Daytona Beach

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.