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A week on a mission trip is about serving others but much more goes on as a community of servers comes together and learns how to work with and get to know one another. There can be as much power in this as in the serving itself. We all did things we don’t usually do. We slept in bunkhouses with people we didn’t know well with no air conditioning and numerous unwelcome (albeit harmless) winged and many legged guests. We cleaned public bathrooms and washed and dried lots of dishes. Some of us sprayed wasps’ nests and climbed high on ladders or roofs. We all endured very hot weather. Yet, it wasn’t about what each of us did individually – as a group we did much more. It wasn’t about the actual end product – almost anything, feeble or grand, was better than what was there before. What it was about was hope and inspiration and witness. It was about being part of something bigger and stronger than yourself. It was about being a part of a community that cares and takes care.
At the lake there is a dock with two diving boards. One diving board is regular height, the other is about 15 feet above the water. Most of the kids were jumping or diving off the high board rather fearlessly. Yuliya (aged 10) desperately wanted to jump from the high board but was clearly frightened. For about 1 ½ hours various people on the dock (mostly teens from our group) encouraged Yuliya – treading water below the board, offering enouraging words and tips, sitting on the board with her and holding her hand as she considered that daunting jump. When Yuliya finally made the jump the whole beach erupted into applause. Yuliya jubilantly swam to her mother on the beach and was treated to ice cream by Nina and Courteny and a mood ring by Jonathan. The jump was more than Yuliya’s accomplishment. It strengthened our small community of servers as well as our connection to the larger community. Just as Yuliya’s jump was more than just a leap from a diving board, what we all did during our week in Virginia was more than just hammering nails, painting walls and glazing windows. We became more than ourselves because we were part of a caring, supportive community that spread hope and encouragement, not only to those we went to serve but to each other and to those who watched us work and play.
We left tired, weary and dirty yet filled by the power of the spirit that was present in everything we did. I certainly felt I got back as much or more than I gave and I know I am not alone in this feeling.
-- Susan B.
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