Episode Transcript
[00:00:04] Speaker A: Well, grace, mercy and peace. In the name of God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And welcome to another episode of the Forum here at Frazer. I'm Will Adams, and I'm excited to have this group of people today. We're going to be talking about a recent mission trip to Scotland, Project Scotland. And I'm going to ask all of my guests to go around. We're going to start with you, Blair, and just give a little introduction of who you are, what you maybe did on this trip, and how long you've been going on these trips.
[00:00:35] Speaker B: Sure. I'm Blair Andrus, and I was actually the team leader on this trip, which meant I was doing a lot of behind the scenes stuff. It was stuff before we went. Of course, Elizabeth was working on a lot of the planning and organizing, and I was working with her on that. And then once on the trip, I was making grocery store runs and making sure that we had food for our team and the kids that were there and that we had everything we needed once we were there and whatever the need of the hour was.
And this was actually my third trip to work with Story Church in Project Scotland.
[00:01:11] Speaker A: Awesome. Yeah.
[00:01:13] Speaker C: Okay. I'm Vivian. I'm one of the youth, the members that went. I think it was 23 of us, but yeah, I was one of the group leaders for the American Sports Camp. We did with some of the younger kids and then just, you know, serving, we did a little worship time. So I do serve with the worship team here regularly with the youth ministry. But so when we got to bring that, I was a part of that there. And yeah, this is my first time going to Scotland and working with Story Church, but it was great.
[00:01:47] Speaker A: Vivian, what year are you in school?
[00:01:49] Speaker C: I'm a senior.
[00:01:50] Speaker A: Awesome. Well, that's hard for me to believe, but.
All right, Megan.
[00:01:53] Speaker C: So long.
[00:01:55] Speaker D: Yeah, I'm Megan Travis. So this is my. That was my second year going to Scotland, but this year I had a different role. I was the sports director.
So I planned the camp and assigned the team leads and all that kind of stuff. And so I had a more overview of the camp instead of being directly involved with the kids this year.
[00:02:16] Speaker A: Yeah, Harper.
[00:02:18] Speaker E: My name is Harper. I'm a junior in high school, and I got to be a group leader like Vivian. And I was in charge of the five and six year olds, one of the youngest groups there, which was super fun. And I also got to serve a little bit with the worship team like Vivian, like we do regularly. So it was pretty great.
[00:02:36] Speaker A: Great. Well, thank you guys for Joining me today on the podcast, Blair, just to get us started, for those who aren't familiar with Project Scotland, a lot of Frazer members will be. But for anyone who either doesn't know or just has only the basic understanding of the fact that it's something located in Scotland, can you give us a little bit of introduction?
[00:02:59] Speaker B: Absolutely. So Luis and Danny Cardoso served in the uk. They were in Manchester and had served there for years and really felt the Lord leading them to Scotland.
Scotland. Chris and I have talked about it. It's so post Christian as to be almost pre Christian.
Churches are shutting down and consolidating, and it's so disheartening to drive by a beautiful building that was built for the glory of God and see a banner in front of of it. It says, you know, coming soon comedy club, you know, and so there is such a need, and Danny and Louise were burdened for the country of Scotland. I mean, Glasgow is a city. The city motto is let Glasgow prosper by the preaching of thy word and the praising of thy name. And it's got such a rich spiritual heritage that it has fallen so far from. And so Project Scotland is dedicated to planting churches, to sending out mission groups, to accepting missions groups. And so the first church, we were actually a part of Story Church when it launched. Story Church launched our first trip two years ago, that first summer, and Pastor Chris preached the first sermon there. And part of the vision from the beginning was we know we can invite people to church, but they may not come, so we've got to give them something else. And so my first conversation with Danny and Luis during a missions conference was about a coffee shop. You know, we want to be in the community. And so we've seen Story Coffee now open. And so we've seen that reach out to the community and host a food bank. And then while we were there, we saw the first worship service at Story Coffee. And so the plan, the hope, the dream, the vision is that Project Scotland will result in multiple Story churches being planted all over the country.
