WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.600 Today, you guys, today, we're going to talk about 00:00:03.600 --> 00:00:05.580 that exact thing, but through a different type 00:00:05.580 --> 00:00:08.039 of conversation. And I got to be honest with 00:00:08.039 --> 00:00:12.240 you, today, it feels like a huge risk. Today 00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:15.720 feels like this was an idea that entered my head, 00:00:15.740 --> 00:00:19.019 and it could be the worst idea ever. And if it 00:00:19.019 --> 00:00:22.980 is, just be kind. But I'm trusting that God's 00:00:22.980 --> 00:00:25.800 going to use what's going to happen to speak 00:00:25.800 --> 00:00:29.719 to you today, to inspire you today. That what 00:00:29.719 --> 00:00:33.740 you're looking at is a table and you're invited 00:00:33.740 --> 00:00:37.380 to the table. What I mean by that is this side 00:00:37.380 --> 00:00:40.159 is intentionally open and there's going to be 00:00:40.159 --> 00:00:42.140 a conversation that happens. And I want you to 00:00:42.140 --> 00:00:45.560 imagine that you got brought to the table today 00:00:45.560 --> 00:00:48.659 to experience the conversation we're going to 00:00:48.659 --> 00:00:51.340 have. But before we get there, I need to set 00:00:51.340 --> 00:00:55.759 it up for Luke chapter seven. And so if you've 00:00:55.759 --> 00:00:57.829 been with us, we've been looking at. gospel of 00:00:57.829 --> 00:00:59.509 Luke, the book of Luke throughout the summer, 00:00:59.570 --> 00:01:01.729 just going, okay, where, who is Jesus? Where 00:01:01.729 --> 00:01:04.430 do we see him? Uh, what is he like? So that we 00:01:04.430 --> 00:01:06.670 can just declare that's who you are, right? As 00:01:06.670 --> 00:01:09.189 our savior, as, as the person of the Godhead, 00:01:09.250 --> 00:01:12.049 this is, this is who you are. And in Luke seven, 00:01:12.189 --> 00:01:15.150 there's a moment in Jesus's life. Verse 36, where 00:01:15.150 --> 00:01:18.450 it says one of the Pharisees invited Jesus or 00:01:18.450 --> 00:01:21.090 religious person invites Jesus to have dinner 00:01:21.090 --> 00:01:24.150 with him. And he went to the Pharisee's house 00:01:24.150 --> 00:01:29.560 and reclined at The table. The first thing we 00:01:29.560 --> 00:01:33.019 see is that Jesus, who was always on mission, 00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:36.719 Jesus lived his entire life intentionally on 00:01:36.719 --> 00:01:38.459 mission. How do we know that? You go through 00:01:38.459 --> 00:01:40.980 the story of his life and over and over people 00:01:40.980 --> 00:01:42.599 are trying to get him to do stuff. And he goes, 00:01:42.680 --> 00:01:44.900 I'm not going to do that because I'm supposed 00:01:44.900 --> 00:01:47.620 to do this because this is where my mission is 00:01:47.620 --> 00:01:50.000 leading. I'm not going to go here, but I will 00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:53.000 go there. And then towards the end, they're like, 00:01:53.079 --> 00:01:54.840 don't go to Jerusalem. And he's like, I got to 00:01:54.840 --> 00:01:58.010 go. because it's my father's mission. And so 00:01:58.010 --> 00:02:00.390 what we see from Jesus is everything he did, 00:02:00.510 --> 00:02:04.629 he lived intentionally on mission. And in this 00:02:04.629 --> 00:02:08.090 context, the opportunity to live on mission comes 00:02:08.090 --> 00:02:10.050 in the form of a dinner request. Hey, would you 00:02:10.050 --> 00:02:12.789 come have dinner? And it says that Jesus went 00:02:12.789 --> 00:02:15.849 intentionally on mission and it says that he 00:02:15.849 --> 00:02:22.610 reclined at the table. Now, I don't know how 00:02:22.610 --> 00:02:25.460 you feel, but I know for me, When I'm on mission, 00:02:25.599 --> 00:02:27.520 I'm like, I got a task. I'm going to accomplish 00:02:27.520 --> 00:02:30.439 it, right? But the mission of God that we're 00:02:30.439 --> 00:02:32.219 intentionally supposed to live everywhere we're 00:02:32.219 --> 00:02:35.139 found sometimes takes us to a dinner table. And 00:02:35.139 --> 00:02:37.960 at that dinner table, we find Jesus reclined. 00:02:37.960 --> 00:02:40.500 Does that sound like somebody who is in a hurry 00:02:40.500 --> 00:02:45.939 to you? Jesus isn't in a hurry. The mission of 00:02:45.939 --> 00:02:50.960 Jesus wasn't lived at lightning speed. He's reclined 00:02:50.960 --> 00:02:54.280 at the table having a meal with a religious person. 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:59.020 And the invitation to be on mission, the opportunity 00:02:59.020 --> 00:03:01.919 comes in form of dinner. At that dinner, the 00:03:01.919 --> 00:03:05.620 next verse, verse 37 says, a woman in that town 00:03:05.620 --> 00:03:09.199 who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was 00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:11.819 eating at the Pharisee's house. So she came there 00:03:11.819 --> 00:03:15.300 with an alabaster jar of perfume. She stood behind 00:03:15.300 --> 00:03:19.580 him. at his feet weeping. She began to wet his 00:03:19.580 --> 00:03:23.020 feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with 00:03:23.020 --> 00:03:25.680 her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on 00:03:25.680 --> 00:03:29.460 them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw 00:03:29.460 --> 00:03:33.900 this, he said to himself, if this man were a 00:03:33.900 --> 00:03:36.740 prophet, he would know who was touching him and 00:03:36.740 --> 00:03:42.000 what kind of woman she is, that she is a sinner. 