It Changes You

When you go on a mission trip, the idea is that the people that go are helping and serving the people that are there. Whether it's in South Bend, San Francisco, or here at Echoing Hills, we hope and pray that through our service of them, they will be changed when we leave.

It's not always the way it works.

Anyone who has been on a mission trip will tell you that even though we are the ones serving, we are also the ones who are changed. And I'm seeing that here.

Where I once saw students clumped together, afraid to engage with the campers beyond a simple "hello", now I see students all over the camp seeking out campers and spending time with them, even if I haven't specifically told them to do so.

Where I once saw students cleaning and setting up tables so they could get a task done, I now see students enjoying what they are doing because they see how when they are setting up a dinner table, mopping floors, or even cleaning toilets, they are helping the counselors and cabin leaders do their job better and make an overall greater impact.

Where I once saw students looking for their Bible when it was time for devotions, I now see students who are looking for a spare minute to spend it in the Word because they are (hopefully) falling in love with Jesus and His Word.

It's impossible to tell at this time whether this change will last. That's where the last point is critical. Once we leave camp, life will pretty much go back to normal. There will be pictures, memories, and a highlight video, but it will go back to basketball camps, friends, and cell-phones.

But the Word of God will not change. The same book they are reading and depending on for strength while they are here is the same book that they can read and depend on for strength when they get home. The Word of God will not change. And once you realize that, it changes you.









Thanks for praying!

- Josh and the Echoing Hills Team