[00:05:00] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:05:00] Speaker B: So that's kind of it in a nutshell, right?
[00:05:02] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, and Danny and Louise are just amazing folks.
I hope that everyone in our church has had an opportunity by this time to meet them in person.
They are incredible folks. Luis just has one of those magnetic kind of personalities that he can stand up in front of a group and just really grab hold of you with how sincere he is.
[00:05:28] Speaker B: And what's so important, I think, for our church to understand and to know is that so many church plants come out of another church, they have a sending church that commissions them and says, we are sending you to do this work. And Danny and Luis did this without a sending church.
But they will tell you that we are. I mean, they have other churches that partner with them.
[00:05:52] Speaker A: They would disagree with you. They think of Frazer as their home church.
[00:05:56] Speaker B: We became that. Yeah, we became that. And so, you know, they attend every Sunday, and so we are their sending church.
[00:06:05] Speaker A: Yeah. No, it's. It's. And it's been cool to be a part of that, as in my role, I've gotten to check in with them a lot and hear their updates. So that's. That's really cool. And the story. Coffee is just such a great idea there. There's a discussion that's been happening in the church for several years now around what people call third spaces. That idea that in the past, the church was kind of automatically a space other than home and work where people could gather, a common space.
And that has really changed even in the US but has long since changed in Europe.
And so having these spaces where people can get together, that is outside of home or work and interact and share life is such a key part of evangelism, really, wherever you are. And so in a lot of ways, it's just a very simple, very brilliant idea for the church to launch alongside a coffee shop so that they're providing this neutral third space that people can meet and discuss in.
[00:07:11] Speaker B: Right, right.
[00:07:12] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:07:13] Speaker B: I think one thing to add to that, too, is so many people that have come in, have shared with Danny, with Luis, with the barista who's working there. There's just something different about this place. There's just a different atmospher.
And I believe it's because the Lord has redeemed that place.
I think that's just a huge part of it.
[00:07:32] Speaker A: Yeah. No, I mean, it's really cool to hear their stories one after the other.
Obviously, sitting around this table, we have folks that have different perspectives on this trip that we just went on, because you guys have. Some of you guys have been there before, some of you guys haven't. So for those who have been there before, what made this trip different and for those who haven't, maybe what surprised you about this trip?
[00:07:58] Speaker D: Yeah, so I'll start. So the thing that was different from when we went last year was that we had 22 teenagers with us this time.
And so that was a. That was a big. A big difference from the year before when we had 12 adults with us and. Or we ended up with 14 or anyways, having those extra hands, I was thinking, that's going to be a lot of people. That's going to be a lot. I mean, there's not going to be enough for everyone to do, but there was more than enough. I mean, and we could have used some extra hands. So it was. It was a. It was a huge Blessing to take 22 teenagers this time.
[00:08:36] Speaker B: Well, and I would even say to that, Megan, if we had had the same number of people, but it had all been adults, we still couldn't have
[00:08:44] Speaker D: done it, could not have kept up.
[00:08:45] Speaker B: We couldn't have done it.
[00:08:47] Speaker D: I absolutely agree. I mean, with the youth and the energy that they bring, we just can't keep up with that.
[00:08:53] Speaker B: Well, the energy, yes. Thank you for calling me old, Megan.
[00:08:58] Speaker E: I put myself in there.
[00:08:59] Speaker B: You said we. Right.
But even more than that, it was the way y' all were connecting with the kids there and the way they were connecting with you, that was just different.
It was different.
And, you know, I looked at Chris about halfway through the trip, like, you realize we can't do this without the students ever again.
[00:09:19] Speaker D: Right? We can never go back without. Without having their help.
Yeah, I agree.
[00:09:24] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:09:25] Speaker D: Well.
[00:09:26] Speaker C: Yeah, so I've been to Puerto Rico with the church the past two years, and it was more of. So, I mean, student heavy. We. It was youth group, and going with the adults this year was just. It was just amazing. It was something that, like, I didn't expect. Kind of what surprised me.
