BRANDON

I'm the one in the orange.

  How has your involvement in Nehemiah Teams changed your view on missions? 

Involvement in NT has changed my view on missions by opening my perspective to the bigger picture. Since we are working with full-time workers, it takes away the short term feel and replaces it with the grander scale of a 10 or 15 year mission. This definitely is raising questions inside of me and has/is still convicting me about doing more than a few short terms. I had this mentality that if I just agree to go on a short term per year and continue to live the rest of my life the other 52 weeks then that will be suffice. But recognizing that short-termers will never reach the entire world really brings the reality of the Great Commission back into perspective.  

How did knowing people at home were praying for you affect your performance/determination to finish the race strong?There have been several days where God has just given it to me…physically, emotionally, spiritually I just always felt like I had to keep picking myself back up. While that was happening, my fleshly body kind of forgot about those praying. It wasn't I would open my bag up and start to read the encouragement letters people wrote me. In every single one of them, multiple times it would say, "I'm praying for you." That one sentence is what helped me wake up in the morning, looking for any open door to share. You can definitely feel prayers even from 12,000 miles away. Knowing that there's an entire body of people praying for you not only encourages you so that you can finish the race but also encourages you so that you can complete the task that the good Lord has given us all.  

In what ways did God surprise you this summer?There isn't any particular way that God has surprised me this summer per say, but He definitely has kept me on my toes. As I was preparing for this trip, I read through the Gospels and prepared my heart for sharing the story of Jesus. Now don't get me wrong, we're definitely sharing about Jesus, but we have been using OT stories to transition in. Time and time again these people have never heard about Noah or Moses or Adam and Eve! All these stories are both in the Bible and in the AQ. God has definitely pushed us physically, emotionally, and spiritually in every which direction. Whether it would be experiencing resistance from our translator or impossible terrain or outrageous thunderstorms, He's never ceased in testing our faith. One thing that we repeat to ourselves every night is, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Gospel." Those are words to live by. But in all seriousness, the greatest "surprise" that the Lord has opened my eyes to is the tremendous lost-ness on these islands. If the rapture happened this very second, not a soul would come off that island…no one would be missing…no one would know. The urgency of the Great Commission has been brought into perspective, now its time to fulfill our duty as Christians, that the Lord has given us. 

BEN

How has this summer changed you?

    God has really humbled me this summer.  At home, I'm constantly thrust into leadership positions--always teaching or leading worship or organizing things.  This summer, God has put me in a position where I don't do hardly any of those things.  I serve behind the scenes and help the gospel go forth through the mouths of others who work around me.  He's been rounding off my edges and building up supports in areas where I've had no experience.  Sometimes, ministry can be different than what we think it is.

In what ways did God surprise you this summer?

     God surprised me by placing me where I'm not involved in doing hardly anything I thought I was good at.  Whether it's been construction or cleaning, God's been using me in ways I never would have expected.

How has your involvement in Nehemiah Teams/P52 changed your view on missions? 

   I've always viewed missions as taking the gospel, audibly in some sense, to people who have never heard it.  I now understand that, in the context of short-term missions, it doesn't always look like that.  Sometimes, God uses short-term missionaries to help a ministry for a time without using them in the front lines.

CAT

Cat served on a nanny team in the Philippines during the summer of 2012.

·      Has this summer changed your understanding or view of God as father? I thought I had forgiven my earthly father for leaving my family and I, but this summer God really convicted me of grudges I held against him. I realized even if my dad had stayed, he could not fill all my needs anyway. I’ll be honest, I’m still no where near perfect and I still have hurt feelings concerning my earthly dad but I have truly begun to understand how God is my Abba Father and loves me (and the orphans I’m working with). His love is better than and deeper than anything anyone on the earth could give any of us!
 ·      How did knowing people at home were praying for you affect your performance/determination to finish the race strong?
 It was almost like I could feel their prayers covering not only me, but also my team and the people we were serving. It was the first time I could understand and experience personally how God wants to use prayer as a part of missions. Knowing that I had multiple prayer partners in the States brought the stories of the early church praying earnestly and fervently for each other to life for me.
 ·      Why should people sign up for Nehemiah Teams/P52?
 If anyone has ever thought of being a life long missionary but has never gone on a mission trip longer than a few weeks, they definitely need to be connected to Nehemiah Teams. NT doesn’t sugar coat the hard truths about the missionary life. At the same time, NT helps the participant grow in Christ and truly shows them how awesome it is to be obedient to the Great Commission.
 ·      Is there anything else you would like to share?I was one of those who never thought I was ‘ready.’ I had a slew of excuses and reasons not to go on mission trips. However, I know God called me here this summer mainly because he didn’t let my heart rest about it until I applied and got accepted. Nobody is ready, but that doesn’t change the fact that God calls all Christians to take his gospel of grace to the nations.

Thanks for reading!