After travelling to India in the summer of 2011 with a previous CC Youth Mission team, the thought of going back in the upcoming Summer closely resembles the feeling of returning to see family after being away for too long! Spending close to three weeks with the joyful kids and working alongside staff members at BLC, you start to develop pretty wonderful friendships; the type that distance can't hinder. So the thing I'm most looking forward to about going back is further developing these friendships and spending quality time with the children that very quickly stole my heart; just being in the type of community that God intended for his family members.
I'm also extremely excited to spend the best-part of the next year developing relationships with the rest of the team. We are all of similar ages which will be a lot of fun, but I know that this could change the dynamics of mission as I have previously experienced. In 2011 I was one of the youngest of the team and amongst the whirlwind of adrenalin, I was also slightly anxious. I say slightly because I always felt safe...I just pondered on the thought that I may not have been able to merge fully with the team in the way the older members did. We obviously all came out at the end friends on a much deeper level, and I actually enjoyed being one of the youngest because I received a lot of encouragement, plus it gave me an excuse to be over-excited pretty much 24/7. However this year, I ask God most importantly to equip me in a way that will build-up and support the rest of the team, especially the ones that have never been before. All of our friendships at the moment are pretty good and full to the brim with #banter but I am excited to develop deeply rooted friendships again with different team members.
This year I have felt that God has called me to live dangerously for him. I don't think this entails taking up free-running or jumping out of planes, but I believe it involves fully depending on his character. Taking the leap across the river when I can't find a rock to place my feet on. Applying for mission this year feels like taking this kind of leap. I am confident God will provide, especially financially. There have been a lot of changes in my life recently. For example moving up from secondary school to College and diving head first into A-Levels, beginning the process of learning how to drive, applying for jobs, sustaining old friendships as well as developing new ones; the thought of it all would be enough to give anybody a headache and if looked at shallowly, applying for Mission and fundraising amongst everything else could seem like I have bitten off more than I can chew. But that's the whole point. In my own strength, I wouldn't be able to juggle all of these different aspects of my life at the moment. Mission for me is asking God to direct my footsteps and place my hands where they need to be, whilst he shares my load and covers my eyes. It's being fully dependant on the promise that wherever I am, he will use me to my full potential whilst providing me with the equipment I need. It's understanding that when you go to Him for rest, you won't be left exhausted. I'm excited for what he has in store. So let's get this thing started shall we!?
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