I didn't expect, like, how whenever we were interacting with the kids. Yes. You know, we're gonna be more, you know, drawn to the kids or whatever, because, you know, same energy or whatever. But us, like, being with the adults that. I mean, it just changed the perspective on everything. And I learned so much from everybody, and the leadership was obviously just wonderful. Couldn't have done it without y', all, by the way. It was very, very cool to see. And, like, yeah, just, like, I did not expect it to be such a, like, bonding moment for not even, like, you know, the youth and the kids, but, like, everybody. And I like, the adult leaders that came, some of the parents or whatever.
Definitely. You know, I didn't know these people before much, but after. After just a week together, I'm like, I have gotten on such a deeper level with them. And not only, like, oh, yeah, well, we spent a week in Scotland together, and, you know, we did the same thing, and we just spent a week on the other side of the world together, but it was like, during that whole week, like, my faith Was growing, and I was learning so much from them that I did not expect that to come, like, this way. You know what I mean? I thought it was just gonna be like, us people in Scotland. Boom, boom, boom. It was so, like, you know, we were all there together, and, like, it was so moving to me.
[00:11:11] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:11:13] Speaker E: Something that surprised me was I went to Puerto Rico for one year last year, and last year was so work heavy. And we did have a Bible club for the kids, but it was so. It was kid centered, but also, like, church centered. And I think that this year, being so kid centered, I think that was so amazing for all of these youth who a lot of them work with kids. So it was really cool to see, like, people put aside their differences or anything like that and, like, come together to watch this really beautiful, like, tapestry that the Lord created in order to love on all of these kids. And, like, Megan was in charge of putting together the teams, and some of the teams worked so well together that it was like, we were all so close. Like, it was. It was really cool to see all that. And another thing that surprised me was these kids. I talked to some of them and how they love all the American stuff, and that really just. That's a random thing that really surprised me. They listen to a lot of American music and a lot of American tv. Like, they watch a lot of American TV shows. And that was just really cool to like, oh, like, those are some similarities that I saw. Similarities and things I didn't think that were going to be similar and differences and things that were very different. So it's just. It was a lot of surprising things. So it was really cool to see that.
[00:12:28] Speaker A: Yeah. I remember my first international mission trip. I was actually about your age. Harper and I went to Eastern Europe, and it was me, one other teenager, and a group of eight adults. And one of the things that I remember somebody telling me is, as far as the general behavior on a mission trip, that teenagers are usually better behaved than adults. And so I often think, you know, if you take a group of teenagers with a group of adults, that the adults will probably realize, well, I've got to step it up. I've got to actually behave myself.
[00:13:05] Speaker B: I've led group travel for years as an educator, and I will 100% agree with that.
I've had more problems with adults than I've ever had with students on a trip. On this time. This trip, though, I mean, you had your occasional hiccup, but nothing. Yeah, Nothing.
[00:13:25] Speaker C: Right.
[00:13:25] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:13:25] Speaker C: Right.
[00:13:26] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:13:26] Speaker D: Well.
[00:13:28] Speaker A: Well, let's talk about everyone's most meaningful moment. There may be some overlap here. I don't. I know very little about, really, what you guys experience on this trip, so I haven't heard many stories yet from this year, so I'll be curious to hear what, for each of you, was the most meaningful moment on this year's trip.
[00:13:49] Speaker B: Vivian's got notes, so we're gonna let her go.
[00:13:51] Speaker C: Well, sure. I'll go ahead.
So when I was kind of reflecting about it and kind of pinpointing where the most meaning came out of was less, like a. Like, a specific moment. I would say more of, like, the whole week and, like, spending time with the families and the kids. And, like, another thing that I was gonna say that surprised me this trip was, like. It was so, like, you got to choose how you, like, put your life out there. Like, we got to, like, we could go sit over there with, you know, our group, or we could, you know, during free time, go and hang out with the other groups and go talk with the other kids that we, you know, haven't seen today and. Or go, you know, introduce yourself to their parents, a pickup time, and, like, really, like, go deeper. And so this year, I didn't get to really do that, and it taught me that I can do that everywhere I go, not just on the mission field and places like that, but so just a whole week of, like, learning from the kids and kind of what Harper said, like, making, you know, friends and, like, realizing that we have a lot of things in common.
