SPIRE Summer 2019

vision mission

There’s Nothing Like BC Missions

When we were leaving Ecuador after our eight-day trip, we were warned of a few things: we would have reverse cultural-shock, realizing everything we take for granted; we would miss the kids and that would make it hard to readjust to our normal lives; and, most people we talked to about the trip wouldn’t understand the full capacity of all that we experienced. I can’t fully explain the blessing of the trip, but I can do my absolute best to give you the perspective we came away with. There’s nothing like kissing a one-year- old on the forehead, seeing him smile from ear to ear, and him putting his forehead against yours as he kisses you back on the forehead. There’s nothing like holding the hands of a boy who is almost entirely blind and jumps on a trampoline only on his knees trusting you enough to take his hands and guide him, seeing how he trusts you fully. There’s nothing like feeling complete joy when falling asleep, knowing that every ounce of your exhaustion created some of the best memories those kids have had. There’s nothing like holding a little girl with autism, not being able to speak her language well, but feeling an overwhelming assurance from the Lord that He is sowing more and more love into her heart day by day. There’s nothing like seeing the sleepy blinks of a toddler, watching him fall asleep in your arms, feeling his little arms lovingly wrap around you, and hearing the last sigh before he starts dreaming.

There’s nothing like seeing love and vulnerability and interdependence in another culture and realizing you’re there to learn as much as you are there to serve. There’s nothing like the sweetest glimpse into the love parents have for their children and the absolute blessing it is to be in relation with them. There’s nothing like knowing hundreds of people in the community came together to make this trip possible and knowing even more covered you in prayer the entire week. There’s nothing like sitting around a campfire and seeing a tiny bit of the greater understanding of why God redirected your paths to bring you to Bluefield College, realizing the genuine and humble hearts of those around you are molding you into a better version of love and that was God’s plan for you all along. There’s nothing like seeing sweet moments shared between the caretakers and the children and feeling overwhelmed at just how blessed you are to have wonderful parents who prayed over you, gave you the best childhood they could, loved you unconditionally every second of every day, and molded you into the person that has a heart to give that to other children who will experience the amazing love of God through different blessings.

There’s nothing like feeling complete joy when falling asleep, knowing that every ounce of your exhaustion created

some of the best memories those kids have had.

—Emily Carlisle

There’s simply nothing like BC Missions.

Story submitted by BC student marketing associate Emily Carlisle.

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