing our soul. For if Christ is the one that we live for and love than we must go to the depths, go to the unseen and “unclean” and show them that their is no difference between you and I, show them that even though the world says that we’re different, that is not what I, in Christ believe.

You wouldn’t believe the amount of homeless people that we met this summer who was blown away by the fact that we would touch them, shake their hands, touch their shoulder, even hug them. Because they were dirty, hadn’t showered in however many days and seen as a disgrace to society.

My heart was broken even more for God’s people this summer, and it’s my heart’s utmost desire that more Christians would see the least and lost as God’s people too. And wouldn’t care about losing their life in order to gain something greater.

See, I told you that I could talk for years, and this is just one thing God has laid on my heart his summer. This summer, I laughed, cried, danced, was challenged, broken and faced down on the floor before God.

If you want anymore stories, feel free to talk to me.

To God be the Glory for all the things he has done!

Sometimes it’s hard to understand why houses take so long to be completed, but with all the different steps – some which require a greater level of skill than others – and multiple inspections that must be passed before moving on to the next step, the lengthy process makes more sense.

It  had been around a month since teams had been able to do any work on Brigitte’s home because we were all waiting for it to pass inspection. Recently we discovered that the house had passed inspection two weeks ago, but no one had been notified. This was both frustrating and exciting news – we wished we could have been working on it for weeks, but we were excited for  our very last team of the summer to begin the drywalling process.

Part of the Tennessee Team spend the entire week at Brigitte’s, and with Cory’s guidance put up sheet after sheet of drywall, and finished nearly all the insulation – a job slightly less than comfortable. When I finally got to see the site toward the end of the week, I was shocked at the progress they had made. I remembered almost two months ago when I had helped hook up some of the plumbing in the bathroom, when I could see every corner of the house from the moment I walked in the door.

Another house that has been a slow but slightly more steady process is Ray’s. We have had a group working on his house almost every week, but for the last month it seemed like each team would redo the same tedious process – mudding and sanding, mudding and sanding. It’s a task that has to be done, is not quick or easy, and takes a great amount of time to get right. The last two weeks have brought an end in sight, however, and our last two teams were able to actually texture both walls and a ceiling after mudding and sanding. On Thursday, EM’s last workday for the summer in Pearlington, we could all tell that Ray was excited, in his quiet way, to see such visible progress on his home.

A sign outside of a church, visible from the main road that winds through Pearlington, sums up where many of the town’s struggles and their faith intersect: “Katrina was big, but God is bigger.”

-Cheryl Knowles

Make a Contribution
In a move unique among missions organizations, Experience Mission has launched a new International Exchange Program to send the residents of its partner communities - those from disadvantaged areas who normally host incoming mission teams - on mission trips themselves.

“The International Exchange Program is at the heart of our mission and our passion, which is the communities,” said EM Executive Director Chris Clum. “To provide people from our U.S. urban communities or international locations the opportunity to do something like this has the potential to change their life forever.”

EM’s goal is to send more than 50 partner community members on mission trips in 2009, and 50 former EM summer staff interns are leading the charge to raise the funds needed. The cost of sending one partner community member to another location is about $1,000, and each student has committed to raising that amount through donations and monthly pledges.

The program is being launched in the hope it can help participants ward off the demoralizing, dream-stunting state of mind that can be engrained in those suffering in poverty’s grip.

“A combination of people, culture and circumstances can rob your hope and steal any ambition that you have that it can be different than it is,” Clum said.

Clum said the exchange program will allow participants to meet and learn from people in other parts of the world living in the same circumstances they are, equipping them with new tools they can take home to help inspire hope.

“What can be so powerful about this is that it’s like a match—it takes one match to light a fire in a field,” he said. “In so many cases you see that in a small little village in someplace like Jamaica or Mexico, it takes one or two young people who come back who are willing to step out of the status quo or break away from limitations, and it can change the communities and open up the eyes of so many others.”

“You put God in the middle of that, and it can be pretty powerful,” Clum added.