But me realizing every single time, whenever I got the chance to share the gospel or just share a little bit of Christ's love with them, they were, like, curious, and they were, like, questioning. And I wasn't expecting that. I wasn't. I wasn't expecting, like, oh, but what were you doing with your hand? Why were you. What. You know, what were you. What were you doing? What were you feeling? Why were you doing that while you were singing that song? Or were you praying? Why were your eyes closed or whatever? And the fact that I got questions like that was just like, whoa. Like, that's.
That's a question people, like, can see and, like, ask. And the fact that they were even in that, like, headspace of, like, I would never, like, think, here, get that question. Like, if someone at the lunch table sees me with my head down, ready, I'm not eating yet, and I start eating, they like, oh, they're probably praying. But, like, the fact that they were asking those questions, I was like, holy moly. Like, there's this Is like, this is serious. And. And so just going throughout the whole week and, like, seeing how open they were, and I would just say, like, they were just curious the whole time. And, like, that kind of shook me a little bit. And that. That. That's probably something that I've been thinking about a lot recently, especially coming back that. That, you know, just throughout the whole time, every kid, Every kid you looked at, every family you looked at, it was like, there's so much deeper.
[00:16:29] Speaker A: There's a lot of hunger, is what it sounds like to me. And that's been my experience when I've traveled overseas to countries that, to use Blair's terms, are so post Christian as to be pre Christian. One of the things that was really interesting to see when I got to visit China back in 2008 during the Olympics was how many of the other young college students who were Chinese were so interested in every aspect of our lives, but especially.
Especially faith. Anytime that could come up, they were very curious about it because it was a complete novelty to them. It was something totally new. And so seeing that, for one thing, it really made me and others value how much exposure we have to the Christian faith over here and how, in a lot of ways, we're kind of saturated in it to the point that we take it for granted.
And so, yeah, well, who else. Does anybody else have a favorite moment or a meaningful moment that they would like to talk about?
[00:17:35] Speaker C: I can go.
[00:17:36] Speaker E: One of the most, like, meaningful things to me was. I mean, this is slightly personal, but the day before the sports camp started, I was like, God, just give me peace and joy. That's all I need right now. And that was probably, I think, the first time I've ever prayed specifically for joy.
And because we think about, like, just being happy all the time. And the next day, I was genuinely filled with so much peace and joy. And I think that.
So as that ties in, as all my kids started coming and I got to interact with more and more kids, and I was really nervous, obviously, obviously meeting a bunch of new kids that I couldn't fully understand their accent, but it was a struggle. But as I started interacting with them, they were very closed off. As we had talked about before, how their parents just don't. Some of them even said their parents don't really tell them they love them. And that's just so genuinely heartbreaking. And I think that without that supernatural joy and peace and, like, clear of all other distractions that I had, I was able to start loving on them. And I really didn't even feel like I was making much of an impact at all. And I even had like, five and six year olds that I was like, I don't. I don't even know if they want to know about the gospel. Like, there's no way to interject without forcing it because they're so little.
But as we got through the week, there was. I mean, there was even one kid specifically that was kind of very sporty and very. Like, he was trying to be better than all the other kids.
By the second or third day, he really just, like, let his guard down. And he just. He gave me so many hugs that day and he just wanted to hold my hand wherever he went. And it was just so. It was so beautiful to see. Like, I didn't even feel like I was making an impact at all. But without that joy and without that peace, I was.
I was able, like, with that to love on these kids the way that I don't even know if they've been loved on that before or. I mean, they could have been, but I. It didn't seem like it. And even some of the kids from the other group, I didn't realize how much of an impact. Like, I don't want to say just me, like, but a few kids even, like, came and found me later and I was like, it just made my heart so happy. Like. Like, these kids, like, looked at me and were like, I want to go talk to her because she seems like she'll care. Like, that kind of just. I didn't realize how much I needed that too. Like, just to see, like, this is how God works. Like, it's not just sharing the gospel, especially with little kids. Like, it's being able to love on them when nobody else will. So I think that was one of the most meaningful moments for me.