00:03:42.080 --> 00:03:45.090 So the two Two people that entered the dinner 00:03:45.090 --> 00:03:47.229 party where Jesus is intentionally on mission 00:03:47.229 --> 00:03:52.069 also have a mission of their own. The religious 00:03:52.069 --> 00:03:56.469 man, he's there and he's analyzing. He's looking 00:03:56.469 --> 00:03:59.490 at what is happening around and specifically 00:03:59.490 --> 00:04:02.210 at the person of Jesus, which tells me this. 00:04:02.250 --> 00:04:04.830 You can be on mission and you could have invited 00:04:04.830 --> 00:04:07.210 Jesus on the mission, but still missed the mission 00:04:07.210 --> 00:04:10.860 of Jesus. That sometimes we miss, we think we're 00:04:10.860 --> 00:04:13.740 doing things for God, when in reality we've completely 00:04:13.740 --> 00:04:16.459 missed what Jesus is doing in the moment. It 00:04:16.459 --> 00:04:18.579 requires that we have the intentionality to hear 00:04:18.579 --> 00:04:22.040 and to listen. But then also what happens is 00:04:22.040 --> 00:04:25.459 this woman enters the picture, and what we're 00:04:25.459 --> 00:04:28.110 told about this woman... is that she comes in 00:04:28.110 --> 00:04:32.209 on a mission and her mission is to honor Jesus. 00:04:32.310 --> 00:04:35.430 How do we know this? She comes in with this alabaster 00:04:35.430 --> 00:04:39.029 jar. She's there intentionally. She has intentionality 00:04:39.029 --> 00:04:41.689 to why she's entered the space. And it says that 00:04:41.689 --> 00:04:45.189 she's so overwhelmed that in this moment, how 00:04:45.189 --> 00:04:47.910 do we know she's so overwhelmed? She's crying 00:04:47.910 --> 00:04:51.709 and her tears are wetting the feet of Jesus. 00:04:52.939 --> 00:04:55.540 You have to be pretty overwhelmed to wet somebody's 00:04:55.540 --> 00:04:57.759 feet to the point that you can wipe them with 00:04:57.759 --> 00:05:01.139 your tears. Jesus has reclined, and in those 00:05:01.139 --> 00:05:02.899 days when you reclined at a table, your feet 00:05:02.899 --> 00:05:06.459 were away, hence how she could wet the feet of 00:05:06.459 --> 00:05:09.980 Jesus, so to speak. And it's in this moment, 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:12.199 in the intentionality of Jesus, that Jesus has 00:05:12.199 --> 00:05:17.100 the expectancy of life change. And the life change 00:05:17.100 --> 00:05:20.449 is the two people around him. The story continues 00:05:20.449 --> 00:05:23.470 and Jesus kind of calls out the Pharisee. He 00:05:23.470 --> 00:05:25.610 goes, hey, you think I'm not a prophet, but I 00:05:25.610 --> 00:05:28.329 actually know what you're thinking. And he goes, 00:05:28.410 --> 00:05:33.110 hey, what you're thinking, he goes, let me ask 00:05:33.110 --> 00:05:36.810 you a question. If somebody has been forgiven 00:05:36.810 --> 00:05:40.009 a large debt and somebody has been forgiven a 00:05:40.009 --> 00:05:43.430 small debt, which one loves more? Which one is 00:05:43.430 --> 00:05:46.389 more grateful? And then he goes on to portray 00:05:46.389 --> 00:05:48.589 what's happened, that since I entered your house, 00:05:48.689 --> 00:05:52.610 you have given me little hospitality. You haven't 00:05:52.610 --> 00:05:54.990 done the smallest of things, but this woman, 00:05:55.029 --> 00:05:58.550 since she got here, she hasn't stopped crying. 00:05:58.769 --> 00:06:01.769 She hasn't stopped wiping my feet, washing my 00:06:01.769 --> 00:06:07.350 feet. She anointed my feet. And a basic premise 00:06:07.350 --> 00:06:09.970 that he gets down to is this, that the one who 00:06:09.970 --> 00:06:13.290 has been forgiven much loves much. And the one 00:06:13.290 --> 00:06:16.269 that has been forgiven little loves little. But 00:06:16.269 --> 00:06:18.129 in this moment, Jesus has intentionality and 00:06:18.129 --> 00:06:20.069 he sees both of them. Guess what? The religious 00:06:20.069 --> 00:06:25.769 person gets called out and the sinful woman is 00:06:25.769 --> 00:06:29.649 forgiven. And in this moment, we have a picture. 00:06:29.709 --> 00:06:32.769 We have a picture of what it looks like when 00:06:32.769 --> 00:06:35.529 we live intentionally on mission, that we have 00:06:35.529 --> 00:06:39.930 an expectancy for life change. When was the last 00:06:39.930 --> 00:06:43.949 time? You did something mundane. You went somewhere 00:06:43.949 --> 00:06:48.089 in your life and you lived in such expectation 00:06:48.089 --> 00:06:51.209 that God was going to show up and God was going 00:06:51.209 --> 00:06:54.589 to do something and God was going to move. When 00:06:54.589 --> 00:06:56.529 was the last time you lived with such expectancy 00:06:56.529 --> 00:07:00.350 that in the moment that you were doing it, you 00:07:00.350 --> 00:07:02.850 could hear the voice of the spirit nudging you 00:07:02.850 --> 00:07:06.209 in a certain direction because you were so intentional 00:07:06.209 --> 00:07:11.699 being there that God was going to move. Today, 00:07:11.699 --> 00:07:13.920 we have the privilege of having people around 00:07:13.920 --> 00:07:15.519 the table that are going to have a conversation. 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:18.860 There are people that have chosen this summer 00:07:18.860 --> 00:07:24.100 to set aside 10 to 13 days of their summer, travel 00:07:24.100 --> 00:07:26.980 with our Heights family to different countries, 00:07:27.040 --> 00:07:31.040 and intentionally be on mission, set aside those 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:33.879 amount of days with recovery on the other side, 00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:37.379 and in expectancy, you're going to get to hear 00:07:37.980 --> 00:07:41.019 what it sounded like for them to walk with God 00:07:41.019 --> 00:07:44.620 intentionally on mission and see the lives that 00:07:44.620 --> 00:07:47.379 were changed. And so if you would, we have five 00:07:47.379 --> 00:07:49.699 people. Would you give them the warmest hand 00:07:49.699 --> 00:08:04.620 and welcome them up to the stage? By way of introduction, 00:08:04.819 --> 00:08:07.470 just so you're caught up on who's where. Sarah 00:08:07.470 --> 00:08:09.910 went to the Czech Republic. Caden went to the 