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“I served in a village called Koreng in Uganda. The Lord was glorified through us serving the Ugandan people through so many different avenues. We served them by building bunk beds for the children to sleep in, building desks for the children to learn in cooking and at tenting to household chores with the women, testing their vision, attending to their medical needs, leading Vacation Bible School for the children, providing a conference for the pastors, painting faces and maintaining relationships with them that we had already established. A few people came to know Christ while we were there, but there were many who I believe were strengthened in their faith through our time together. Praise the Lord for that! I learned so much from my time in Africa this summer. I learned what it looks like to love like Jesus across racial backgrounds. I learned that it is important to value each other and encourage each other above ourselves, but above that, we must honor, glorify, and praise the Lord no matter the circumstances.”

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“As I stepped into the virtually unknown world, my mind began to race as I saw all of the Muslim dress that was the cultural norm of Kosovo. My heart immediately broke with sorrow for the people of not only this town, but the country that believes in a God that isn’t the true God, but one that demands for good works to be performed to even remotely be considered of adding up to anything measurable. My team and I went into a village and were able to host a kids’ camp for the elementary through high school age students. We physically couldn’t share the Gospel on school grounds, but were able to hike to a waterfall and share the glorious gift of salvation with them. Through our different adventures on this trip we also were able to do some food distribution to some families in need and we were blessed to travel to a Gypsy village, where there was a family who was amazed at the food they received. We also gave them some handmade dolls for the children. When they saw the stuffed dolls, their faces lit up and they began to cling to us. In helping these villages, I saw the hand of God at work. Seeds were panted and lessons were taught not only to the families that need them, but to myself as well. Being in need for food and longing for the next meal is what our Christian lives should look like, daily longing for Christ until His return. We should be content in what God has blessed us with and glorify Him in ever simple act or word, not only when we are in need, but when we have plenty. Kosovo is such a predominantly Muslim culture, but Christ is dwelling in the faithful in the city we worked in and He is moving in more ways than anyone could ever imagine. ”

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“A group of 18 people, including me, from Lake Murray Baptist Church in Lexington, South Carolina went to Lima, Peru for a week. Nine people out of that group, not including me, stayed for another week and went to a different part of the country to do missions. During week five, the guys built a church in one of the villages that we worked in. The other part of the group ran Vacation Bible School in two different villages on the outskirts of Lima for four days. One was in the morning and the other was in the afternoon. It was an incredible trip and God moved in incredible ways, both in the lives of the people in Peru and in our lives as well. The kids and some adults learned more about the Bible and the Gospel through VBS and one of the villages now has a new church building to worship God in. This picture is of our team and the people we worked with in one of the villages for the week. The name of that village is “dieciocho de octubre.” It was an indescribable experience and hopefully we will have a chance to go back in the near future.”

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“This summer I spent eight weeks in Indonesia working with Muslims. I lived with an Islamic house that spoke no English. It was one of the most difficult and rough things I have ever experienced. Despite the difficulty, I grew more in Christ and more in my understanding of God than I ever expected I would.”

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“I had the awesome experience to go to Los Guidos, Costa Rica this summer. There, I was able to spread His Word through song and spoken word. We had the Evagecube with us, and through that contraption, we were able to tell the story of Jesus to the people there. The locals were so thirsty for God, and there were times when we were speaking to them that they would just start crying and asking for His gift that was His Son. At the end of the week, we counted over 100 people who decided to give their lives to the Lord! Because of that trip, I want to move to Costa Rica for a couple years after I graduate, so I can keep building God’s kingdom. I learned not to take God’s presence for granted. We are in a place where God is mentioned constantly, and being in a country where God was unheard of was life changing. We truly are blessed!”

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“This summer I served in Lima, Peru in the shanty towns. There we got to see the Lord working in all types of ways. He provided resources for construction on the church. He gave us opportunities to serve through Vacation Bible School in two of the towns. He was at the center of almost everything we did there. This summer I learned tons of skills to help better equip me to plan a trip in the future. ”

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“This summer, I served in Cleveland, Ohio with a North American Mission Board church planter, and God enabled us to begin a house church in a distressed community. Through this experience, God taught me much about His faithfulness despite my doubt. Many times I was frustrated and discouraged, but in the end, the Lord opened numerous doors for Gospel conversations that enabled us to connect neighbors with the new church.”

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“This past summer I got the chance to go to Phoenix, Arizona on a mission trip. My team went into an apartment complex called the Phoenician Palms where refugees from all over the world lived. In the apartment complex, we were given the chance to have a Backyard Bible Club, which was an amazing experience. We would start off by doing music time with hand motions, then went into the Bible story of the day. After the Bible study, we would do a craft and have snack. After snack, we were able to have game time with the kids and people of the complex. This is the time where we formed relationships with the people and truly get into Gospel conversations. We were able to witness to these people through our words, love and actions. They truly were the sweetest people and just wanted to be loved. Some had heard about Jesus, and others had not. Some people just wanted to know why we were there, which was another Gospel opportunity. We may not have seen direct fruit from the week we were there, but seeds were planted and we know the Lord will do big things in the Phoenician Palms. Many were curious and were willing to talk about Jesus and the Gospel. We partnered with a young couple from Phoenix and they have a wonderful relationship with a family in the apartment complex s other continuously go to the Palms to follow up with people and continue to spread the Gospel. It was amazing to see how God was working in their lives and using them of the sake of His kingdom and I was beyond blessed to be able to be a small part of it.”