The idea is not untested. In July 2006, EM raised money to send a team of 25 high school students and young adults from Ruiz, a small town in Nayarit - the poorest state in Mexico - on a mission trip to the border town of Tecate. Participants described it as a special opportunity that spurred them toward pursuing further service opportunities. One young woman, then 18-year-old Veronica Bernal, ended up serving as an EM summer staff intern in Mexico the following year.

She said living in poverty left her especially prepared to work with others in similar circumstances.

“We have lived all that,” Bernal said just after her mission trip. “We have felt - at least I have - what it’s like to not have a definite place to live and to have to move from house to house.”

How you can help
Visit our Exchange page to learn the basics about the program and to make a donation. Your one-time contribution or monthly pledge would go entirely toward direct costs associated with the trip and could help make a life-changing impact on an impoverished partner community member - a person who might otherwise never have the opportunity to step outside the confines of their impoverished environment.

Mexico Mission Trips
Diane Andrews of Bellview Community Church has built her ministry out of encouraging women. She has spoken to women in churches throughout Colorado, the United States and the world. Not too long ago, she presented a message to missionary women in Thailand and most recently she decided to continue to share her message – a special talk on Psalm 23 – with the women of Iglesia Cristiana Vida, the church of Ruiz, Mexico.

When Diane first proposed to do something for the women in the community, we were very excited. Occasionally groups will decide to reach out to the women – especially those that are most visible during the trip, such as the cooking staff – and they are always very appreciative of the special attention.

When Wednesday morning at 10:00 arrived, however, our attempts were almost stopped by an abnormal daytime storm that raged throughout the morning. As rivers of water ran down the road in front of the church, we knew that most efforts to come to the gathering would be thwarted. We sent Jim out in a car, however, and after traversing the muddy streets he came back with one woman; he had found her walking in the rain, and she explained that since she had decided to miss work to come to the sermon, no storm would stop her. Not too long after, another car pulled up and out piled more women.

All in all, there were five in attendance for Diane’s message. It was one of the smallest crowds that Diane has spoken for, but her ministry was no less effective. Diane explained that she really wanted to make the women feel loved so besides simply giving her talk, she bought beads to make bracelets that went along with her message. Each color of the bracelet symbolized a different section of the Psalm. The women mediated on the Psalm and joined together in fellowship and prayer, each leaving feeling as though they had truly been blessed by the experience.

Plan an upcoming Mexico mission trip. Visit www.ExperienceMission.org

Honduras Mission Trips :: Belize Mission Trips
Repeatedly listed by local residents as the most pressing needs in their community, water and food will be the focus of new EM mission trips to Honduras in 2009, while church construction and ministry expansion for the Family of God Church will be the focus of new trips to Belize.

EM staff members Josh Gray and Steven Barry traveled to Honduras on July 4 to assess the possibility of setting up trips there, and while they were prepared to see poverty - Honduras consistently ranks among the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere - seeing it first-hand was still overwhelming.

“There are a lot of places where you see the poor and they stand out and it tugs at your heart, but then most other people seem to be doing OK,” Barry said. “That’s not really the case in Honduras. You see signs of really extreme poverty pretty much everywhere you go.”

Gray and Barry stayed on a small ranch in Junquillo, a village of about 1,000 people that sits in the pine-covered mountains between the capital city of Tegucigalpa and the city of Danlí. Junquillo is known for its remarkably low crime levels compared to the rest of the country, but nonetheless remains just as poor.

Most short-term mission trips deal with basic construction projects–typically things like improving churches or building homes or restroom facilities. While those are all definite needs in Honduras, during a community meeting to help prioritize work projects for next year’s teams, residents of Junquillo and nearby Ocotal said they spend most of their days simply figuring out how to get adequate water and food.

“It’s amazing when you ask somebody, ‘What are the greatest needs you have in your community?’ and they say, ‘Water and food,’” EM Executive Director Chris Clum said. “Our response has to be, ‘Yes, we will come. We will help you with the water, and we will figure out how to help you with food.’”

There are reservoirs in both Junquillo and Santa Clara that contain clean drinking water. However, only Junquillo has a distribution system, and it uses cheap plastic tubing and releases water only twice a week. Ocotal residents, along with Junquillo residents without an effective storage system, must hike up steep hills to the reservoirs. Some spend several hours each day just gathering water.