00:08:09.910 --> 00:08:13.050 Dominican Republic. Sarah B. went to Dominican 00:08:13.050 --> 00:08:16.009 Republic. Greg went to the Czech Republic. And 00:08:16.009 --> 00:08:28.850 Pastor Ben went to Jordan. Hi, you guys. Hey. 00:08:28.990 --> 00:08:33.909 Hi. Welcome to the Czech Republic. Oh, no. I 00:08:33.909 --> 00:08:35.309 think I'm dead. We have some technical difficulties 00:08:35.309 --> 00:08:41.340 over here. Well, I'm just going to figure it 00:08:41.340 --> 00:08:45.580 out. I'm just going to get it started. So you 00:08:45.580 --> 00:08:49.620 all took time. And I think it's important to 00:08:49.620 --> 00:08:53.659 recognize what the conversation is about. You 00:08:53.659 --> 00:08:57.100 all took time, paused your life, intentionally 00:08:57.100 --> 00:09:02.399 stepped out on mission with Jesus in that. you 00:09:02.399 --> 00:09:04.600 all went with expectancy to different countries, 00:09:04.720 --> 00:09:07.039 different people, different time, different place, 00:09:07.179 --> 00:09:11.600 and specifically for the trip. So I guess we'll 00:09:11.600 --> 00:09:14.740 just start there. How was the trip that you took? 00:09:14.860 --> 00:09:20.860 What was it like? The trip was awesome. This 00:09:20.860 --> 00:09:25.240 is my second time to Czech Republic, and I had 00:09:25.240 --> 00:09:28.240 such a good time there, and I met so many people 00:09:28.240 --> 00:09:33.279 and made so many good relationships. That's awesome. 00:09:33.379 --> 00:09:36.720 I love the Czech Republic. You were sharing earlier 00:09:36.720 --> 00:09:40.299 that this is your second time going. Yeah. And 00:09:40.299 --> 00:09:42.179 so it made the trip a little bit better for you, 00:09:42.220 --> 00:09:46.740 right? It definitely did. I got the chance to 00:09:46.740 --> 00:09:51.059 teach English and to teach Bible to people who 00:09:51.059 --> 00:09:54.320 are non -believers at this camp. I would say 00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:59.460 80 % were non -believers. That's awesome. Yeah, 00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:02.980 so Caden and I went to the Dominican. It was 00:10:02.980 --> 00:10:06.799 awesome. We landed, and then we jumped in a pool. 00:10:06.899 --> 00:10:08.919 Yeah, we did. Because this was our youth group, 00:10:08.960 --> 00:10:12.259 so we're alive at 1230 at night. It's great. 00:10:12.600 --> 00:10:15.019 And then we wake up super early the next day 00:10:15.019 --> 00:10:17.279 to do baseball camp. Oh, yeah, we ran a baseball 00:10:17.279 --> 00:10:21.919 camp with about 200 students, 200 players. It 00:10:21.919 --> 00:10:25.539 was incredible. One of my friends who went, she 00:10:25.539 --> 00:10:28.539 has a very good, she has a testimony around athletics 00:10:28.539 --> 00:10:31.559 and sports is a big part. So she was able to 00:10:31.559 --> 00:10:33.799 share her testimony with all of them and it really 00:10:33.799 --> 00:10:36.360 impacted them because it's just very relatable 00:10:36.360 --> 00:10:39.340 to them too. Yeah, so our trip was a lot of, 00:10:39.399 --> 00:10:42.379 we spent a lot of time with, we did a lot of 00:10:42.379 --> 00:10:45.539 baseball clinic stuff. We went and visited communities. 00:10:45.840 --> 00:10:48.100 We did food distributions. We prayed with people. 00:10:48.980 --> 00:10:52.149 We played a lot with littles. which was fun and 00:10:52.149 --> 00:10:55.669 surprising. And then we did youth camp at the 00:10:55.669 --> 00:10:58.850 end of our week, which was so fun. Something 00:10:58.850 --> 00:11:01.289 about our youth group is we do camp well, right? 00:11:01.470 --> 00:11:04.549 Oh, yeah. And we got to bring a little bit of 00:11:04.549 --> 00:11:07.590 home there and just have fun. What brings on 00:11:07.590 --> 00:11:10.549 a baseball camp on a missions trip? How do we 00:11:10.549 --> 00:11:14.909 get there? The bald eagle. The bald eagle taught. 00:11:16.200 --> 00:11:19.220 Most of our team who are not baseball coaches, 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:22.379 we all became professional baseball coaches for 00:11:22.379 --> 00:11:27.019 this week. Even some of our unathletic students, 00:11:27.200 --> 00:11:30.019 people, they were incredible. So baseball is 00:11:30.019 --> 00:11:32.259 a really big thing, apparently, in the Dominican 00:11:32.259 --> 00:11:36.720 Republic. Absolutely. And Todd played baseball 00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:39.379 back in his day. Long, long time ago. Long time 00:11:39.379 --> 00:11:43.419 ago, back in his day. When he had hair. When 00:11:43.419 --> 00:11:45.559 he had hair. And so they asked like, could you 00:11:45.559 --> 00:11:47.500 put on this baseball clinic? And he was like, 00:11:47.559 --> 00:11:50.360 of course we can do it. And he had all of us 00:11:50.360 --> 00:11:54.100 run different stations. And we, some of us were 00:11:54.100 --> 00:11:56.779 qualified. Some of us were not. But what does 00:11:56.779 --> 00:11:58.779 God say? What does it say in the Bible about 00:11:58.779 --> 00:12:01.340 like the qualified? Like God equips the people 00:12:01.340 --> 00:12:03.690 or something like that? That is what happened 00:12:03.690 --> 00:12:05.529 that day. Is that how that verse reads? Yeah, 00:12:05.529 --> 00:12:07.149 I don't know, something like that. I like how 00:12:07.149 --> 00:12:11.009 you're looking at me to get you a verse. I appreciate 00:12:11.009 --> 00:12:13.649 that. So you played baseball and basketball, 00:12:13.750 --> 00:12:16.269 didn't you, at our camp? Yes, we had our own 00:12:16.269 --> 00:12:20.710 little baseball day. I was the one that taught 00:12:20.710 --> 00:12:25.809 it with my friend Noah, and it was a lot of fun. 00:12:25.929 --> 00:12:30.169 They really enjoyed it and loved it, and none 00:12:30.169 --> 00:12:33.309 of them really... had any idea what baseball 00:12:33.309 --> 00:12:36.629 was so it was very fun to really teach them what 00:12:36.629 --> 00:12:42.330 why baseball is such a big deal in america it's 00:12:42.330 --> 00:12:45.230 a big deal it's a big deal apparently now greg 00:12:45.230 --> 00:12:48.009 is it true that when you're teaching english 00:12:48.009 --> 00:12:51.350 one of the classes you taught you taught slang 00:12:51.350 --> 00:12:58.330 for gen z yes Walk me through some of that. What 00:12:58.330 --> 00:13:01.169 are some of those words? We taught Gen Z slang 00:13:01.169 --> 00:13:05.669 to people who were advanced English speakers. 