We often think of mission trips as being mountaintop spiritual experiences. But that’s often far from the truth.
There can be a lot of disappointment and low points associated with mission trips. I spent several hours today just riding in vehicles, going from place to place. Hardly exciting. I also spent a few hours just walking around and distributing flyers for backyard Bible clubs that were starting this afternoon and tonight. I didn’t talk with many people outside of our group, and I never talked with anyone about Jesus.
Then, in the evening, I was with a group that was supposed to start a backyard Bible club in a park. We were all there, excited to begin, and we had all our stuff ready, and then…no kids showed up. It was very anticlimactic.
But God never promises that every moment will be a mountaintop experience. God never promises excitement around every turn. And although our walk with Jesus is certainly fulfilling, some of that fulfillment comes when we remember that God is good even when we walk through the valley.
I’m hoping that we’ll be able to minister to more people and maybe even see some people come to know Christ tomorrow and later this week. But even if that doesn’t happen, God is good, and God is drawing us to trust and rejoice in Him more, no matter what happens in life.