From Cayton, a High School Student, 7/28/08

RE: Serving on the High School Pittsburgh Mission Trip

I’m somewhat of a novice with mission trips. I went to one in eighth grade and I went to Pittsburgh last year when I was a freshman. Every time I’ve gone, I have been impacted by God in one way or another. But this year was different for me. You see, I had been homeschooled since the fourth grade. I had been in and out of public schools before that. But anyhow, I had started my sophomore year in high school at Lincoln Charter School; a small school in Denver, NC, along with some other church friends.I found public school challenging at times. I learned a lot about myself and how I came off to others.

When the time came around to go again, I was so excited to go back and serve. It all seemed pretty routine: we arrive at the dorms, go to the church and meet everyone, and eat dinner. This year though, after we ate, we went to meet our homeowners and see what we were working on. Oh how excited she was to have us there! Ms. Woodson was her name, and she was constantly reminding us of how thankful she was for our work, even when there was something to halt our progress. She was also a very faithful believer. Every morning when we walked in to say “Good morning”, she would reply “I’m blessed”. We prayed with her most of the time after we were done working. She was a great example of how God’s love and joy is everywhere.

During a small group meeting one of our leaders gave us a piece of paper, with an excerpt of a prayer by St. Francis. One part of it(the prayer) really stood out to me. Here it is below:

“O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.”

This prayer was a great example of how we get what we give. It really reminded me of how I needed to act towards others in my life.

Overall, this trip has been an extraordinary experience for me, and it is my hope that it will continue to teach me in all sorts of different ways in the future.