Daytona Beach
By Haley B.
Last summer, I got to
spend two amazing weeks at Daytona Beach through a high school/college ministry
called Campus Crusade for Christ, or CRU for short. It’s mainly for colleges
all across the world. Campus Crusade for Christ is all about reaching people
for Jesus and sharing God’s love and what He wants for us to everyone. A summer
mission trip that they have termed “summer project” helps students do this. Not
only do you get to share your faith with others who may or may not believe the
same thing you do but you also grow as a person and meet friends for life.
Just finishing up my
freshman year in college, I felt overwhelmed. I had been avoiding my Christian
friends the last semester, because I didn’t want anyone to know about what my
mom had gone through; the situation didn’t even affect my grades like I figured
it would most people. I had persevered through it, so why should anyone have to
know? Well, after a long week, I went to my third meeting that semester that
CRU had. They have them all semester long, and my friends had been really
worried about why I had stopped coming. During my first semester at college, I
went to almost every single meeting. That night, they spoke about summer
project. I had heard about it from people going before and thought it was great
but it was too expensive and wasn’t for me. I knew about support raising but I
doubted that anyone could and would give me money to go on a summer trip,
mission trip or not. It was the first time I had a deep doubt towards God and
whether or not He was really a promise maker as well as a promise keeper.
I applied to the
shortest summer project they had, Daytona Beach Session 1. There were two
sessions, each being two weeks long. I just decided to do session 1 because I
was taking an online summer class and didn’t want it to take up all of my free
time. That is, IF I got accepted to go on the project and IF I could raise the
money in time. Again, I was doubting God and testing Him against His word.
I told people that I
applied to this project and they were so happy. I had never gotten so much
support from friends closest to me. I didn’t tell any of my family I had
applied; what if I didn’t get in? Then I would look like a failure. Needless to
say, I got accepted and the minute I did, I told my grandma, who would
ultimately be my financial “coach” during this and making sure we got all the
support money raised. She wasn’t very happy when I told her about getting
accepted. She said it was too much money, especially right after my mom got out
of the hospital. We couldn’t afford for me to go on a trip that was almost
$1,200. Maybe next year, is what she said to me. I kept praying and hoping that
there would be a way for me to go; God was calling me so why couldn’t she just
listen, just as I was doing? I began to talk with some of the staff on CRU
about how to write support letters to friends and family, asking for prayer and
a monetary donation towards my project. All of the money raised is
tax-deductible; who wouldn’t want to support this cause when you’re going to
get it right back?
As the money began to
POUR in, my grandma finally started listening. My family, mainly her siblings,
believed in me and cared about making sure others heard the gospel, even if it
was through someone else. I got all of the support I needed and more. I raised
$500 more than I needed. God is definitely a promise maker and a promise keeper
when He has called us to do something. It might not be easy but it will be
worth it!
I used the $500 to eat
with; we only had about 5-6 dinners covered in the two week period. Our hotel
had a breakfast so we just needed money for lunch and some dinners.
My grandma paid for my
flight because neither my mom nor my grandma wanted me driving down to Daytona
by myself. It was my first time ever flying and even then, I still doubted God.
How could I fly by myself with no one that I knew with me and for the first
time ever? I doubted that God could keep me safe and that I could really do
this alone. I had only ever been in the airport in Greenville, SC which only
has a few gates from what I know. I flew out of Hartsville-Jackson
International Airport in Atlanta, GA and it was ginormous. Some things got
mixed up when I got my gate pass and the woman had told my mom she could walk
back to the gate with me. Well, the woman at security told my mom she had to
have a boarding pass in order to get past. If we were to turn around, I might
not have made my flight. My mom left me there, in tears, as her little baby had
to go through security. In line, I met a woman who was headed towards Orlando,
FL. God sent this woman because she helped me through security as well as with
the tram that takes you to the terminals.
I followed the signs to
my gate and made it. We boarded the plane shortly after and I was in the middle
seat between a teenage boy who was headed to party for the summer at a beach
house and a woman who had a beach house at a nearby beach. God sent this woman
as well to me. He knew I was frightened yet He took care of me the whole time.
This woman kept telling me about how we were going to do this and that and how
it was just a little turbulence. She calmed me down and I was grateful to her.
I got to Daytona met my
team that I would be staying with for the next two weeks. I immediately fell in
love with my roommates. We immediately started evangelizing the next day. After
church, we got briefed on what we were going to do that night as our first
chance to tell someone about Jesus. We were all scared to death as we pulled
into the place that we clearly did not want to be: Volusia County Detention
Center. This was probably the best witnessing opportunity of my life. It gave
me an inside look at how other people live and just like Jesus gave hope for
you and me, He gives them the same opportunity to accept that hope.
One of the
opportunities to show kindness that stood out happened with a guy we had met
during our other evangelizing event. We went to a woman's home and met a
Russian guy whose mom was there, hiding from the abusive dad. He walked nearly
10-15 miles to the beach to lifeguard every day. We all chipped in during
project and gave our own spending money to buy him a bike! One of the girls who
stayed saw him riding it the next week to the beach.
My team and I got a
million chances to share the love of Christ with others that might have never
heard of Him before and might never hear of Him again. But it’s not just about
going on mission trips to witness. As we’ve all heard in our lives (and maybe
some of you have never heard this), the mission field is here. It’s everywhere.
There are people in your own backyard that don’t know Jesus! We all know at
least one person that could meet Jesus because of us, but we choose not to
share the good news because of judgment or rejection. I promise you that even
if you share and you get judged for it, or the person you talk to states that
they’re simply not interested, don’t give up! Jesus has called us to be a part
of The Great Commission! Because of your determination to not give up on that
one person, they might meet Jesus one day! You never know what might happen
after your conversation with them! Jesus has called us to be disciples, and
make disciples in all the nations. He also tells us to not worry about a seed
that was planted that does not grow in front of us. You will reap what you sow,
and because you sowed that one seed, it doesn’t mean God will give it back to
us the same way we planted it. Just like in tithing to the church. Giving 10%
of my money to God does not mean I will get it back in money; it just means
that God will bless me with something, in HIS time.
The mission field is in
your backyard, your front yard, and right beside you. It’s at the local
restaurant you go to, your school, and at the community pool. You never know
when you might get the opportunity to lead someone to Jesus, who gives us a
hope and peace that is incomparable to what this world offers.