00:13:05.710 --> 00:13:10.909 You taught it. I taught it, yeah. But I have 00:13:10.909 --> 00:13:14.190 a 10 -year -old grandson who lives Gen Z slang, 00:13:14.470 --> 00:13:18.190 and so he taught me a lot about it before I went. 00:13:18.350 --> 00:13:23.289 What are some of the words? Oh, sus. Cooking. 00:13:23.850 --> 00:13:28.059 Cooking. What were some of the others? He said, 00:13:28.080 --> 00:13:33.720 DeLulu. DeLulu. I don't know that one. You don't 00:13:33.720 --> 00:13:35.279 know that one? Use that one in a sentence. Yeah, 00:13:35.279 --> 00:13:39.899 use DeLulu in a sentence for me. I would be DeLulu 00:13:39.899 --> 00:13:44.399 if I said, I'm going to be the president of Mars. 00:13:44.740 --> 00:13:47.960 Okay. All right. I'm caught up on Gen Z slang. 00:13:48.840 --> 00:13:52.620 Yeah, I think one of the things about our trip 00:13:52.620 --> 00:13:56.100 to Jordan that's a little different is, So often, 00:13:56.179 --> 00:13:57.620 like on a mission trip, you're going to build 00:13:57.620 --> 00:13:59.980 something. You're going to accomplish a camp 00:13:59.980 --> 00:14:03.120 or run a camp. And I feel like our main goal 00:14:03.120 --> 00:14:07.320 there is to really love the team that is there, 00:14:07.440 --> 00:14:10.559 that is boots on the ground. They'll experience 00:14:10.559 --> 00:14:14.419 something called compassion fatigue because their 00:14:14.419 --> 00:14:18.340 job in loving the refugees is really they're 00:14:18.340 --> 00:14:21.720 loving the... The people on the outskirts, the 00:14:21.720 --> 00:14:24.919 ones that are marginalized. I say Jamel loves 00:14:24.919 --> 00:14:28.159 the unseen. And so you're just hearing story 00:14:28.159 --> 00:14:32.279 after story of these families that are in these 00:14:32.279 --> 00:14:34.860 war -torn countries and all they're trying to 00:14:34.860 --> 00:14:37.080 do is escape it. All they're trying to do is 00:14:37.080 --> 00:14:39.399 get their kids, their cousins, their spouses 00:14:39.399 --> 00:14:42.799 out of these areas that are so dangerous and 00:14:42.799 --> 00:14:45.539 move to a country that's safer. And so we're 00:14:45.539 --> 00:14:48.299 there really to just bolster them and love on 00:14:48.299 --> 00:14:50.860 them and encourage. them and let them know we're 00:14:50.860 --> 00:14:53.240 not only like financially committed to you we're 00:14:53.240 --> 00:14:55.940 also relationally committed to you and we get 00:14:55.940 --> 00:14:58.860 to do house visits and visit Yemen and Iraqi 00:14:58.860 --> 00:15:02.539 refugees and Syrian refugees and we go visit 00:15:02.539 --> 00:15:06.980 a Syrian camp with like 200 to 400 relative like 00:15:06.980 --> 00:15:09.830 families that are all related And you just, man, 00:15:09.929 --> 00:15:11.509 you just, they're just people. They're people 00:15:11.509 --> 00:15:13.850 that are trying to navigate life and trying to 00:15:13.850 --> 00:15:16.129 have their families in the safest place they 00:15:16.129 --> 00:15:18.309 can and to try to figure out how to support them 00:15:18.309 --> 00:15:21.049 and love them. And I just, I love, love going 00:15:21.049 --> 00:15:25.049 to Jordan every year. The Czech Republic was 00:15:25.049 --> 00:15:28.330 under foreign domination for about 300 years. 00:15:28.750 --> 00:15:32.450 And so the people have been downtrodden and told 00:15:32.450 --> 00:15:36.950 what religion they're going to have. Originally 00:15:36.950 --> 00:15:39.009 it was Catholic, and then it became something 00:15:39.009 --> 00:15:40.990 else when Germany was there, and then something 00:15:40.990 --> 00:15:45.769 else when Russia was there. And so the local 00:15:45.769 --> 00:15:50.490 church in Olomos is so happy to have us Americans 00:15:50.490 --> 00:15:54.429 come over there, you know, to bolster that, you 00:15:54.429 --> 00:15:59.169 know, in an area where most people are atheists 00:15:59.169 --> 00:16:03.350 or nonbelievers, at the very least. I think a 00:16:03.350 --> 00:16:06.419 commonality that we have is, I mean, in the Jordan 00:16:06.419 --> 00:16:09.480 and in Czech and in the Dominican, the hospitality 00:16:09.480 --> 00:16:15.139 that you receive as a guest is incredible. They're 00:16:15.139 --> 00:16:19.419 so gracious. They're so kind. They just welcome 00:16:19.419 --> 00:16:23.379 you. Maybe in Czech, it may not feel like that 00:16:23.379 --> 00:16:25.019 because they're kind of serious people, right? 00:16:25.399 --> 00:16:28.379 But when you make it in, they're like, oh my 00:16:28.379 --> 00:16:32.070 goodness, we're so glad you're here. these three 00:16:32.070 --> 00:16:34.470 trips, like, that's a common thread is the hospitality. 00:16:34.490 --> 00:16:37.909 They're so excited when we show up and we're 00:16:37.909 --> 00:16:39.730 there for the week or however long we're there 00:16:39.730 --> 00:16:42.590 for. Yeah, the hospitality over there is you're 00:16:42.590 --> 00:16:45.470 taught not to compliment something like, oh, 00:16:45.490 --> 00:16:47.230 I really like your scarf because their culture 00:16:47.230 --> 00:16:48.730 will give it to you. They'll give it to you. 00:16:48.769 --> 00:16:50.350 Yeah, so they're like, hey, you gotta be real 00:16:50.350 --> 00:16:52.830 careful what you compliment. I love your scarf. 