[00:20:05] Speaker A: Yeah, Getting to be an agent of God's love is a blessing and in itself, sort of a means of grace to us. To actually be a part of participating in God imparting his love to others.
Such a unique and wonderful experience.
[00:20:23] Speaker D: Okay, adults, well, I wanted them to go first because my most meaningful moment is everything that they were able to accomplish. The relationships that they built with these kids in Scotland in four days was simply amazing.
But watching them, which I've seen all at kids camp, I mean, most of the ones that came help with children on Sundays, Wednesday, and they help with kids camp. So I've seen them lead a lot, but usually there's an adult involved. What I did was I made them lead the group. There was no Adults with them. So they. I had two teenagers for most age groups, except for the older ones. And these two were one of two teenagers leading their group as well as some other groups. And to watch them take a group and make them a family and like Harper was talking about, like, you just don't see a lot of emotion from Scottish kids.
And it's probably just the way that, you know, like. And we had talked about it as a team before. Like last year there was a girl that would just like press up on me and I'm like, I don't know if I'm supposed to hug you or not. But like, she would just like lay on me and I'm like, I'm gonna hug you.
[00:21:42] Speaker C: Like I have to hug you.
[00:21:45] Speaker D: But watching them lead not only these kids around the sports camp and every spot they had to go to, but in worship on. Was it Tuesday?
Was it Tuesday night worship? And then we had another one at the end. The celebration we had on Thursday night where we invited the kids, left the camp and came back. We packed out Ellingsley Community center with kids and families to get their awards and we had a worship service that night and they led.
And watching these teenagers not fully understand the seeds that they are planting.
[00:22:21] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:22:23] Speaker D: I don't know that we'll ever know what they really did in Glasgow that week, but I know seeds were planted and I can't wait, wait to see what God does with those seeds that these teenagers planted. Because they did it.
[00:22:40] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:22:43] Speaker B: Before I give the meaningful moment, I feel like I need to back up and answer another question. Yeah. Okay. Because you asked about what was different.
[00:22:50] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:22:51] Speaker B: And the first year it was a small group of us, Pastor Chris and me and Ray Cummings, who's a pastor over in Mississippi.
And then we took a photographer and videographer with us. And really it was more fact finding. It was, if we did a mission trip, what would it look like? We don't want to have church sponsored tourism. You know, if you want to go on a tourist trip, do that. Have fun.
Last year when we went, we did the American Sports Camp. And I think it's important for people to understand. Y' all mentioned Puerto Rico. And I don't, I don't know how it was when you went to Puerto Rico, but I've done mission trips where if you just advertise we're doing a backyard Bible club or whatever, kids will come.
Scottish kids aren't coming to a backyard Bible club.
They're not going to come. And so the idea is, you know, let's do an American sports camp. That's the draw. They come for that. And then we share Jesus once they're there.
Last year, when we had the first sports camp that we helped lead, we partnered with Breakout Ministries out of England. And that's James. That's what he does. He does sports camps. We averaged 43 kids per day, which was more than twice what they had the first year.
Didn't know it at the time, but that's the biggest sports camp that James had ever led.
We had 78 kids on average, every day.
[00:24:12] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:24:13] Speaker B: We almost doubled what he does for a living.
Frazer came in, and we had been praying and working, and the team went on the ground, had been working.
And so we had 78 kids there every day. And that's really one of the other things that made it so different was the number of kids that were there from Scotland.
And before I share a favorite moment, full disclosure, I will cry at a supermarket ribbon cutting. I'm very much in touch with my emotions. The Bible says Jesus wept, so I'm cool with it.
[00:24:45] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:24:48] Speaker B: It was watching our students.
There were so many moments over that week.
Y' all didn't know, but I was watching and I was seeing. It was. It was sitting in a coffee shop because we did everything bigger and better this year. Everything bigger and better. Last year, we did a sports camp. This year, we did a sports camp, and we went to the coffee shop every morning for devotions.
