Crossroads Church

I dont really know where to start. The 11 days that i spent away from home, changed my life forever. I have never felt so much love in my entire life, and i have come back here with such a fire for the lord, that i just want to burn the whole town down with it :) Whenever i first heard that our youth group was going to be able to go on this mission trip, i was definitley STOKED! And the opportunity to be able to partner up with my seattle family, to share about jesus, made me even more excited. I had all of these expectations, about what the mission trip would be like, and about what i was going to do, but i'll tell you one thing...my expectations were the farthest thing from what really happened!

GOD BLESSED US SO MUCH! :)

Whenever we got to Ronan (the town we were staying in) i was first awestruck by the beauty of my surroundings. sometimes we get so wrapped up in our day to day lives, that we never even stop and look around us, and realize how beautiful the things around us are. I have never seen anything like what i saw in montana, it was truly breathtaking :)

The church we stayed at was called Ronan Alliance church, and i am so thankful for everyone there, they took such good care of us, and they accepted us like we were family! On the first sunday we were there, we attended church, and i had the pleasure of getting to talk to, and pray with these two elderly people (sadly i dont remember their names) but anyways, after i got done praying with this lady who i had just met, she hugged me, and said "i love you lindsey, thank you for what you're doing" when she said that i was just like..wow! i had just met this lady, and she already loves me, and is so nice to me! it really just made me feel awesome, and it reminded me of how i should live my life. I should be as accepting as these people were, because thats the way jesus is! he accepts you how you are, no matter what you have done, or where you have came from, and i am truly thankful for that.

I also feel like i should talk about the adams family. When we got to Ronan, we found out that we would be staying saturday and sunday night, in the house of the adams family. but here's the thing, they weren't home! this family left their awesome house to 18 strangers while they were out of town. i dont know about you, but i dont think i would be able to do that. Anyways, so eventually the family came home, and whenever we got to meet the mom, we all started to thank her, and she told us that "it isn't their house, it's gods house" .. wow, how true is that! i mean god has blessed all of us with so much, what makes us so selfish that we think we have to keep it for just ourselves? this family was soo incredibly gracious to us, in a way that i have never seen before. but it really opened my eyes, and i will forever be thankful for them!

Here are some things that god showed me through this mission trip:
-Always appreciate the small things!

- He really convicted me with this verse..."Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves." - Phillipians 2:3. it is so important to live this way everyday. because if the only reason your serving the lord, is to impress others, and your not doing it for the glory of god, then it doesnt matter.

-Honestly, this trip really opened my eyes to see how judgemental i can be sometimes, before i even know someone. I mean i think we are all guilty of seeing a certain person, and judging them, for how they act, or what they wear. how wrong is that though? what gives me the right to think that i am better than someone else? we are all god's children, god doesnt love me any MORE than he loves you. we are all equally loved by god, no matter how we look, what we do, or anything.

-This trip also re assured me about how important it is to be encouraging to one another. sometimes, just encouraging someone can turn their whole day around! its so important to build eachother up, instead of bringing eachother down, because words can be so hurtful, and you cant take them back!

- I also learned that i am fine just the way i am. i shouldnt ever compromise myself to match other people. (thanks amber) :D

And i just want to thank my mission team.you guys really made me feel loved, and accepted, and i will forever be thankful for that. I know that i can lean on yall, and that means alot to me! I was able to open up, and share what was on my heart, and thats important to me. I LOVE YALL SO MUCH! i think its awesome that even though most of you are thousands of miles away, i still feel like yall are my family :)

I went to ronan thinking that i was going to be able to bless someone elses life, but by the end of the trip, the people in ronan blessed my life more than they will ever ever know! i just want to encourage yall to stay strong, dont lose heart, and always remember what god did in our lives the week we spent in ronan, everyone there means so much to me, and my heart is just so full of joy for how much god blessed our team, and how big of a change i saw in that town, and in that church, and on our mission team, in just one week! GOD DOES AMAZING THINGS!

Also, ronan was filled with new experiences for me. which included, eating snake, bailing hay for the first time, and camping by the mountains, and staying in a tent, i also saw a bear, and ate fried bread, and a whole bunch of other things that i cant think of. but i wouldnt trade this for the world. i truly belive that god put us on the team we were on, and sent us to ronan, for a reason, and i am so thankful.

I cant even begin to explain how much i miss it though :) thank you to everyone who supported us!

Love Lindsey Merchant