00:16:52.929 --> 00:16:56.549 Oh, here, take it. Yeah. In the Dominican, the 00:16:56.549 --> 00:16:58.309 hospitality there, they, like, we were there 00:16:58.309 --> 00:17:01.539 for the 4th of July week and they, threw us a 00:17:01.539 --> 00:17:04.880 party for American, like they made us this whole 00:17:04.880 --> 00:17:07.799 banner and they made us hot dogs and they were 00:17:07.799 --> 00:17:09.759 better hot dogs than I think they were here. 00:17:09.900 --> 00:17:12.119 Sarah doesn't agree, but she doesn't know what 00:17:12.119 --> 00:17:15.660 hot dogs taste like. Um, but anyway, it was just, 00:17:15.700 --> 00:17:17.359 it was amazing. It was, it was really cool. And 00:17:17.359 --> 00:17:19.039 they had this whole banner and they made this 00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:21.200 whole banner and we had a whole, a big old party. 00:17:21.339 --> 00:17:24.140 We heard when they found out we were coming, 00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:27.619 they were fighting. to be on the same week as 00:17:27.619 --> 00:17:29.220 us because they have a lot of missions teams 00:17:29.220 --> 00:17:31.039 that come throughout the summer and they were 00:17:31.039 --> 00:17:33.460 fighting to be with Heights Church. They're like, 00:17:33.500 --> 00:17:35.200 we want to be with them. They're amazing. And 00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:37.680 we're like, oh, that's so nice. We're silly and 00:17:37.680 --> 00:17:40.420 goofy, but okay. Again, it sounds like relationships. 00:17:40.619 --> 00:17:43.140 I know for all of you, you've been on the trip 00:17:43.140 --> 00:17:46.579 twice and it sounds like relationships were enhanced 00:17:46.579 --> 00:17:50.440 all the way around. How'd you experience from 00:17:50.440 --> 00:17:54.309 just being in the check? And seeing people again, 00:17:54.450 --> 00:17:57.289 how were those relationships? Yeah, so I went 00:17:57.289 --> 00:18:00.789 last year and again this year. So going back 00:18:00.789 --> 00:18:03.390 this year, all of them were so excited to see 00:18:03.390 --> 00:18:08.170 me. And I got the biggest hugs. And I even had 00:18:08.170 --> 00:18:12.750 a Czech mom adopt me as her daughter. So that 00:18:12.750 --> 00:18:15.430 was really fun and very sweet. Which mom was 00:18:15.430 --> 00:18:21.380 that? Gabby. Oh, Gabby. Yeah. Her son was not 00:18:21.380 --> 00:18:24.819 so excited to have me as a sister, though. Surprise! 00:18:27.119 --> 00:18:30.900 So that was, it was just so wholesome to go back 00:18:30.900 --> 00:18:35.259 and just see their faces lighten up when they 00:18:35.259 --> 00:18:40.019 see all of these familiar faces. Yeah, I think 00:18:40.019 --> 00:18:43.299 one of the things that's really wild is we go 00:18:43.299 --> 00:18:46.710 for 10 days or 13 days. you're talking out of 00:18:46.710 --> 00:18:51.829 365 days a year and the impact it has on not 00:18:51.829 --> 00:18:54.190 only them, but also I think us as individuals 00:18:54.190 --> 00:18:57.890 that I'm just, I had a riot who's a Jamel's right 00:18:57.890 --> 00:19:01.009 -hand man. And he like pulls me to the side halfway 00:19:01.009 --> 00:19:02.930 through the trip. And he's like, I just want 00:19:02.930 --> 00:19:05.230 you to know, like, I consider you a genuine. 00:19:05.930 --> 00:19:08.069 close friend of mine. And I was like, man, I 00:19:08.069 --> 00:19:10.170 feel the exact same way. I didn't want to be 00:19:10.170 --> 00:19:12.730 a weirdo and say it and you not say it back to 00:19:12.730 --> 00:19:15.910 me. So, but you like feel this connection because 00:19:15.910 --> 00:19:19.890 I think you both have something united and the 00:19:19.890 --> 00:19:22.490 creator of life. And so even though it's just 00:19:22.490 --> 00:19:25.730 10 days or 13 days a year, like man, there is 00:19:25.730 --> 00:19:28.589 a bond that is made with brothers and sisters 00:19:28.589 --> 00:19:31.309 in Christ. That's really kind of hard to explain 00:19:31.309 --> 00:19:33.109 to people. You wouldn't think it would be that 00:19:33.109 --> 00:19:35.910 impactful, but it is. I think that's the joyful 00:19:35.910 --> 00:19:39.569 part for me going out and visiting like our global 00:19:39.569 --> 00:19:43.309 partners is they're there all the time. Like 00:19:43.309 --> 00:19:45.609 that is their world. That is their landscape. 00:19:45.710 --> 00:19:49.390 That is their mission field. And we get to go 00:19:49.390 --> 00:19:51.990 and carry the burden with them for a week. And 00:19:51.990 --> 00:19:55.750 I think for them, like the gratitude, like just 00:19:55.750 --> 00:19:59.609 talking to Jamal about that when I went to go 00:19:59.609 --> 00:20:02.190 visit Jordan, like that is impactful for them. 00:20:02.250 --> 00:20:05.029 But it's such a sweet thing where you, Like what 00:20:05.029 --> 00:20:09.309 an honor to go and do that with family all the 00:20:09.309 --> 00:20:12.150 way across the world. What is it? I'm curious. 00:20:12.630 --> 00:20:15.569 So you go intentionally on mission, you set the 00:20:15.569 --> 00:20:18.690 time aside, but you've all done that before and 00:20:18.690 --> 00:20:20.789 you've returned to spaces where you've been. 00:20:21.089 --> 00:20:22.950 So like the first time you go, everything's a 00:20:22.950 --> 00:20:25.390 brand new, right? Like everything's a shock. 00:20:25.589 --> 00:20:28.950 Everything's kind of maybe glossier than it actually 00:20:28.950 --> 00:20:33.930 is. But what, so this time going back, How were 00:20:33.930 --> 00:20:36.470 you surprised? Maybe Greg, I've heard you share 00:20:36.470 --> 00:20:39.190 some stuff that surprised you. What does that 00:20:39.190 --> 00:20:43.490 look like? Well, I was just embraced by the people, 00:20:43.609 --> 00:20:46.809 especially the local church. They're so happy 00:20:46.809 --> 00:20:50.549 to see us come back. And they treat you like 00:20:50.549 --> 00:20:54.529 you live next door. I mean, they're just brothers 00:20:54.529 --> 00:20:59.450 and sisters. And I had the opportunity to give 00:20:59.450 --> 00:21:05.720 my testimony on a Monday night. After that, even 00:21:05.720 --> 00:21:09.819 little kids would come up to me. And I'm not 00:21:09.819 --> 00:21:13.579 a little kid anymore. But you teach the slang, 00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:18.619 you know? You speak the language, though, apparently. 