The word change means to make the form, nature, future content, etc. of something different from what it is or what it would be if left alone. This is exactly what happened to me when I served through Light Messengers. Christ never left me alone. I was made different because He stayed by my side the entire journey. My summers have not easy by any means. You have days here and there that make you question why you are serving. Sometimes when you are on the mission field those days are hard. You don’t like the weather or the food. Your teammates annoy you or get on your last nerve sometimes and you long for time alone. You also miss your friends and family at home. On top of all of that you are often surrounded by spiritual darkness. The people you are serving have no clue about Christ and your mission is to declare His love. When I realized that I was not alone, Christ shattered that darkness around me. He reminded me of the purpose of why I was there which was to completely serve Him.
How do you know if you are really changed? You know you are changed when you bring your mission home with you. When I came home I had some struggles to face, but had I not obeyed God and served in summer missions, I would not have learned to lean on Him. I knew I was changed because I trusted Christ with my situations even when I came home. Life gets busy, and I knew that if I learned to lean on Christ during two of the hardest summers of my life then I could surely trust Him when my life got hectic at home.
Missions gave me the opportunity not only to go and share the Best News but it also allowed me to strengthen my relationship with my King. I learned to be open, flexible, and bold in my faith. I learned compassion and how to love with Christ’s love. I learned about communication and team building. However, I could not have learned any of those things had I not first leaned on Christ and realized that He never left me to do it on my own. I love that I can truly say that missions changed me because Christ was by my side every time I served Him on the mission field. No matter where Christ leads me to serve Him next, He will be right there with me the whole way as I go serve, come home, and be changed!
Erin Winkles is a senior at East Tennessee State University. Currently she serves as a Baptist Collegiate Network student missions mobilizer and will be serving in South Korea as a TN BCM summer missionary. For the upcoming 2010-2011 academic year she will be serving as the ETSU BCM President and BCM State Co-President.
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