My time this summer with The Laborer’s Institute was incredible. When I first sent out prayer letters as I was preparing for the summer I said, “Ask anyone who has ever been on a short-term missions trip and they will tell you that every Christian should go on one if given the opportunity.” Now that I have been on a missions trip I can whole-heartedly agree. I wish that every one of you had the opportunity to do what I did this summer. The Laborer’s Institute is more than just a short-term missions trip though. It is intense training for those who want to be effective laborers in God’s Kingdom.

I can’t list or adequately describe all the things I learned and experienced over the summer. I’ll try to share as best I can some of the things that stick out the most in my mind. A phrase we often used to describe the first month was that is was like “trying to get a drink from a fire hydrant.” Every day KBM staff members and itinerant speakers fed us with information, insights, and challenges. Their teaching sparked changes in the way I worship and how I pray, I was instructed in the use of spiritual disciplines, and I was challenged to share Christ with others. We also spent time one-on-one with a mentor and grew in unity as a team by doing various team-building exercises throughout the month.

Originally our team was going to split into two groups for the second stage of the summer–one group going to Thailand and the other to India. Because of the conflict between India and Pakistan the decision was made for the whole team to go to Thailand. While we were there, God used my experiences to teach me about the power of prayer, the power of the gospel, and the significance of the soil in relation to the seed and the sower. We were reminded of Christ’s parable about the seed and the sower. The sower and the seed were the same in all cases, but the results were different because of the soil. The soil of the heart is generally very hard among the Southeast Asian people. The few missionaries who toil in that area do not see many conversions. In spite of this, God allowed us to build relationships with a number of people who were open to what we had to say about the gospel, and seven people got saved. We also had an opportunity while we were there to teach English in some of the schools.

The third stage of the summer we took everything we had learned and tried to pass it on to others during three weeks at various camps. The learning didn’t stop for us though. One of the most influential weeks of the summer was the second camp that we went to. Jeremy Kingsley, the KBM itinerant speaker for that week, presented campers and staff alike with some intense challenges. Many campers got saved that week, and many more re-committed their lives to Christ. One night that week we went street witnessing and I had the first-time experience of leading someone to the Lord.

Two of the biggest things I have brought home with me as a result of this summer are a deeper desire for holiness and a greater sense of urgency and responsibility for evangelism.

Thank you so much to those of you who supported me and prayed for me this summer. My life will never be the same, and you played a part in that. I wish I could sit down with each of you and tell you more stories, experiences, and things I learned. August 30 I will be sharing briefly during the evening service at Fellowship Missionary Church, and again at TNC on Sept. 5. I will also share at Westridge Baptist Church at a date and time yet to be determined.