Spring Break Recap

Here's a reprint of an article I wrote for the MBC:



Including myself, 28 of us spent our spring break at Mission Arlington in Arlington, TX. How we ended up spending our spring break there is another story - an interesting sequence of events orchestrated by the Lord.

The slogan of the ministry is "Taking church to the people" and we got to see it first hand. They have over 280 different Sunday morning outreaches, some rather small while others number over 70. As far as I know these all take place in various apartment complexes throughout the city. Some of the workers live in the apartments and work very hard to connect with the residents and share Christ with them.

The ministry also does a lot to meet the practical needs of the people. There was a constant rush of activity, as people swarmed the medical and dental clinics, furniture came in and out, and the food and clothing areas buzzed. Most of the workers are there from 7am to 7pm, continually giving to those in need. That in itself was a great example and challenge to us as a group.

We spent our week helping in each of these areas as needed, while a lot of the time ended up being spent at some of the apartment complexes where Bible studies are being planted and relationships are being established. We got to clean apartments (including one that had just flooded that day with sewage!), help with minor repairs, deliver food and furniture to people in need, deliver fliers and invite people to Bible studies or other events, and also help with after school programs with kids.

Many of the kids we worked with had very troubled home lives and were just longing to be loved. Several in our group had a difficult time parting with them.

One of the more powerful experiences for the group was connecting with one of the local workers. He is a former youth pastor in Johnson County who left behind his five bedroom home there to move into the apartment that, as he said, "Used to be where people did drugs or had sex." He had an overwhelming heart to give to the people and do whatever was necessary to share Christ with them. Working with him was a blessing and by itself would have made the entire trip worth it.

So far I've only heard back from a few students as to what they took away from the trip, but here are a few quotes:

"The trip helped show me that there are a lot of people out there searching for something more. Before, I had the mentality that people would just brush me off if I tried to talk to them, but in reality, most people do want to hear about it."

"I feel that it kind of reaffirmed my passion for children. It also reminded me that mission work or something similar may still be a possibility for my life."

"Well, I just got reminded of how powerful the spirit is. How when i'm walking in the spirit, sin has no reign on me. I found that getting away from TV, computer, internet, etc, I was set free from most of my struggles. So, for me, now i'm just trying to remember what I put into my body, and keep out what isn't good."

For me personally it was a week of consistently relying on God to come through and provide answers to a wide variety of questions and challenges that faced me. He was faithful to work things out in every single circumstance (including driving home through the remnants of a blizzard), even though I would prefer to simply avoid trials altogether :) And of course seeing a ministry that goes to the people rather than trying to get them to come to us, and then figuring out how we can better incorporate that into the BSU.

I would gladly return to work with that ministry again and give them a whole-hearted recommendation for any other group.