00:21:18.900 --> 00:21:24.359 Oh, I speak Czech fluently. I learned a few words. 00:21:24.500 --> 00:21:28.180 And they loved to have fun. And they did skit 00:21:28.180 --> 00:21:32.490 night. And so each class... did a skit and so 00:21:32.490 --> 00:21:36.329 we had a little check a lot of english and made 00:21:36.329 --> 00:21:40.829 up a story and used ai to come up with stories 00:21:40.829 --> 00:21:46.269 and and um the checks really get into this when 00:21:46.269 --> 00:21:50.390 they start planning a skit i just sit back and 00:21:50.390 --> 00:21:55.269 let them plan you know and it comes out really 00:21:55.269 --> 00:21:59.930 well it's just fun yeah and just to be clear 00:22:01.009 --> 00:22:06.910 16? Oh, yeah. 81. Yes. Covers the whole spectrum. 00:22:07.250 --> 00:22:09.289 Covers the whole spectrum. And I love that you 00:22:09.289 --> 00:22:12.289 can be surprised at 81 and at 16. What did you 00:22:12.289 --> 00:22:15.990 experience? Yeah, there was a very specific encounter 00:22:15.990 --> 00:22:18.089 that I had personally. I mean, our whole team, 00:22:18.150 --> 00:22:19.930 it was just like every debrief that we had, it 00:22:19.930 --> 00:22:21.690 was like, oh, this happened with the Holy Spirit. 00:22:21.789 --> 00:22:23.849 The Holy Spirit told me this. I saw this happening. 00:22:24.170 --> 00:22:28.349 But one specific house visit that we went to, 00:22:28.470 --> 00:22:31.240 we delivered food. And it was this beautiful 00:22:31.240 --> 00:22:33.960 house with all these flowers over it. I think 00:22:33.960 --> 00:22:36.619 we have a picture of it somewhere. But so we 00:22:36.619 --> 00:22:38.859 like walk into the house and there's this lady 00:22:38.859 --> 00:22:41.160 on the porch that we all kind of just walked 00:22:41.160 --> 00:22:43.519 by. And we were just like going into the house. 00:22:43.559 --> 00:22:44.900 We delivered food and they were like, hey, the 00:22:44.900 --> 00:22:46.400 person we want you to pray for is actually that 00:22:46.400 --> 00:22:50.500 lady out on the porch. And so we go out there 00:22:50.500 --> 00:22:53.099 and she had abnormally with like her gum and 00:22:53.099 --> 00:22:55.859 her teeth were like out of her mouth almost. 00:22:56.339 --> 00:23:02.619 So it was really sad. for her and the words that 00:23:02.619 --> 00:23:06.420 I spoke weren't my own words like it was God 00:23:06.420 --> 00:23:08.259 just speaking through me and I was like I don't 00:23:08.259 --> 00:23:11.700 even know what I'm saying and I ended up calling 00:23:11.700 --> 00:23:14.759 her beautiful and this is like how God made her 00:23:14.759 --> 00:23:17.359 this is how God wants her to look yeah that definitely 00:23:17.359 --> 00:23:20.380 was a moment where the whole team's around we 00:23:20.380 --> 00:23:22.559 you know we're outside huddled together because 00:23:22.559 --> 00:23:26.190 it's raining and which is intentional because 00:23:26.190 --> 00:23:27.950 it's raining. And if we were standing further 00:23:27.950 --> 00:23:30.630 away, we wouldn't have heard Caden, but we're 00:23:30.630 --> 00:23:32.789 leaning in and he's praying these words. And 00:23:32.789 --> 00:23:35.190 it's just a very distinct moment where it's like 00:23:35.190 --> 00:23:38.829 this, like the spirit is here. Like the spirit 00:23:38.829 --> 00:23:41.950 is talking through Caden and this is amazing. 00:23:42.029 --> 00:23:44.569 Like where, when will she hear these words again? 00:23:45.069 --> 00:23:47.470 Or when will these words be spoken over her? 00:23:47.549 --> 00:23:52.190 Like it was just beautiful and very evident that 00:23:52.190 --> 00:23:54.240 it was just the Holy Spirit working. It was incredible. 00:23:57.759 --> 00:24:01.519 Ben, it reminds me of praying for people and 00:24:01.519 --> 00:24:03.299 what that looks like and the experience you had. 00:24:03.579 --> 00:24:06.859 Yeah, absolutely. I think two experiences that 00:24:06.859 --> 00:24:10.380 just really stood out was one, visiting. We visited 00:24:10.380 --> 00:24:13.480 an Iraqi church and a Jordanian church. And you 00:24:13.480 --> 00:24:15.539 can't understand anything they're saying. It's 00:24:15.539 --> 00:24:18.180 all in Arabic. The writing for the verses is 00:24:18.180 --> 00:24:22.160 in Arabic. But the whole team could sense the 00:24:22.160 --> 00:24:26.200 presence of God. And it was a moment of like, 00:24:26.279 --> 00:24:29.720 oh man, we're one body. Like this is one group 00:24:29.720 --> 00:24:33.140 of believers that believe in this one God. And 00:24:33.140 --> 00:24:36.240 that from a team perspective was something we 00:24:36.240 --> 00:24:39.359 all felt at both church services and it was palpable. 