I couldn’t be more excited to share with you all, that I have been made responsible for mobilizing our upcoming ambassador trips. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because that is the type of trip that Jordan went on this last summer.
We’re hoping to send out three teams of high schoolers on Ambassador trips this year, one to Eswatini again, one to Guatemala, and one to our new location in South Texas on the border with Mexico.
I am excited for this opportunity for a variety of reasons.
First, for the opportunity to work directly with high schoolers who are longing for a deeper relationship with Christ. They are exactly why I am passionate about short-term mission trips. I personally saw how it affected me when I was that age, and I have seen how it affected the teens in our church last year.
Second, having been a parent to an ambassador last year, I am uniquely situated to counsel parents who are concerned about sending their children off to the ends of the earth. We all want our children to serve Jesus, but I think we all hope it will be in a secure, risk-free manner. But that is not the life that Jesus has called us to, and I believe that God has placed me here so that I can be an encouragement to parents who are struggling to let go.
Lastly, something that I have felt strongly about since I first started considering my involvement with Adventures in Missions, is training. Cesar and I had a long talk after my first Puerto Rico trip about ways that Adventures in Missions could improve their training. Progress has been, and is being made on that front. But the Ambassador trips are meant to be the next step, and therefore require a deeper level of training. I am excited to work with our lead mobilizer, and the rest of the team, to develop training that will prepare Ambassadors for a lifetime of serving Jesus, in whatever capacity He calls them to.
So, please pray for me as I guide these High Schoolers on their Ambassador journey, and counsel their parents in letting go. Pray for those who God is calling to an Ambassador trip, that they would be sensitive to His calling, and would boldly say, “Here I am, send me”. Pray for the parents of the Ambassadors. That they would recognize the call that God has placed on the lives of their children, and that they would entrust them to His care. And pray for the Adventures in Missions staff. As we prepare the training materials for these Ambassadors, that we will be sensitive to His leading, and that He will be our ultimate goal and purpose.
And last but not least, if you know a high-school-aged teen (14-18) that you think would be a good fit for this program, put them in touch with me and I would love to tell them all about it!