Hey everyone!
So I just got back from Spring Break, and those of you who did as well, I hope your break was awesome. Anyway, I had the opportunity to go on a trip to Panama City Beach, Florida for Spring Break...and it literally rocked my world. Those of you who have known me for a long time are probably wondering how this trip was so life changing, because you know that I've lived in Europe and gone to many different cities, states, and countries. Well, I'm about to share with you why this trip was unlike any other trip I've ever been on.
First, this trip started at 5:30 on a Saturday morning...those from TCU were meeting people from UT Arlington, and we were going to drive down together...and drive we did. It took us 16 hours to get to our condo in Panama City Beach. So, when we arrived, we were exhausted and slept in the next morning...then we went to Wal Mart to buy food for 14 people. That was an adventure...Wal Mart is always an adventure, but especially when you're they're trying to get stuff for a large number of people along with 5 thousand other Spring Breakers. This was just the beginning.
Big Break is actually a mission trip in which everyone at the conference attends morning and night large group meetings, and then during the afternoon Monday-Thursday, we share the Gospel with people on the beach. Before I get into that, I'm going to backtrack a little bit and talk about how I ended up going on this trip. I was originally supposed to go to Utah to visit a friend of mine because our Spring Breaks were the same, but she decided to go home for Spring Break instead, so I was like, "alright I'll go to Colorado to ski with my dad and another friend of mine," well, logistics just weren't working out, and I had heard a little bit about Big Break from my Bible Study leader, so I asked her more about it. I then decided that there was a reason that Utah and Colorado weren't working out. I took it as a sign that God wanted me at a specific place at a specific time. So I decided to sign up. I was excited because I've always wanted to do "backyard mission work" because I feel like we focus on other places around the world, which is amazing, but I think we sometimes forget about us here in America. Well, I graduated just an hour and a half west from PCB, so this was a backyard mission trip for me and it literally changed my life.
Each morning, we were equipped with different ways to approach people on the beach and share the Gospel with them, and then we would go out and do it, and then that night, we would gather again in big group meeting (there were 1200+ college students at this conference from all over the country), and share stories, sing praises, and would study the Bible. Sidenote, our Emcee, Shelby, and our speaker each night, Matt, were incredibly hilarious and approached the Bible and Evangelism in a serious, but playful way that kept all of us interested and focused. Anyway, I'm going to break each day up and talk about the highlights.
Day 1
I partnered with my student Bible Study Leader and we went out on the beach. I was wearing one of my sorority tanks because one of the girls who had done this before said it's a good idea because it could be something that you and whoever you're talking to on the beach have in common. This became so true because we first talked to some people in my partner's sorority. She noticed a guy's hat and we went over and talked to them for a good while. On this day, we had movie questions and general life questions to use to break the ice. Finally, we got to talk to one boy more in depth about God and Spirituality, which was awesome. My favorite part of Day 1, though was that I got to share the gospel with some of my sorority sisters from different universities and even prayed with them. It was an incredibly special moment for me and I will cherish it forever. The really cool part about that was after we were done talking to a group, we prayed that God would lead us to people He wanted us to talk to, and before my partner even finished praying, a sister from a different school saw my sorority tank and we hit it off. God just moves in big ways.
My song/prayer for day one was
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders, let me walk upon the waters, wherever you would call me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander, and my faith will be made stronger, in the presence of my Savior.
I continued to pray this as we were walking and I am just still in so much awe of what God did through us that day, and the rest of the week.
Day 2
I went in a group of 4 on this day and there were not very many people on the beach because it was a bit chilly. We did get to have a good conversation with a kid from FSU who was a Christian and he warmed my heart. He told us some hard things about his past and his dad said that if God can change his dad's life, He could do anything. We were able to give him a Satisfied booklet, which helps believers live a more satisfied life with Christ. My other highlight of that day was that we got to talk to 3 girls from Texas for a while about what they believed, and they all had some spiritual background and believed that they would go to Heaven 100%. They opened up to us and one shared that her grandmother recently passed away and another said her aunt had just been diagnosed with cancer. They were so raw and real with us and it was amazing. God was definitely moving. We even got to directly pray with them, instead of just telling them that we would keep their family members in our prayers. We got to pray for healing right there with them and it was just a special moment.
Day 3
It was Wednesday, Hump Day, and we had been warned that we might be tired and unmotivated on the beach, so I remembered this and refused to be sluggish. I was going to let the Spirit work through me. I partnered with the only TCU guy on the trip, and ended up having to be both of our voices because he had lost his. My first highlight of this day was that after asking some general spiritual questions, we had the opportunity to go through the KGP, which is the Knowing God Personally booklet, with a guy who had not been raised in a Christian home and did not know much about the gospel at all, but was interested. His buddy had a little bit of a background, but he went through it with us as well. At the end of the booklet, there is a prayer in which one can say to accept Christ. This guy did not do it in front of us, but said he was going to when he got back to his room. I was just so humbled by this. It was just amazing. After we finished the KGP, we started talking and I found out he was an Elementary Education major, just like me, and I was just floured at the different ways God was using me, first through my sorority, and then my major. I was overwhelmed with awe and gratitude. The final conversation we had that day was with a few Christians from Texas who were really interested and supporting of what we were doing. I got to talk one on one with one guy and my partner got to talk one on one with another. After talking with this guy, I was so encouraged, I mentioned to him that I wanted to use my sorority as a mission field and he told me that if I had faith and trusted God, I do it. We also had an honest conversation about a hot button topic that actually refreshed me. After we were done with our separate conversations, the four of us came together and prayed for each other and I was truly moved. It gave me the encouragement I needed to finish out the week. After evangelism, we got to eat dinner at a restaurant as a group, and it was just a wonderful time of bonding and fellowship, and we got to share stories from the day. Everything about Wednesday was just amazing.