00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:42.440 The other one was we break off into teams and 00:24:42.440 --> 00:24:44.960 do house visits and you have an interpreter go 00:24:44.960 --> 00:24:47.930 with you. A team that went to a young lady's 00:24:47.930 --> 00:24:50.750 house and had a child had been waiting on her 00:24:50.750 --> 00:24:54.609 visa for eight years. And her whole family was 00:24:54.609 --> 00:24:58.269 in Australia. So for eight years, she was separated 00:24:58.269 --> 00:25:01.509 from her family. For eight years, it was illegal 00:25:01.509 --> 00:25:04.150 for her to work, which is a law in Jordan for 00:25:04.150 --> 00:25:08.029 refugees. For eight years, she had no hope. And 00:25:08.029 --> 00:25:11.910 this was the first visit from RCN. So in a country 00:25:11.910 --> 00:25:16.009 of less than 2 % Christians, This would have 00:25:16.009 --> 00:25:18.609 been more than likely her very first encounter 00:25:18.609 --> 00:25:22.190 with any believers ever. And they prayed for 00:25:22.190 --> 00:25:26.250 her to receive her visa. And three hours after 00:25:26.250 --> 00:25:30.369 the team left, she called RCN and said, I just 00:25:30.369 --> 00:25:39.950 received my visa. And even talking about it now 00:25:39.950 --> 00:25:43.529 gives me chill bumps. And it's just such a testament 00:25:43.529 --> 00:25:48.410 like who God is that she got to experience the 00:25:48.410 --> 00:25:52.289 true God and the power of prayer for those that 00:25:52.289 --> 00:25:55.130 follow Jesus Christ. And I found a softening 00:25:55.130 --> 00:25:59.809 of hearts of non -believers in check. One fellow 00:25:59.809 --> 00:26:04.089 in my class said, in looking at you, it seems 00:26:04.089 --> 00:26:07.549 like you live your Christian life, which chokes 00:26:07.549 --> 00:26:11.269 me up to even hear that. And he said, This family 00:26:11.269 --> 00:26:14.910 camp is a little like what I expect heaven to 00:26:14.910 --> 00:26:17.049 be. Oh, like a little piece of heaven. Yeah. 00:26:17.049 --> 00:26:18.789 Oh, wow. That's beautiful. That's a compliment. 00:26:19.690 --> 00:26:23.529 That is so sweet. You looked like you were going 00:26:23.529 --> 00:26:25.670 to say something. I got a little teary -eyed 00:26:25.670 --> 00:26:31.769 right there. What did you see in students? My 00:26:31.769 --> 00:26:35.369 favorite thing to talk about. So as a leader 00:26:35.369 --> 00:26:37.309 on this trip, there were times where I was like, 00:26:37.369 --> 00:26:38.829 well, I'm not doing anything. And I was like, 00:26:38.869 --> 00:26:41.500 wait, no, I'm here to like, guide and lead and 00:26:41.500 --> 00:26:44.160 encourage and just witness what God is doing. 00:26:44.240 --> 00:26:48.799 So that was incredible. There was a moment in 00:26:48.799 --> 00:26:50.859 one of our house visits. And so there was a full 00:26:50.859 --> 00:26:54.720 on day where it was just a group of girls, our 00:26:54.720 --> 00:26:57.599 Heights youth group girls, just going to visit 00:26:57.599 --> 00:27:01.599 houses. And I realized a lot of these girls had 00:27:01.599 --> 00:27:03.619 never really done house visits. So I was like, 00:27:03.660 --> 00:27:06.369 okay, like we have to like. encourage them as 00:27:06.369 --> 00:27:08.710 we go from house to house and you know tell them 00:27:08.710 --> 00:27:10.730 hey really be reliant on the holy spirit like 00:27:10.730 --> 00:27:13.869 it's not it's not on you like just be sensitive 00:27:13.869 --> 00:27:16.130 to that and i remember we went to go visit this 00:27:16.130 --> 00:27:20.190 lady and it was kind of a awkward visit not because 00:27:20.190 --> 00:27:23.190 of anything we did wrong it was just this this 00:27:23.190 --> 00:27:26.009 woman had these walls that were really high and 00:27:26.009 --> 00:27:28.369 i was talking to her and just asking her you 00:27:28.369 --> 00:27:31.240 know what what is keeping you from following 00:27:31.240 --> 00:27:33.259 Jesus. And she gave me an answer and I was like, 00:27:33.299 --> 00:27:35.240 ah, I don't know how I feel about that, but let's 00:27:35.240 --> 00:27:38.720 pray and let's leave. And so we prayed and a 00:27:38.720 --> 00:27:40.380 student comes up to me and she's like, Sarah, 00:27:40.500 --> 00:27:42.200 can you translate for me? And I'm like, sure, 00:27:42.319 --> 00:27:46.500 I'll translate for you. And she goes up to the 00:27:46.500 --> 00:27:51.059 woman and she, instead of like asking her questions 00:27:51.059 --> 00:27:54.940 about Jesus, she goes, I see how much hard work, 00:27:54.960 --> 00:27:59.079 like how hardworking you are. I see how strong 00:27:59.079 --> 00:28:01.440 you are. And she's encouraging this woman and 00:28:01.440 --> 00:28:07.039 affirming her good traits. And these walls just 00:28:07.039 --> 00:28:10.420 came down. And she starts crying. And then the 00:28:10.420 --> 00:28:13.279 student's like, hey, can we pray with her? And 00:28:13.279 --> 00:28:16.640 everything she said is what I wish I would have 00:28:16.640 --> 00:28:20.640 said. And it was just very evident. Talking to 00:28:20.640 --> 00:28:22.400 her afterwards, she's like, I didn't want to 00:28:22.400 --> 00:28:24.420 do it, but I just felt like the Holy Spirit was 00:28:24.420 --> 00:28:27.279 telling me. I have to do this. And it was bothering 00:28:27.279 --> 00:28:28.880 her. And I was like, I'm so glad you stepped 00:28:28.880 --> 00:28:33.220 into that moment to just do that. Because this 00:28:33.220 --> 00:28:34.960 woman, like when your walls are high, your walls 00:28:34.960 --> 00:28:37.480 are high. They're not coming down. And that was 00:28:37.480 --> 00:28:40.140 a particular moment by that one student who was 00:28:40.140 --> 00:28:42.640 obedient in that one moment. And the walls came 00:28:42.640 --> 00:28:52.059 down. Yeah, I love it. How old was she? 15? 15. 