Impact & Expedition

By Shirley Brinkerhoff

im·pact (im-pakt) n. ABWE’s international ministry programs and cross-cultural training for college students.

ex·pe·di·tion (ek'spi-dish'en) n. ABWE’s missions program for teens.

The Message interviewed two students who have been involved in overseas ministry with ABWE.

Stan Helm, a senior at Harrisburg Christian School, has gone on five missions trips abroad. Over Christmas break, Stan traveled with Expedition to Thailand and India where he ministered in many ways, including instructing Thai nationals in conversational English. According to Rick Caynor, Expedition Coordinator, 75-80% of those in ABWE's Thai church plants became Christians through English classes.

Angela Shuff in Peru. Angela Shuff is a senior at Penn State Harrisburg and in the past has gone on an international missions trip with a group. In the summer of 2003, Angela worked with Impact to take her first missions trip alone to Peru. She hiked for a week through the Andes Mountains with "Andes Blanket," an outreach that carries the gospel where roads don't go. Angela then spent four weeks helping the Davidsons, missionaries who work with New Life Baptist Church, which is located in the shantytown of Manchay, on the outskirts of Lima. Angela spent her "spare time" tutoring at an orphanage near the Davidsons'.

Message: Prior to your first trip, what was your biggest fear?

Angela: That I'd be uncomfortable going alone, without a group of team members. I knew God could use me, but I had to be prepared that it would be in a less dramatic way than if I was with an organized group.

Stan: That the Lord would call me to be a missionary! I accepted Christ at 11, and felt God wanted me in the ministry, but until I went on my first missions trip at 15, I didn't want to give up my life. My other concern was the language barrier.

Message: Did your fears come true?

Angela: Greg and Sherry Davidson, the missionaries I worked with in Peru, took me in as their own daughter. I felt like one of the family, and therefore a part of their team.

Stan: While I was on that trip, I dedicated my life to the Lord. Now I'm really happy He's called me to missions - I can't wait to get to the field. As for the language barrier, the Lord worked it out and I was able to witness to the people using tracts and interpreters. And in Thailand, the people really want to learn English and are very open to speaking it.

Message: Would you summarize what you learned on your trip?

Angela: That it doesn't matter if we feel we have nothing to give, no special talents or abilities. If God has put a love in our heart for people and a burden for them, He will open doors. Missionaries aren't superhuman people, they are as normal as can be, just people who love Christ and take His commands seriously. I also learned that God used me in little ways: to encourage people, to bring smiles to the kids' faces, and to show the Peruvians the love of Christ through my own life.

Stan: That I'm called to be a full-time missionary, which has changed my life in every way. Also some character qualities, such as faithfulness and flexibility. On a missions trip, you learn to jump in anywhere you're needed. For example, I never wanted to speak in public, but I did it when I was on a trip, and I found out I loved it. And what I learn on the trips seems to carry over into my private life, too.

Message: Has your participation in missions trips changed your own spiritual life? Your involvement in church?

Angela: It broadened my scope of God's work and purpose in the world. It's easy to get so caught up in my own life that God's redemptive plan gets pushed far into the background. Contact with people who have never heard of Christ has spurred me to always regard my Savior as the most precious thing to me.

Stan: I learned that the Lord has called me to work with young people when I go to the field. At my home church in Harrisburg, PA, I now teach Junior Church and help in the TV ministry. I also give slide and PowerPoint presentations at two Christian schools in my area.

Message: How has short-term missions experience changed your understanding of different cultures?

Angela: This trip helped me understand how Latin American customs and ideals shape people. Peruvians have a different mindset and face different life issues than the average American; it's fascinating to tap into that and present the Gospel in a way that meets their specific needs and fears. Experiencing a different culture is eye-opening; it gets your eyes off yourself and your tiny bubble of influence at home and puts you right in the middle of something beautiful - a rainbow of people, languages, and customs - all with the same gaping whole in their heart that can only be filled by God. To join a different people group in praise and prayer is awesome. Christ transcends all boundaries.

Stan: In some places, people don't like Americans, especially tourists, who seem to have so much and appear to be proud. In countries where people have many possessions, they're not as willing to listen to the gospel. But in places where they don't have many material possessions, like Thailand and India , the people seem much more open, nicer, and easier to talk to. They are also more willing to listen to the gospel.

Message: Please talk about raising support, something many people fear.

Angela: I have a hard time asking for money - I don't like to be a burden. But my mom said something that changed my view of raising support: "If you don't ask people you are cheating them out of the opportunity for blessing that comes from being involved in God's work." Giving isn't just a blessing to the one who receives, but also for the giver.

Stan: Raising support hasn't been a problem. I send out prayer letters and people send in money all the time. Kids don't like to ask, but if you don't, you're taking away from their blessing.

Message: Have you found the time away from family/work/school to be worth the sacrifice?

Angela: Yes!!! Work and school don't even compare to all that I saw and experienced. Sure, I was broke for fall semester since I didn't work all summer, but God's taking care of me. I have a ton of memories, lessons learned, and great stories that are worth it all.

Stan: Yes. I've found out what I'm supposed to do with my life, and that the whole world needs Christ, not just people in America. And if we don't tell them, who will?

Read more about ABWE's AMP and IMPACT programs at www.abwe.org.