On the Houston mission trip, students and leaders gathered together to learn about and engage with some of the most difficult issues in the Houston area. Even in some dark places, we were able to see how God is continuously working in every place and every circumstance. By partnering with Youth With a Mission (YWAM), students joined local full-time missionaries in serving, evangelizing and praying for the Houston area.
One common story we heard upon returning from this trip was how many students had specific instances in which they saw their prayers being answered during the week. As a group, we prayed outside of Planned Parenthood, in the middle of downtown, in a parking lot in a neighborhood known for human trafficking, in a mall and in the medical district. From students praying specifically to see someone come to Christ to others praying that God would help their conversations and lead them to share the right bible verse with someone–God showed up. Prayers were answered and hearts were changed, both in the people of Houston and in our Grace Youth students.
God used this week to build amazing unity among the students on our team. In a group of 40 high school students, there is naturally much diversity. What was so amazing during this trip was seeing students build relationships with each other despite being in different grades, schools, teams or groups of close friends. As part of training prior to the trip, we encouraged students to pray for their unity as a team and to be aware and conscious of how they spoke and interacted with each other. Even at the end of a long and exhausting week, students were quick to continue to build each other up and to encourage the team to keep serving well.
A quote from one of the students:
“I am so glad I went on the Houston mission trip! I was very hesitant to go because I was just nervous. God definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone, and I have grown closer to Him because of it. Going around all of the homeless tents was very nerve wracking. I was nervous because I didn’t know what could happen, but when we went it honestly opened my eyes to how grateful these people were. I think about how much they don’t have, and they think about how much they do have. It was very refreshing and uplifting. God did so much in that one week!”