If you had asked me a year ago where I would be in September of 2016, I could have answered pretty confidently. I would have told you that I would be living in Fort Mill, SC with my wife Amy and youngest daughter Kip. I would have told you that I would be participating in my morning F3 workouts. I would have told you that I would be continuing to work as a DC manager at Kellogg’s. I would have described to you how most of my weeks or months look, not that I am predictable or that my life is mundane, yet I do seem to follow a schedule of sorts. I would not have anticipated that in September 2016, God would push me in ways that I had never imagined. It was not my plan to go to Colombia, South America on a mission trip but it was God’s plan so I went. When first approached about going on a short term mission trip, I did not immediately think it was for me. However, I quickly learned that God does not just call the equipped but He equips the called. After over a month of reflection, I feel ready to share with you all the details and learnings from my trip. I pray that this inspires at least one of you to try a short term mission trip for yourself.

To really understand my mission trip, we must unpack a few other items, and I must thank a few people who got me interested, and have encouraged me to get involved with a short term mission trip. My first thanks always goes to God, His hand guided me throughout this entire process. The second thank you is always to my M (Amy) who has been helping me figure things out for the last 29 wonderful years. My children have helped me understand a global perspective with their own mission and humanitarian work at home and abroad. I must acknowledge the men of F3 and Forest Hill Church in Fort Mill that have helped me understand a very simple motto of Know/Grow/Go for God. I must thank all of F3 because anyone who will talk to me knows for about the last 3.5 years my mission field is at 0515 each morning (except Sunday) and revolves around the men of F3. It has been fun work, and I have been recharged as a Christian man. I have so many F3 men I need to thank, but I am going to “call out” two specifically. Maximus who about 3 years ago meet with me to discuss a trip to Colombia, and I shut him down because my heart was just not ready. The other man is Funhouse who at a recent #F3Chicken&Wisdom spoke very frankly about how short term mission works, the good and the “real” detail that only men truly trying to be a #HIM (High Impact Man) understand that no nonsense style of communication. As you read the rest of this, we use a term in F3 called #BLUF (bottom line up front), and my #BLUF recommendation is to get involved in your Church, grow in your faith, and go grow God’s Kingdom. Here is how my story unfolded.

My team consisted of Matt (non-F3 & LifeGroup Director Forest Hill Church, Fort Mill, SC), Shane (non-F3 and a Navy Vet), my beautiful wife and I. The mission was simple- to teach the Church in Santa Marta, Colombia about LifeGroups/Small Groups. The details went so easy and I attribute that to Matt’s leadership and a group of people who truly believe that small groups will make a positive impact on most Christians lives. The idea that all people want to belong somewhere, and be able to call on friends in any situation, and that is where LifeGroups provide you with that Christian family.

God’s hand was obviously at work when the worries that would have kept Amy and I from fully focusing on our mission were easily sorted out. @F3ChuckWagon and Bailey (oldest daughter) volunteered to take care of Kip and Flea (The Dog). Matt built a great agenda with Jon Howard (who knows we are still “not there yet”, but still said he would try F3 #ABH) and Pastor Julio (who I never applied the F3 EH to) with a good mix of activities: speaking, service, fellowship, and even F3 in the mornings.

This trip is an answer to my daughter’s prayers. Kip (our youngest daughter, and not named after Napoleon Dynamite character) has prayed that Amy and I would find our way to Colombia for nearly two years now. The last two summers, Kip has had 2 very impactful trips to Colombia. She has seen God at work through short term mission work there. Kip has also developed the personal relationships that you only can build with repeated visits, and with the connection of today’s social media society. The Howard’s and Pinzon’s have stayed in constant contact with Kip over the last few years. Her heart has grown so big for Columbia that Amy and I could not resist the chance to check it out.

So let’s review our trip:

Day #1 Thursday= we left our house at 0350, meet up at Matt’s house and departed for the airport. Flights were easy and smooth- Charlotte to Miami and Miami to Barranquilla. The Howards, Rueben, and Eve met us at the airport. Rueben drove a shuttle van style taxi to get us to Santa Marta (about 2 hours in somewhat crazy traffic) lots of #mumblechatter along the way. This was first exposure to extreme poverty of Colombia. We arrived in Santa Marta which felt like a mix of Charleston and a city in transition with all the construction going on. I liked it, and we got introduced to everyone there. We attended a prayer meeting, and I shared my testimony and how Kip was correct in saying that “I need to see it” and we got to do a #BOM (Ball of Man) style prayer on #HIM (High Impact Man) Pastor Julio. The Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers, I love when the Broncos win, but hate it when @F3Skywalker misses a kick. This also gave me material to tease Jon about all week. GO BRONCOS!

Day #2 Friday= We had the opportunity to attend the Elders Meeting for The Church to align our goals for the workshop on Saturday. That evening we attended the Church’s Couples Fellowship Night at The Church and shared our testimony of LifeGroups and our personal experiences. It was a fun night and they grilled out meat and we had great fellowship, and Felipe (Pastor Julio’s 2nd oldest son) made a pact that he would be my translator for the remainder of the trip. Felipe made a huge impact this trip on The Team, but especially Amy and I. Felipe is a #HIM in the making, and has an amazing pastoral gift.

