Eternal Impact

This past Wednesday night was Cultural Night for the Service Corps (the two mission teams I sent to Russia and Chile for 6 weeks this summer). Every year we do an evening like this at the end of each teams trip, I invite their family and friends, people from the Army to come see and hear what they've learned and what they've experienced. I love this night because it's a chance for other people to get to share in my joy. I get to hear all summer long what's going on in the lives of 13 young adults who are changing just by coming into contact with another culture and opening their eyes wide to a God who is and who has always been bigger than they could've dreamed. On Cultural Night, everyone else gets a picture of it as well.

The best thing about it all though is what happens in my heart as I watch them give their testimonies and sing the songs they've learned or perform the mimes or timbrel drills they've perfected. Every year it happens. I never expect it yet it always comes in a wave a great emotion. This year it happened as the Russian team sang their last song near the end of the program and it was a sweet song in Russian none of which I understood. And as they sang and as the next program item happened, tears simply fell down my cheeks. I couldn't explain it except that there was this prayer happening at that point in my heart going up to the Father that simply went like this, "Father, thank you for allowing me to be a part of their journey." That was all I could say. It doesn't happen often but every year on that night God shows me some of the eternal impact I'm making and I can't even begin to describe what that feels like. I know I won't be here forever but for now I know that their are 13 young adults in this world whose lives are richer and deeper because they came in contact with a God who wanted to take them somewhere new to teach them about Himself and His children. How blessed I am to get to be a part of that.

Every year I'm jealous that they get to go. I know why I need to stay - especially after this year's mishaps with missing visas and messed up planes tickets and last minute plans because of these things but at the end when I hear their stories - it almost feels like I got to go with them anyway.

I'm grateful to my God who is so big and so mysterious for allowing me to be such a small part in His game plan. It's the coolest feeling in the world.

Thank you Father.