Tales of a Curly Headed Dominican: The Team

This trip required TONS of preparation. With all the fundraisers, lesson planning, supply preparations, memorizing skits, and spiritual preparations, the mission team had a busy school year. And I quickly learned how important it is to have a good team who’s willing to work. God really blessed this trip with a wonderful team. I was truly struck by the great attitudes of each member. I never heard a single complaint or grumble. Everyone seemed to authentically enjoy serving in this way. During one fundraiser in particular, we had to load, unload, and spread a ton of pine straw under the hot sun. My entire body was aching by the end of it, and I was sweating out a river. I was actually thinking to myself, “Man, I can’t wait to be done with this.” But then I heard something. Was someone whining or even crying? No, believe it or not, it was someone laughing. Several people actually. The other team members were joking around, laughing, and ENJOYING the strenuous labor. Watching them have joy in the midst of pain really encouraged me and convicted me. It encouraged me to persevere, and it reminded me what and who we are doing this for. It’s not for ourselves and our own comfort and pleasure. It’s for the Lord, the giver of everlasting joy.

Another thing that God showed me during all the preparations is the importance of teamwork. During one of our regular meetings, we were discussing all the money we needed to raise and the work we had to do for the trip. And honestly, I felt kind of overwhelmed. How in the world were we supposed to do all that in a few months? But God showed me that with prayer and teamwork, great things can happen. During the yard sale fundraiser, we basically had a giant pile of stuff to sort through and organize for the yard sale. Seeing the amount of work there was, I figured we would be done organizing everything sometime in the next decade. But once all the team members, plus some volunteers, got busy sorting through it all, it was done in no time! There was no possible way someone could’ve done it on their own. In fact, none of the preparations could’ve been done by one person. But God didn’t intend for us to be on our own. And after each fundraiser was set up, God always provided more than enough funds to come through. And through that, God showed me that if we plant the fields, He’ll grow the crops.