My trip to UMCOR Sager Brown in Baldwin, LA

Just got back at 3AM this morning from a great mission trip. We went to a mission campus about 3 hrs south east of New Orleans, LA. It is called the Sager Brown center. There is a huge building on the campus called the Depot. It is basically a huge warehouse that collects the many donations from churches and groups around the nation. They gather flood buckets, health kits, and school kits all designed to go to places both in the U.S. and to other countries where there are struggling people. While we were there we filled a huge container truck full of health and school kits that was headed for the Sudan. Afterward we gathered around and prayed over the shipment. It was a humbling experience. It was overwhelming to realize that we were packing and organizing the very kits that many of our churches had been donating. What a great reality check to actually see how those things are processed and where they were actually going.

Another part of the Sager Brown mission is to help local people rehab their houses after disasters such as Hurricane Ike and many others. Many people are at poverty level and don't have the means to help themselves so we show up and help them with general repairs. I hung doors, replaced stairs, hung gutters, replaced ceiling tile, and many other odd jobs. The other half of our group drywalled and entire house! What a blessing! It was a blast and a moving experience to meet the home owner and be able to help them.

All this is good but the best part of the trip is all the relationships you develop. We went with 4 others from our church, Old Fort UMC and also met up with a group of 11 from another UM church in Ohio. We were not the only ones there however. There were groups from N.C. Illinois, Indiana, and other places. I sure got to meet some super people. I was also able to deepen some good relationships with the folk I traveled with from our church. I think it is on these trips where we really get to know someone at a deeper level and it is a special time for all those that get to go. I sense that the 5 of us from OFC built a greater bond with one another simply by walking with each other (and riding in the same vehicle for over 40hrs too) on this journey.

While there I met a man who I worked on a house with during the week. We got to talking about other mission trips we had been on and I told him about a trip I took to Belize. He lit up and quickly said he had gone there too. In a few moments we realized that he had followed my team a week later and worked on the exact same project that I had. It was amazing. I had never met him before but yet we were eternally connected. The best part of all was that he said he and his wife returned to the church we were building years later and it was finished. He has pictures of it and everything. God sure is amazing in how he works. I know this was no small coincidence but a divine appointment with God. I met some really cool people this week and will always remember them and our conversations.

I feel like I have grow and been pulled out of yet another comfort zone. I can sense God working on my heart and revealing things I wouldn't normally have seen had I not gone. I encourage anyone and everyone to take a chance to go somewhere with a group of people and help others in some way in the name of Jesus. A mission trip is definitely a growth opportunity! It is something I will always remember and will soon plan to return to.