Our team was leading in worship on. Every morning, they play a song or two to get us started. And it was being there and watching y' all practice and other people starting to sing along, even though y' all are just getting tuned up, but they're still singing along and watching y' all draw closer together and watching the spirit move even before the day gets started.
It was watching y' all lead in worship and kids that don't come to church that were there for that sports camp the first year, and they were there last year, and they were back this year.
But the difference is, this year, when they were there, they weren't just sitting through a service. They were turning around and trying to get other people to stand up during worship. Because of your example.
I shared the last night we were there. I don't think Chris meant to give everybody the opportunity to speak. I think that just kind of happened. I think he was going to open it up and he just went around the circle. Luckily, I was toward the end, but will you? I shared with him. You know how when you've got a favorite movie and you share that favorite movie with friends and you really hope they like the favorite movie.
I shared one of my favorites.
I shared people that I care for.
Danny and Luis are not just missions partners, they're my friends. When my younger daughter was in surgery, Luis was one of the ones I texted, hey, will you pray for my daughter because he's my brother.
I shared people I love. I share a ministry I love with a church that I love. And y' all love them too.
And it was so amazing to watch.
So many little moments.
We had what I can only describe as a Scottish square dance that last night.
[00:27:09] Speaker D: Right?
[00:27:10] Speaker B: And Ceilie is. Isn't that the word? Wasn't it Kayleigh Keely. Keely Kayley.
Scottish square dance with a bagpiper. Right. And watching our kids dancing with Scottish kids and holding hands, watching Levi holding a baby and holding the hand of a five or six year old little boy as he's dancing.
So many little moments that really boil down to people here going there and living and loving the gospel.
And that one kid that has been coming for three years now that y' all probably follow on Instagram too now, right?
Did you see Carson's post?
We're still at the airport and he's sharing picture upon picture. I mean, this kid got in the van with us and didn't want us to leave.
But he didn't just say, thank you for coming and teaching me American sports.
He said, thank you for coming and teaching me about Jesus.
So many little moments.
Because you said yes.
[00:28:20] Speaker D: And that little. That was one of the moments. And part of mine was watching these kids that went to the sports camp last year that merely participated in American sports worshiping this year, singing a song, standing up, like Blair said, trying to get others to join in. That's what we want. Four Story Church is for these kids to get involved with the church. Yes, we put on an American sports camp. That's just how we get them in. And we're going to let God do what God does and grow Story church using these children because the ones that they have here in Scotland, they will, they can make a difference for the Lord in the kingdom.
[00:29:02] Speaker A: Well, it feels a little silly asking this last question because I think we have heard the answer in many different ways, if not explicitly. But if you could just elaborate a little bit on what would you say to someone who has never been on a mission trip? What is the value of these kinds of trips?
[00:29:26] Speaker C: I would say me personally, whenever I, you know, we, you know, Logan announced it to us. Hey, youth Trip. This year we're going to Scotland. You know, we're figuring things out. We're going to go with the adult group. It's going to be great. We're going to do American Sports Camp. You know, that's when everything, you know, she's like, go ahead, go home. Pray about it. See what you feel. If you're allowed to go, let's go. You know, I was kind of, like, praying when I prayed the prayers, it was more like, lord, let us do work for them. Let us do work for them. I want to see a revival in Scotland. I want to go over there, and I want to be over there with the. Those people, and I want them to get the word, and I want them to hear the good news. And honestly, I mean, what we did was great. And like Megan said, like, the seeds we planted is just, you know, such a blessing to see throughout the week. We don't know, like, what they're. What it's going to look like now until we go back, but.
Which I'm so excited to see. But just be open to what the Lord is gonna do in you as well, because I was a little shocked at, like, how they impacted me. Like, the kids impacted me. And I was like, you know, like, when I was talking, like, oh, you know, I'm focused on sharing the gospel with them, and they're not gonna understand, so I'm gonna have to go tell my story and, you know, be really open to them knowing and asking questions and stuff. But I was like, you taught me so much today. And, like, I'm coming back and I'm thinking these whole things and I'm reflecting and what just happened throughout this week. And, like, I'm still processing. So, like, I would say if you. If you feel led to go anywhere, pick a team, go with your team, and then be open for what he has to show you. Because as much as we are doing for them and the people over there and across the world in another state, the Lord's working something in you. So.
