The spring break mission trip at CSF is always an amazing experience and this year was no exception. There are so many memories you take away from a trip like this that it’s difficult to describe to your friends and family. You try to describe the scale of loss that you find in a place like Joplin but your words fail to capture it. You try to recount the amazing stories of recovery you hear from victims but their impassioned words ring hollow from your mouth. You try to share the feeling of satisfaction you get from seeing the effect your being there has in the lives of these people but that is something you have to experience to understand. In the end, you feel like all the stories you share fall short. This certainly hasn’t stopped me trying, though.
Of all the amazing things I can share about this trip one stands out in my mind. From the very beginning of our trip this year, it was very clear that this trip was not about us but about God. Throughout the trip I was reminded of how the Lord delivered the Midianites into the hands of the Israelites (Judges 7). Again and again, God reduced the number of the Israelite army so that they would know that He gave them this victory. The first time this was brought to my mind was before we even left Morgantown. Several people were forced to withdraw from the trip due to unexpected circumstances. Almost like the Israelite army, our number was reduced, yet because of God it was still enough. Later, we were on the highway approaching Joplin and a freak tire blowout crippled one of our vehicles. This further reduced our resources but left us all unharmed. Standing in a circle next to a guard rail, arms locked in prayer; each of us knew that God was doing amazing things on this trip.
Amazing things happened on this trip. People’s homes and lives were rebuilt. People from nearly a thousand miles apart touched each other’s lives and shared the love of God. I will always remember these things and I will always remember how every step of the way it was God who made it all happen.
[Written by Jared Zinn]