The Heart of Missions
by Haleigh Ardoin
As Christians it is our mission to spread the Gospel to the entire world. The Bible is clear when it says in Matthew 28:19-20 to go and make disciples of all the nations. At SCSL we fight to create a culture that is saturated with love, honor, and a sense of family. As a family we are able to touch many people with the love of Christ. I truly believe we not only have a duty to spread the Gospel but it is our honor to do so as well. To see a smile on a child's face when he learns how much Jesus loves him, or to see the life being revived in the eyes of a woman who has been broken by this world when she hears of the sacrifice Christ made for her; this is why we do what we do, this is why we spread Gods love and His word. It is truly the most humbling experience to be used by God in ways you could not have even imagined. With this “mission,” in mind our SCSL family went to five different locations, two of which were stateside mission trips: Charleston, SC, and New Orleans, LA. The three overseas trips were: Liberia, Africa, Madrid, Spain and Panama City, Panama. On each trip the Lord worked in an abundance of extraordinary ways. He used each and every one of us in different ways, and our students opened up their hearts and lives to be used as vessels to carry and display the love of Christ all over the world. Each trip was unique in its own way, on our trip to New Orleans each person was able stepped out in boldness, from talking to strangers about the Lord to using the gifting’s the Lord has placed in their lives to further His kingdom. In Charleston our team learned what it meant to be flexible, although every day was a “go with the flow” kind of day this gave the Lord room to move in whatever ways He wanted to. On our trip to Liberia the one thing the team would use to describe it is ‘God is able’, and in the words of the African church, “He is able to do what no man can do”. Our Madrid team learned what it was like to understand the fathers heart which breaks for the lost and the love that was poured out on the cross. The Panama team had their eyes opened to Gods overwhelming love and His power to bring healing to brokenness in Panama. As I said before each team experienced God in ways different from one another but over all we all accomplished the mission - to spread the Gospel and the love of Christ. |
what they are saying
about Spain...
"I can speak for the whole team when I say the most impacting experience
from
Spain was partnering with “On the Red Box Ministry.” Learning that only 0.5% of Spaniard
are born-again Christians made it an even better experience in seeing countless people
come to Christ after standing on the Red Box sharing our testimonies and preaching the
gospel.
God is up to something monumental in Madrid, Spain and we are so honored
we go
to be a part of it for 10 days."
- Leah
about Panama...
"Now I’m usually not one that feels led to children’s ministry, but the Lord
truly
softened my heart for the children in Panama. We battled with spiritual oppression
and going
into the schools there was a spiritual shift. The more we loved and prayed
with the kids, the Holy Spirit took over and shifted the atmosphere. I can say for the
whole team that it was an honor to be a part of the healing process of the
kids.
Just goes to show when we are offensive in love, walls come down!!"
- Daniel
about Charleston...
"'Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be broken.' Charleston was a trip of
flexibility, patience and trust. There really are no words to express
the feeling
we all got when we handed a homeless man the first
meal that he
will eat in a
day or seeing the smiles on 12 little kids faces that just accepted Jesus into
their
hearts. Charleston truly affected our lives more than the people that we
came in contact with."
- Amanda
about New Orleans...
"Where to begin?! My missions trip to New Orleans was incredible. Driving in New Orleans,
I could feel the spiritual atmosphere shift because of the major oppression and so it made
the
city feel like a different country. As we ministered to youth, treasure hunted and led
worship in
the French Quarter, not only was the Holy Spirit moving in peoples lives but
our team
rose up to
a new level of boldness and authority. I really got to see the family
use their spiritual gifts
to impact the heart of New Orleans. Going into it I wanted
to impact them
but in return I was soo much more blessed."
- Kenny
about Liberia...
"Hey yall, I just said yall; I’ve been in South Carolina too long. Haha anyway, recently
I had the opportunity to
go to Liberia, Africa where our focal point was children’s ministry
. My favorite memory was being able to go to an orphanage where we felt the overwhelming loving
presence of the father and our 1st day there; every single kid gave their life to Jesus. Being
a nation
having gone through turmoil, they really do seek the Lord. I’m soo thankful
that I was able to go because it was a very impacting experience.
- Ryan