And being willing to, like, pick up from others that, you know, obviously we see more, you know, I was kind of nervous at first, like, oh, they're not gonna, like, want to hug me or, like, say, hey, you know, Southern hospitality does not exist in Scotland, by the way, which I was kind of nervous about. But I was like, how am I gonna. Like, how am I gonna be out there? Like, I'm kind of nervous, like, and they just blew me away. And so, like, just be open to what he has to do for you and, like I said, like, us and the team.
I think that, you know, us debriefing and talking about, you know, what our day is gonna look like at the coffee shop and having those moments of, like, reflection and just conversation on what we have been, like, feeling, you know, it wasn't like, all right, everybody, go around and say one thing that you did today that helped someone get saved or whatever. That wasn't it. It was like, hey, what have you done that's opened your heart, opened your eyes to something that you've never seen before? And so that. That's just, like. I would say, be open and be aware that something could happen, and it's going to be crazy.
I can go.
[00:32:34] Speaker E: I don't. I don't know how to explain. Like, there's so much value in not only, like, making your faith your own, but being able to then go out and share and live your faith. We say that all the time of, like, go live your faith. Go share your faith. But being able to. I've never been in that specific setting that I've been able to share my faith the way that I did.
And so many things did not go. I'm. I'm a planner. I like to have a plan in my head about how this is going to go. But honestly, nothing went the way.
Not in a. Not in a bad way.
[00:33:11] Speaker B: Megan says, amen.
[00:33:14] Speaker E: Nothing went exactly as planned. And I think that's. Sometimes. That's the beauty of it, of we're not in control and being able to see that we're not in charge. And even things that don't go our way or the way that we exactly expected still turn out to be even more beautiful than you thought to begin with. And one moment I want to share is, as you said, we went around and said one of our most impactful moments of the week.
It took about an hour and a half, right? I mean, something about that. And then we go out as we're about to leave, and every single one of those kids, those older kids stayed.
And, I mean, I started. I started bawling, like, being able. Like, they cared that much. They waited an hour and a half before they were about to have to go home just because they wanted to say bye to us one more time.
It was so unexpected. It was so beautiful to see. And I even got to.
I didn't want to share this at first because I didn't want it to be like me, but I even got to give a little girl my Bible because she didn't even come to the Sports camp. She had, she hurt. Had fallen on a scooter and she had hurt her hand. So she didn't get to come to the camp at all. But she came to both the services because her friend invited her and she. I asked her, I said, hey, do you. Do you have a Bible of your own? And she was like, no, I don't actually. And I said, do you want mine? And she said, no at first. And I was like, that's okay. I'm not going to pressure you.
That's totally fine. But I brought my Bible specifically just in case anybody.
And then I waited a little bit. We went around, said bye to more people. People were crying because it was such a beautiful moment to see. And then I went back.
[00:34:56] Speaker C: I was like, are you sure?
[00:34:57] Speaker E: Like, are you sure you don't want. She was like, you know, I don't mind. Like, I'll take it if you. If you want me to have it. And I was like, of course I want you to have it. Like, I want you to be able to see the Lord and be able to read his words with the same joy that I can and show me her parents aren't Christian, but. But that she wanted to be. And sorry to back up a little bit on Tuesday night. She was one that came up to. I think it was Elizabeth and Sally that said, like, just had so many questions and was curious. Like you were saying earlier, these kids are so curious and just being able to see that the Lord moved in ways that I couldn't even imagine. And it was so amazing to see. And back to the original question. The value of the mission trip is there's. There's infinite value and being able to live your faith. Even though people would be like, what did you see in Scotland? I'd be like, we didn't even see much. We saw a little bit. But like, that was not important to me. Being able to.
[00:35:55] Speaker A: Maybe not a lot of Scotland, but a lot of the Holy Spirit.
[00:35:57] Speaker C: Yeah. So how about that?
[00:35:59] Speaker E: It was amazing.
[00:35:59] Speaker C: So that's.
