Guatemala 2011 - Leader Reflections

Our 2011 JCS Mission Team is now on their way home and, from my perspective, it was a great success.  Spiritual writer, Henri Nouwen once said, "It is of great importance that we leave the world of measurements behind when we speak about the life of the Spirit."  So, I won't bother talking about things like the number of kids we worked with.  In fact, I don't even know.  But what I can talk about are the movements of the Spirit that became evident each evening as our group circled up to discuss the day.

During our final debrief session, I asked each participant to share a few sentences describing what they believed God was challenging them with this week.  As I listened I summarized those phrases and paragraphs into a list of words.  This list represents, in the most simple form, a list of things God is doing in the lives of these team members.  As I told the team last night, I don't believe these words represent only what God did on this trip, but rather, they represent a broader movement of God in their lives.  I challenged them to continue to ponder these words and to watch for ways that God may carry these themes on as they return to "normal" life.

So, here is the list:

Relationships
Perspective
Priorities
Gratitude
Contentment
Hospitality
Patience
Surrender
Trust
Stewardship
Listening
Seeking
Prayer
Journey

There is no real way to measure the outcome of this trip.  But with words like these emerging in the hearts of these students, I'm confident that this experience will forever be an important part of their journey.

Thanks to all who have been in prayer for this team, and for those who also helped make it possible.

Peace,
joe
Director of Short-Term Missions
Simply Missions