I am incredibly excited about our trip to Haiti! The ironic thing is that when I attended our first “missions team” meeting about six months ago I had no intentions of being anything more than a supporting member of the group who helped from behind the scenes. In fact, had it not been for Erin’s interest in missions I may not have even joined the team.
When Erin and I were going to the first meeting we were pretty sure that Erin would be going on the trip and I would be staying behind and offering support in other ways. Part way through the first meeting Laura went around the room and asked each of us if we were “going” or “staying”. Obviously God was working on me without my knowledge because when they got to me I blurted out “going” and it just felt right. At the time I wasn’t really sure why I had a desire to go and I didn’t know what value I could add, but I knew I wanted to be a part of it. Over the next few months we continued to meet and I had the opportunity to learn more about the efforts going on in Haiti and I began to learn more about the individual boys in the orphanage. Now we’re only a few days away from our trip and I already feel like I have a strong bond with these kids that I haven’t even met. I still have many unknowns about this trip, but the one thing I do know is that God wants me to be a part of this trip and this missions team.
What Specific events have helped inspire you to participate in this mission trip?
I actually gave very little thought to participating in a mission trip until I saw how excited and passionate Erin was about this opportunity.
Why do you feel called to participate in this particular church activity? (i.e. spiritual formation)
As Mentioned in my last response, until recently I had never given any thought to participating in missions. After seeing Erin’s excitement and passion for this mission effort I began to pray about it. I feel that God placed it on my heart to take advantage of this opportunity to serve him in a radically different way. Once I recognized this calling it just felt so natural to step above and become part of the team. Even though I haven’t met any of these boys I already feel a strong bond with all of them.
Describe what you hope to gain from this international mission experiences
I really just hope to develop a strong relationship with these boys and make them feel loved. I anticipate this to be a very eye-opening experience for me as I have never really been to an underdeveloped part of the world Once I experience their lifestyle I hope that I will gain a much deeper appreciation of all the blessings that I probably take for granted every day.
Tony Long
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