[00:36:01] Speaker D: Yeah, I would, I would echo what they both have said. Just be open to the way that. That God will use you.
Because mission trips are not really my thing. I was actually asked to go on this mission trip last year just because of sports, not because I'm a go getter missionary.
We know it's true, but the way it changed the way I look at mission work is only more proof positive that God can use anybody. I mean, he doesn't called the qualified, he qualifies the called.
And so be willing to plant a seed and let God grow it and just know that you might not see that tree that's planted, but go and plant anyway.
[00:36:52] Speaker B: So being around the students, I looked at Logan halfway through the trip and told her it kind of makes me miss students ministry a little bit.
From a student ministry perspective. Okay, y' all have been on retreats, right? I wish adults did retreats. I'd love it, you know, but, you know, you're living your Christian life, you're walking with the Lord and you go on a retreat and so you go back and away from everything and, and you focus on your spiritual growth and then you go back to real life. Right. So it's kind of like if you're in battle, you're retreating for R and R away from the front lines.
A mission trip is the opposite of that.
A mission trip is going behind enemy lines. A mission trip is going and joining the special forces group that's working in the harmony places and doing the hard things because Scotland's hard.
You know, they're trying to plow ground that is hard. And they're doing the hard thing.
And we went and we joined Megan. You were changed after that first trip, for sure. See, I know Megan came back and it changed the way she did sports here in the States.
Her week last year changed the way she interacts this year, for sure. And so my prayer for all the students and for everybody that's there is that it's not just what happened in Scotland, which is what you said. It's. It's what you bring back.
And so a mission trip is not all about me.
It's. It's all about him. It's all about serving. And I think it grows you and stretches you and changes you in ways you don't expect.
And you come back hopefully different.
And you're able to do here what you did there, which is love people where you are and realize God's given you a platform and I can use it for his glory.
[00:39:02] Speaker D: Right. Because if you can do it there, you better be doing it here too.
[00:39:06] Speaker A: You know, I think one of the discussions that happens a lot in the church is questioning the value of these short term mission trips. That's kind of why I wanted to ask this question.
And whenever that comes up, the same conclusion that I hear over and over again really is, well, there's times where you might question how much good we're doing as far as what we're doing over there.
But there's no doubt that the church, and I'll say the church in America has enormous benefit from people going to other countries, seeing the world from a different perspective, seeing people sometimes that don't have the advantage of being soaked in a culture that is so, particularly that we have here in Montgomery that is soaked just saturated with the Christian thought that we're kind of used to in a way that when we step outside of our context and get to get uncomfortable a little bit, then it changes our perspective on what it means to be a Christian. It changes our perspective on Christianity globally, and it also challenges us to grow in our faith. So many people that I've talked to that have come back from trips, they were not serious about their faith until they were in a context where it was no longer cultural to be a Christian. And they saw that stark difference.
And so to me, it's so very clear that while it may be obvious that this trip was very impacting to the local, even if that weren't the case, one of the things that we see all the time is people come back from these trips changed, and they come back from these trips growing closer to God.
But also, it's definitely our goal at Frazer to have trips that are actually making a positive impact to our mission partners overseas that we're not just putting another coat of paint. I remember hearing it was from some folks in Africa that said that they once had a local asking, why do Americans love to paint so much?
It's because there were so many times where they would bring a mission group over and they're like, what do we do with these people? I don't know, have them paint that house again.
And we don't want to do that. We want to have a genuine and sincere interaction with the people in the area that is going to actually help them grow in their understanding of who Jesus is. But in doing that, no matter what, every time, because this is true, you know, if whether you're doing that here in the States or you're doing that overseas, anytime that you are putting yourself in the place of having to teach others about Jesus, then you are forced to look at yourself and say, okay, well then what? Who am I? What do I believe? Gosh, I need to study the.
The Scriptures better. I need to. I need to understand this stuff if I'm going to talk about it. And that is such a huge blessing over and over again. Well, thank you guys for joining us. Thank you for joining us. And be sure to join us next time as we seek to fulfill the Great Commission by living the great command.
