Serving in Samoa - My adventure for the month of June

Where I'm Headed

Samoa.

Have you ever heard of it? I hadn't.

Not until I decided to serve there this summer. It's a tiny Pacific island (only 14 miles long) that is closer to New Zealand than it is to Hawaii.

The teeny orange dot that is Pago Pago is where I'll fly into after about 15 hours in the air. Eww.

BUT, I can't complain too much.

The tiny island has beaches, waterfalls, mountains and caves!?!  Many people go on mission and end up sleeping on dirt floors and pooping in squatty potties but I'll be serving under a palm tree on a sandy white beach like this:

I mean, hey, everyone needs to be reached... even in paradise ;) 

What I'm Doing

BUT, in all seriousness, even in paradise I will be working and I will have stressful moments, I'm sure.

It isn't just a fabulous vacation. It's actually a mission trip.

I will be serving alongside Larry Leming who I worked with last summer in my hometown. I will be doing similar things only in Samoa instead of South Carolina. This includes primarily leading Vacation Bible Schools but also assisting with kids sports camps, community outreach, helping the local church, loving on the locals and possibly more...

Why I'm Going

It all started back in January at the Passion conference. As any of my regular readers know, that conference had quite an impact on me. This particular conviction came in this song:

If you watch the whole video (so worth it!) you'll see that Chris Tomlin invited friends of his from all over the world to sing verses of the song. It was one of the most powerful moments of worship I have ever been a part of.

Though I didn't understand what those people were singing, I knew they were praising our God and that He understood them. It was such a beautiful picture of the church as it should be, all our brothers and sisters of different backgrounds coming together from several nations, just like it talks about in Revelation 7:

(9) After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.

The moment of conviction came for me not during the singing but when Louie Giglio came out on stage before the final verse.

He started talking about how we in the audience were probably all moved by these people and their countries represented on the stage and if not them, then the people and country we had a heart for - the place we had gone on a mission trip or the nation we sent support to or the people group we prayed for, etc. As he was asking us to pray for that particular place or group of people on our heart, I was thinking this:

"Hmmm. No Louie. I don't have a particular country/people group in mind. Dear God... Is it bad or unbiblical that I just like America so much??? It's not that I don't care about these other countries, there just isn't a particular one that I always think of or desire to visit. And not just like a visit for you Jesus... I don't even have a long-time dream of like visiting  Paris or Australia or anywhere for that matter for a vacation. Oh my gracious. Am I that awful, isolated American who only cares about Ah-murica?"

No. I don't think I'm awful. BUT I did realize in that moment that I didn't have a cross-cultural experience as a Christian. And largely because I had never really left America (unless you count a cruise or two and our vacation last year just across the border to Nova Scotia).

I began to realize that I should visit another country for Jesus. Um, hello, the Great Commission? ALL THE NATIONS.

"Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

                                                                                                 - Matthew 28:19-20

So, then what?

 

Even though I realized I should "go," I had no idea where to go.

I began to pray that God would give me a people or a place to go to this summer. Especially after I found out I wasn't working for my other job during the summer (there is a lot less to do for a collegiate ministry when college is out of session!).

I couldn't go on the Baptist Collegiate Ministry summer mission trips because I was no longer a student. My parents weren't thrilled with the idea of me (a little white girl inexperienced with travel abroad) taking off to India to fight human trafficking first hand which is what I was leaning towards.

BUT then, I ran into my good friend Larry at our state BCM conference where he was recruiting people for Samoa. Since this was not an official BCM trip, I could go. Plus, my parents were much more comfortable with me being halfway around the world with someone we had known for years and in a less hostile place than high-human-trafficking-locations.

All I needed then was my plane ticket, though that cost a pretty penny (or two, or like 200,000).

Although, I have heard that for mission trips if it is God's will, it's God's bill.

And what do ya know. In my case it was true:

I went to close down an old bank account that I thought was nearly empty but it had had money direct deposited into it. How much money? Oh, just within about 100 dollars of what I needed to buy my plane ticket. Yes, my accountant mother was horrified that I had not kept better track of my money BUT I had been operating without it in my budget so it was available for a plane ticket.

Boom. Done.

With the financial backing, I had nothing blocking me. After some prayer and a bit of planning, I committed to this mission trip.

And, now what? 

I leave in about a week!?!

I have to figure out how to pack for an entire month. Never had such a long trip.

I probably should hit our beach here to attempt to tan so I don't look like Casper among the Samoans ;)

I'll be praying and I ask for your prayers, especially for
   - Safe travels
   - Connection with my co-workers and the locals there
   - To be in tune with the Holy Spirit as I prepare and while I'm there
   - I'll probably have more specifics once I get there...

I'll try to send a post of life for the Southern Belle Feminist  in the deep deep south of the Pacific in the culture of Samoa :)