For those who bear that responsibility—frequently children—it marks yet another obstacle in a day already wrought with challenges families must work together to overcome. Keeping food on the table is a constant battle. Most full-time workers earn less than 100 Lempiras a day, or about $5, and it costs $3.50 to buy beans alone for a few meals.

“The bottom line is just that the cost of living is too great for the amount of wages that are available,” Gray said. “I was surprised by that and just struck by the needs, but also the resilience of the community.”

Some don’t have the wherewithal to provide for themselves at all. One 92-year-man in Junquillo has no regular source of income and only his now elderly daughter to support him however he can. He relies on friends of his gracious enough to bring by food and lives, as one nearby rancher put it, “by the hand of God.”

Belize
In nearby Belize, there is a drastic improvement in the overall quality of life, but the country is still poor.

There, EM hopes to work with the nationwide Family of God Church, which is facilitating successful community outreach programs but needs assistance with infrastructure in order to accommodate growing congregations.

“I was impressed by the Christians that we met in Belize - their warmth and excitement toward us - but I was quite surprised by some of the barriers they have in their ministry, specifically relating to resources,” Gray said. “The churches we visited didn’t have walls, and I’m not even convinced they’re staying dry.”

The term “nationwide” can be deceiving. With only 300,000 people, Belize is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world, and the capital, Belmopan, is the smallest national capital on the planet. One example of the country’s lack of infrastructure: The Belizean labor department has a Yahoo e-mail address.

Experience Mission is facilitating mission trips to Honduras and Belize for Summer 2009. To learn more, visit ExperienceMission.org or call the EM office at   360-732-0986  . Join one of EM’s Central America Mission Trips.

Not long ago, I had the opportunity to go to a homeless community in the heart of Baltimore.  I wouldn’t have expected it, but the park where the homeless gather is right next to the Metropolitan Police Station and lies on the property of St Vincent de Paul’s Catholic Church.  Initially I couldn’t figure out why they chose to stay in the place they were, but after spending some time with the people there, I realized that they had nowhere else to go.  In fact, they are still facing a forced move from the city and government officials.

As I talked with the men of the homeless park, I could see the hurt in their eyes and their desperation for food and water.  Although I was able to take a case of water with me, I still felt like there was so much more that needed to be done. I don’t know what that is in all honesty.  I’ve been thinking about what it looks like to help the poor and needy, but it’s a pandemic that is so much bigger than me.

The backgrounds of the people at the homeless park were so vast, I struggled to understand what their old lives were like.   Many of the men and women at the park left homes and families for one reason or another.  I knew there would be people who were evicted from their homes, caught up in drugs, and those who left for domestic disturbance reasons, but what was most shocking were the people who were so hopeless that they just simply didn’t care anymore.  They didn’t have motivation to live.  Perhaps the most tragic moment in a person’s life is that moment when purpose of living is lost—when the mountain of having true life in  Christ is so distant that life loses meaning.

I believe as we, as the Body of Christ, reach out this community and welcome them with loving arms, we can restore hope to a people who have none and share with them the true life of following Jesus.  I’m looking to go back soon and meet with these wonderful people again…very soon

For all of team Baltimore,

Blaine

With the summer coming to a close in just a couple of weeks, we didn’t expect to be introduced to many new projects, especially on houses that had barely been touched since Katrina. That’s why meeting Wade came as such a surprise. Wade lives in the same neighborhood as Jeanine and Sonny, but until one of our teams from Texas came to help him gut out his home, he has had no outside aid.

Wade camps out at a pier for now, spending most of his time fishing and getting his home to a point where it can be restored. He comes back to his house to shower in his yard with a hose, thankful to have access to running water. Open about the struggles he has faced in getting back on his feet, he showers volunteers with thanks, provides an endless supply of snacks to encourage throughout the workday, and praises God for His sovereignty. His tearful recollections touch the hearts of the groups that have finally begun work at his home, as well as ours, encouraging each of us to continue serving even when we might feel weary.

Meeting people like Wade makes it difficult for our team to say goodbye, knowing there is yet so much more to be done in Pearlington. Still, we are thankful to become even such a small part of his life, and hope we have been a light of encouragement.

-Cheryl Knowles