ENGLAND – One of the greatest experiences of my life was when I went on my first mission trip. When I heard that my church was offering a mission trip that would take place in England, I jumped at the opportunity. I had always wanted to visit another country, and England was high on my list. I was slightly nervous at first, but having my Youth Pastor, Tucker Rayborn, who was coming on the trip, made everything easier. The people from my church who came with me were Tucker, Jordan, Josh, Violet, Gabe, and Brielle. When we were there, we were hosted by the Maine family of Stuart, Nicki, Sam, and Chloe.
It took three connecting flights, spanning 18 hours, to reach England. We left Florida, flew into New York, then the Netherlands, and finally landed in Newcastle. From there, we went to Sunderland, where we spent the majority of our trip. When we arrived, we were exhausted, having been up for over 24 hours. But our mission leader, Nicki, still wanted us to go on a prayer walk across all of Sunderland for 4 hours. That night we all slept well. When asked about the walk, Tucker said, “It’s embarrassing to admit, but I nearly fell asleep multiple times when we were praying.” Over the rest of the week, we devoted our time and energy to volunteering and spreading the Gospel. On Sunday, we all got up early to prepare the church and practice worship songs. That service, I was able to read three passages before the congregation on stage, and Brielle was able to lead us in prayer for the service.
On the weekdays, we all volunteered at two different schools all day. In the mornings, we would help at Northern Saints, where we would help with games and then give short messages and testimonies. Violet stated, “The kids here are so respectful and kind. They all wanted our autographs for some reason, as though we were celebrities.” In the afternoon, we would help at Southwick Community Primary, where we would do the same. When asked her favorite moment on the trip, Brielle said, “It was definitely at Southwick Community Primary, where this girl kept asking me really good questions about the Bible. When I eventually asked her if she wanted to give her life to Christ, she said yes.” While we were there, we had the opportunity to share the Gospel with hundreds of children and adults, and 17 people gave their lives to Christ. It goes to show that no matter where you are, there are always people who need to hear the Gospel.