Day #3 Saturday= The day was focused on our LifeGroups workshop. Each person of our team did their part of the presentation to perfection. The Holy Spirit was at work through us. The training went very well and it was obvious that The Church was excited to get some small group activities started. Lunch was huge success with the workshop participants and Colombian’s eat huge portions for lunch and will eat hot soup even when it is extremely hot outside. What they describe as spicy is really not that hot. Our Team really supported each other throughout the presentations and we were exhausted when the night closed out.

Day#4 Sunday= Matt preached Sunday morning and did a wonderful job. He took The Great Commission and combined it with his love of LifeGroups and did a nice outline of next steps for the Church. We spent the evening doing 2 house visits. Our first stop, Pablo’s house is a perfect location for a LifeGroup and his wife has the gift of hospitality. She saw that we brought a car full of people and put together some delicious pizza. The second house was Eddie and his wife who are already doing evangelism out of their house, but have become exhausted supporting their community and will need a LifeGroup to share the burdens of supporting an area in need.

Day #5 Monday= Amy got to share her testimony with the Ladies Group of the Church. She did great and it has awesome to see my wife gain confidence in her public speaking, sharing her faith, and having fellowship with a group of woman who share the same struggles as women in the US. The ladies all wanted me to know how well she did, and how they appreciated her speaking at their meeting. Matt, Shane, Felipe, and I did a walking tour of Santa Marta. The highlight for me was twofold. The first being it rained in buckets (crazy amount of rain)… and as a coastal city the streets and sidewalks were just a rushing river to the ocean. The second was we got to attend the free “English as a Second Language Classes” (ESL) and play games and just had a great time (see video of me dancing on Facebook). It was great to see the classes sing Christian songs to learn English, and I made them all laugh with “hello, my name is David” jokes. I still have zero Spanish speaking skills, but people could figure out what I meant (I think?).

Day #6 Tuesday= This was our schedule “light” day. We spent the morning touring the city. The afternoon at The University Ministry called “Impacto”. The student ministry is just starting up, and my team enjoyed the fellowship and encouragement when we broke out into small groups. Our Team is going to try and help support this ministry with a small gift from our unused funds. Just like a university in the US, so many chances to serve young people while they are first away from their parents. Odd how when the students shared their testimonies they sounded just like US college students. Felipe, Pastor Julio, and I watched my beloved Celtic Team (yes, That Glasgow Soccer Team) play horrible against a very skilled Barcelona Squad…it was bad, so my only response is GO BRONCOS!

Day #7 Wednesday= Travel home and it did feel so good to be back

NM Moleskine:
• So I have to be clear, I personally never felt prepared to do this type of short term mission work, but like Kip told me “you have to see it for yourself” and now I feel that way about everyone who has any desire to go global. The first trip is always going to be the “scariest” but I encourage you to pray for The Lord to lead you where you are needed.
• Matt reminded Amy and I, that God “does not call the equipped, but equips the called” and now we can reference our trip as proof. While Amy and I both felt unworthy, we both felt very prepared to share our testimony, and how LifeGroups had made an impact on our lives.
• I was not prepared for public speaking and using a translator. The Lord knows my weakness and my desire to use more words when I get excited. I definitely appreciate having Felipe translate, and how encouraging the people of Colombia were to me. Still do not think my humor or sarcasm translated well, but I think scripture balanced everything out.
• This verse has been bouncing around in my head for weeks = 1 Peter 4:10 (ESV) “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” And really changed my heart how Amy, Matt, Shane, and I used our gifts for the good of HIS Kingdom.
• It was beautiful to see God working in the lives of my wife and my team. The opportunity to glorify God in Santa Marta, Colombia and it was fun to teach a subject that each of us had such a passion for because LifeGroups had made such in our lives. Amy and I sharing that we were saved through a LifeGroup after marriage was a very translatable story about evangelism.
• Poverty looks different than I expected. I think it makes me see that in United States we are actually poorer in the “important” stuff like marriage, family, parenting, and hospitality. We are weak because our culture equates “stuff” to success. Success looks very different in a place where you need less “junk” to be happy.
• Short-term missionaries need to tell the story of long-term missionaries. I was amazed to see the work that Pastor Julio and Jon have done in Santa Marta. They were both very diligent in introducing all of the other long-term missionaries, and their works to my team. It took me a few days being home to realize, and that we have an opportunity to enhance those missionaries through our prayers and support. Each one of them had a great story to tell.
• Serving others in a different country feels great to my heart. #TAP #ThatSOMEBODY #IamTHIRD
• Kip was right, we can build beautiful Christian friendships with people who the only thing we have in common is our LOVE of The Lord. Kip’s #VAPE (Vision, Articulation, Persuasion, and Exhortation) were present on our trip, even though she was not. She is already working our success story on our other children.
• #T-Claps to Matt for having #VISION and assembling a team that tried their very best to serve.
• #T-Claps to Forest Hill Fort Mill and South American Missions for supporting our trip.

Felipe would translate this for me “Thanks for reading this and taking the time to listen”
AYE!
CSPAN/David