Looking Forward

I confess, I’m already slacking on this blog writing thing. As you could imagine, it’s been a pretty crazy couple weeks and I haven’t gotten around to writing one until now. It’s crazy to me – I’m leaving on Saturday… But I will definitely pick up the slack once I get to training. Housekeeping out of the way, let’s get to the business of the day, taking some sneak peaks at what I know so far about the trip.

Training Camp

Fortunately, the first six weeks of this mission are actually not going to be too far away from home. We’ll be up in Gainesville, GA for three weeks of training and three weeks of stateside ministry to help us get to know each other and ease us into the rhythm of things. But even though I will only be a short drive away from my family, once I’m there, I’m in, and I’m restricted from all contact with the outside world, forced to live in complete isolation, void of human interaction… no, not really, but you get the idea. They have kept the training itself mostly under wraps for now, but here are a few things I’ve picked up on:

• We will be camping out in our tents for the entire time
• We have allotted shower times, and if we want to shower outside this given time, we get the ‘ol water in a bucket experience (you know I’ll be doing that at least a few times)
• There will be a few other squads there for training with us: another gap year squad, and then a couple 3-month and 11-month squads
• We won’t have our phone in the daytime, but will get them back at night for blogs/calling home/whatever we need to do
• Our smaller teams will be revealed (a subdivision of the whole squad with whom we’ll do all our day-to-day ministry with)
• Breakfast is at 8:30

And that’s about all I know about training. I’m really walking into the unknown here.

Guatemala

I think Guatemala is the place I know the most about as far as what life is going to look like down there. It’s a popular location for World Race and honestly for mission trips in general. I know more than a few people that have brought the Gospel with them to that part of Central America. Here’s what I know about our trip in particular:

• We fly out October 14^th
• Our base will be Parramos, which is about 30 minutes outside of Antigua
• We have hot showers‼ (From what I’ve heard, a rarity on the race)
• Two Guatemalan ladies will kindly be preparing food for us the whole time we’re there
• We have a small compound that we’re not allowed to go outside unless with our whole group
• As far as ministry goes, we will do VBS type things to connect families with churches, soccer camps, Bible studies in people’s homes, service projects, and love and provide for the homeless

Cambodia

I honestly don’t know too much about what Cambodia is going to look like. I know that a couple teams will be close to Angkor Wat (yes, the massive Hindu temple with a moat, a floating bridge, and medieval-looking walls), but I also know that a few others will be placed around the country in smaller villages. Here’s what I do know:

• We’ll be there January and February
• 98% (or something like that) of the country is Buddhist and live their lives in fear of the world and ancestral spirits
• As far as ministry goes, we will probably be helping in schools (elementary through college age), leading discipleship groups in churches, and visiting smaller towns to equip believers there with what they need to share the Gospel

Eswatini/South Africa

When people have asked, I’ve always told them that I’m most looking forward to Africa. Why? I’m not entirely sure. Something about African culture seems appealing to me and I’m looking forward to it. As far as specifics go, I know a few. Here’s what I know about Eswatini:

• We’ll be there March and April
• Our base is in Manzini, which is a decent sized city in the middle of the country
• Our teams will rotate through cooking for each other
• We will go out to small neighboring villages for the majority of our work
• As far as ministry goes, Eswatini has lots of children growing up missing one or both of the parents. Last year, the teams resourced families to be able to keep and raise their children through material provision, skill training, and education, trying to connect the families to churches to keep them in discipleship as they come to Christ and mature in faith. I’m assuming we’ll do much of the same

And South Africa:

• We’ll be there for a couple weeks at the end of April
• We will be dispersed throughout the country with a team or two in Johannesburg
• As far as ministry goes, the teams last year worked in the slums engaging with the homeless, rescuing unwanted babies, teaching in elementary schools, and connecting these people with churches

Semper Gumby

For those of you who don’t know, my church does a mission trip to Cherokee, NC every year, and our motto is “semper gumby,” which means always flexible. It’s a fitting motto, because it often seems that every plan we form and every decision we make falls apart at the last second. One day we can use the school building, the next day we’re told we can’t. One day we can use the soccer fields, the next day we can’t because it’s raining. But one thing that has never changed is the glorious fact that God is sovereign over every single piece, and He has planned it out all according to His good purpose. I just presented you with some things that I believe we will be doing and places I believe we will be going, but these things are merely our plans, and subject to change at any moment. Proverbs 16:9 says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” That verse has already rung true multiple times throughout this journey and, no doubt, will continue to ring true over the course of the next nine months. Do not be surprised if later I tell you that I was wrong about a lot of this stuff, but never forget that no matter how it turns out, it will all lead to our good and God’s glory.

If I could insert an encouragement and prayer request here at the end… the encouragement would be to remember that God is all-powerful in all places and at all times, and that He loves you. With this at the forefront of your mind, nothing can truly hurt you, nothing can shake you – you’re untouchable because God’s in control. And my prayer request is that I am reminded of this in all circumstances and at all times throughout this journey. Tough times are soon to come, no doubt, but nothing too tough, because we have confidence that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In Christ,

Jackson

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