Day 4
On the last day of evangelism, I paired with the two CRU staff members from UT Arlington, and our last conversation was pretty eye-opening. B and I talked to a girl who had been raised in the Catholic faith, but personally believed that there is a God, but we should be able to do whatever we wanted because we were given free will. She was actually a bit defensive and started talking about how no one should be able to tell her what to believe. B asked her why she had come to this and she said that she felt that her church she grew up in was too judgmental and cared too much about money. I saw a pattern of that as we talked to students all week that had grown up in the church but had veered away...they either felt that college was a time to do whatever they wanted and "sow their wild oats," or they felt hurt and/or judged by the church, whether that be Catholic or Protestant. Every time I hear stories like this, it breaks my heart. Church is not a place where people should be judged. The church is a group of people, not a building. It's not a museum for the good people, but a hospital for the broken. (Jeff Bethke). Only God can judge. As believers, we should love one another. It is not our place to put judgment on others. Last time I checked I'm not perfect, I sin everyday, therefore I have no right to judge, and neither does anyone else. L, B's wife, actually got to talk one on one with a guy and went through the entire KGP, and accepted Christ into his heart, which is amazing. That night at big meeting, countless stories were shared and it was a celebration of what God had done all week. We worshipped and celebrated together, and that wrapped up Big Break. It was an incredible experience and I wouldn't change it for the world.
We had Friday off, so we decided to go to the beach for a little bit and then actually drove to Mississippi so we could go to New Orleans Saturday morning. That was a last minute decision that turned into a crazy adventure. We got to watch God move again. We were about 2 hours away from New Orleans and still didn't have a place to stay...we had 14 people. After calling countless hotels and even a travel agent, we were kind of stressed and some of us were a bit discouraged, but we finally found a hotel reasonably in budget in Gulfport, MS about an hour away from New Orleans. It was God's reminder that He does provide. We spent Saturday morning in the vibrant city of New Orleans and it was just beautiful. The culture was interesting and I so enjoyed looking at all the street vending items. There was one man in particular that was especially joyful. He was playing his tuba in the plaza and sang for us. He just warmed my heart because he had a genuine joy about him. We left New Orleans and it took us 12 hours to get back...that's not an exaggeration, but it was another opportunity to bond with one another and reflect on the week's experiences.
To summarize this week and try and wrap it up in a bow, I just want to reiterate how great God is. Through my experiences this week, I received a whole new perspective of God, friendship, healing and grace, and evangelism. I knew God was big, but I didn't really comprehend how big until I literally watched Him work. Throughout those 4 days, between the 1200 of us at the conference, there were over 5,000 Spiritual Conversations, over 2,000 people heard the Gospel, and 157 people accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior...if that's not a miracle, I don't know what is. I used to have a skewed view of evangelism as well...I used to believe that my job was just to live a Christ-like life, almost works-based, without even really saying much about my faith...I thought that was enough...I was wrong...I was lazy. I thought the bulk of evangelism was really up to the missionaries...that is so far from the truth. Honestly, I used to believe the lies that I don't know enough, I can't answer the right questions, they are not interested. These were addressed in meeting and really taught me a lot and helped me allow God to work through me this past week. It has also equipped me to share my faith more boldly back on campus and in my everyday life. A few weeks ago, a speaker at the church I attend was talking about how his favorite animal is a rhino because a herd of them is called a Crash, and we as Christians need to be a part of a Crash, and crash into people with the love of Christ. I finally understand what a Crash of Christians looks like. Before this trip, I was afraid to share my faith much with my nonChristian friends because I just don't typically talk about Religion or Politics. I used to be too worried about offending people, but, through the teachings of this past week, I learned, and truly realized that my friend's eternity is way more important than any earthly relationship. The Bible offends people, but I cannot be scared. It is too important...the eternity of humans is at stake. Galatians 1:10 says, "Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ." That was incredibly convicting to me because I am such a people pleaser. I have to remember that I serve one master, and that would be Jesus Christ. I can't let fear and selfishness keep me from spreading the good news of the Gospel. That being said, we must talk to nonChristians with gentleness, without judgment. Right now, in our society, social justice is a hot-button topic, however, Jesus, the just one, died for us, the unjust; justice is to increase the presence of Christ in our World. There are many countries who still do not have access to the Gospel. That is an act of injustice. Our job as Christians is to stand between the oppressed and the oppressor.
Finally, I'm going to talk briefly about healing and grace. I used to live just an hour and a half west of Panama City Beach, and when I left Florida last summer to move to IL and then to college, I was pretty broken, much more broken than I had even realized. I had been through some challenging stuff, and made some poor decisions. I felt quite a bit of guilt, and didn't really leave the mark on Florida that I wanted to. I ended my senior year kind of living a double life. I was pretty worldly except on Sundays, and I was disappointed in myself because of that for a long time. This week was kind of a deja vu for me and the theme for Big Break was restored and renewed. God basically gave me another shot at making the difference and leaving the mark I wanted to and that He knew I was capable of with His help. The last night of celebration and worship was a time where I did a lot of processing and realized just how wonderful God is...and that I don't have to feel guilt or shame from the past, that I'm made new. It was just a phenomenal week and it's really hard putting it into words.
Galatians 5:13-14 "You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge in the flesh; rather, serve one another, humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself."'
Y'all, this is a brief summary of a week that changed my life. I am totally open to answering any questions.
I hope everyone has a blessed rest of their week!
Yours Truly,
Steph
