ANNIE IN ATLANTA: My Missions Trip!

   What an amazing 10 days in New York. God did a lot of things individually, and among the whole team. It was a blessing to be part of, and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to go!

   We arrived on Friday the 4th around 11pm, and just got settled in our host homes. I stayed with the Perry family, and I made some wonderful friends there. From Saturday to Friday we worked to restore the old church building that the Pastor had just been placed in. It was very old, and wasn't in the greatest condition when we got there. All 24 of us got to work, and we painted walls, cleaned out old classrooms, basements, storage closets, and everything else that goes along with that. Along with manual labour, we got to do their entire Sunday morning service. I got to help lead worship, and we shared a message about laying your burdens at the altar. I think the church really got something from it, and it was great to meet other Christians from a different area. The trip really helped me realize how blessed I am! The Tabernacle and the Rock are both incredibly blessed churches, and it's not like this everywhere. On Friday the 11th we had a worship night, and we had an intimate night of worshipping God. It was incredible, and you could totally sense that God was there with us. Along with that, we had a day in New York City! We got to shop, sightsee, and eat at an authentic Italian restaurant in Little Italy. On our way home, we stopped in Washington, DC to eat and sightsee. I've been to both NYC and DC, but I guess I wasn't old enough to appreciate it just yet. I loved the experience!

   The biggest thing I took away from this missions trip was how to put myself second. I have really been working on my selfishness, and this trip really helped me to serve. I even grew as far as not having a bad attitude when I was tired! It really is true; when you spend time with God, you are made like him. I had some amazing prayer times on this trip, and I think that had a lot to do with the change.

   I could go on and on about our missions trip, but this pictures should do it justice :) Thanks everyone for your prayers and support in helping me get to New York!