00:28:52.380 --> 00:28:55.400 16? I have not. We have not confirmed the age 00:28:55.400 --> 00:29:00.000 yet. Well, what I love is to be 15 years old 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:05.019 and be marked by a moment, right? And I think 00:29:05.019 --> 00:29:08.519 like just listening to all of you and others 00:29:08.519 --> 00:29:11.980 that have gone on trips and like the Holy Spirit 00:29:11.980 --> 00:29:15.160 marks us with a burden when we intentionally 00:29:15.160 --> 00:29:19.480 are on mission for Him and we take those moments 00:29:19.480 --> 00:29:23.980 to step out. He puts a burden on us to carry, 00:29:24.180 --> 00:29:26.180 whether just for ourselves, whether to carry 00:29:26.180 --> 00:29:28.839 for others, whether to carry for the people we 00:29:28.839 --> 00:29:31.980 left. I'm curious, what are some of those burdens 00:29:31.980 --> 00:29:38.200 that you feel that you're carrying back to home? 00:29:41.079 --> 00:29:46.299 Yeah, mine would be loving people the way God 00:29:46.299 --> 00:29:48.019 wants us to love people and the way Jesus loves 00:29:48.019 --> 00:29:51.109 people. We went on this mission trip 10 days, 00:29:51.150 --> 00:29:54.690 fully intended. And what we did, we went there 00:29:54.690 --> 00:29:57.250 to love people and to love them well and how 00:29:57.250 --> 00:30:00.369 Jesus wants us to. And then bringing that back 00:30:00.369 --> 00:30:04.589 is like, how do I now go everywhere and love 00:30:04.589 --> 00:30:09.609 people just like I did there? And go to Cracker 00:30:09.609 --> 00:30:11.650 Barrel with my friend. And then we go mini golfing, 00:30:11.650 --> 00:30:14.910 right? That's great. But then there's other circumstances 00:30:14.910 --> 00:30:17.549 or situations where I'm checking out the Target. 00:30:17.950 --> 00:30:20.490 and the checkout lady kind of scares me. And 00:30:20.490 --> 00:30:22.710 I'm like, how do I show love to this lady when 00:30:22.710 --> 00:30:29.609 all I want is my Skittles? But yeah, so just 00:30:29.609 --> 00:30:31.990 like trying to be in that mindset of just loving 00:30:31.990 --> 00:30:34.710 people and how Jesus loved people and modeling 00:30:34.710 --> 00:30:40.369 that. Yeah, Greg, what about you? For me, the 00:30:40.369 --> 00:30:42.609 mission trips I've been on, I've been to Mexico 00:30:42.609 --> 00:30:48.940 too. It has caused me to, realize the big need 00:30:48.940 --> 00:30:51.799 out there. You know, there's so many people out 00:30:51.799 --> 00:30:58.539 there that don't know Christ. And yet when you 00:30:58.539 --> 00:31:03.400 deliver the news to them, it is such a joy. And 00:31:03.400 --> 00:31:06.779 so I don't know if I have more trips than me. 00:31:06.839 --> 00:31:10.900 If I do, I want to take them. Definitely financially, 00:31:11.359 --> 00:31:15.740 I intend to continue to support. and missionaries 00:31:15.740 --> 00:31:18.539 and those who are doing the work out there in 00:31:18.539 --> 00:31:21.660 different countries. Yeah, I love that. You're 00:31:21.660 --> 00:31:23.519 talking about freedom, right? And Sarah, you 00:31:23.519 --> 00:31:27.019 are referencing a burden you carry back that's 00:31:27.019 --> 00:31:29.500 unique to where you were and where you live. 00:31:29.819 --> 00:31:33.920 Tell us about that. Yeah, so as our country, 00:31:34.019 --> 00:31:36.700 we're all about freedom, and God gives us that. 00:31:37.220 --> 00:31:40.460 Whereas other countries, like the Czechs, they... 00:31:41.519 --> 00:31:44.359 don't know how to be free because they've spent 00:31:44.359 --> 00:31:49.220 so long being taken over by somebody else and 00:31:49.220 --> 00:31:54.339 so and for us we've had that freedom for so so 00:31:54.339 --> 00:31:59.579 long that we forget how to use it and I believe 00:31:59.579 --> 00:32:02.180 we should all just go out there and use our freedom 00:32:02.180 --> 00:32:05.500 and use what God has designed us to do whether 00:32:05.500 --> 00:32:10.119 it's locally or globally to help bring others 00:32:10.119 --> 00:32:15.890 to Christ and really be open and free about their 00:32:15.890 --> 00:32:21.049 faith. Yeah, I love that you get to now extend 00:32:21.049 --> 00:32:23.769 something you grew up in, you now get to extend 00:32:23.769 --> 00:32:27.970 it into, which is beautiful. Greg, you look like 00:32:27.970 --> 00:32:33.170 you're... Ben, what about you? Yeah, I think 00:32:33.170 --> 00:32:35.829 burdened with just the understanding that just 00:32:35.829 --> 00:32:39.369 because it's not my fault doesn't mean it's not 00:32:39.369 --> 00:32:43.319 my responsibility. And I think looking at just 00:32:43.319 --> 00:32:47.039 Jesus as the model of that, that the condition 00:32:47.039 --> 00:32:51.339 of humanity is not Jesus' fault, and yet he took 00:32:51.339 --> 00:32:57.940 responsibility to fix it. And so often, it's 00:32:57.940 --> 00:33:01.220 hard to take responsibility for the things you 00:33:01.220 --> 00:33:04.519 don't see. And it just makes me think of the 00:33:04.519 --> 00:33:07.180 Good Samaritan. There's this guy that's robbed 00:33:07.180 --> 00:33:10.740 and beaten on the side of the road. It says the 00:33:10.740 --> 00:33:14.779 Good Samaritan saw him. And then he bandaged 00:33:14.779 --> 00:33:17.880 him. And then he gave him a ride. Then he paid 00:33:17.880 --> 00:33:21.819 for him to get healthy. Then he even left a blank 00:33:21.819 --> 00:33:25.420 check and said, I'll cover the cost when I get 00:33:25.420 --> 00:33:30.259 back. And Jesus said, his response was, go and 00:33:30.259 --> 00:33:34.740 do likewise. He didn't say celebrate it. He didn't 00:33:34.740 --> 00:33:37.660 say preach it. He didn't say talk about it. He 00:33:37.660 --> 00:33:41.730 said, go and do it. Because we're followers of 00:33:41.730 --> 00:33:46.170 Christ. Because we have this freedom. We have 00:33:46.170 --> 00:33:48.410 this freedom not only in this nation, but we 00:33:48.410 --> 00:33:52.049 have the freedom in Christ to love people the 00:33:52.049 --> 00:33:55.329 way God loves people. To be able to experience 00:33:55.329 --> 00:33:59.109 this, to know that even as long as I'm alive, 00:33:59.210 --> 00:34:02.809 I'm going to continue to be on mission and do 00:34:02.809 --> 00:34:07.450 the kingdom work of God. And being intentional, 00:34:08.050 --> 00:34:10.650 right? Like Sarah, you were sharing that when 00:34:10.650 --> 00:34:13.449 we live intentionally on mission, there's this 00:34:13.449 --> 00:34:17.510 concept of waste and how we look at it. Yeah, 00:34:17.530 --> 00:34:20.030 coming away from the trip, I think the big thing 00:34:20.030 --> 00:34:22.530 for me and the big encouragement, you know, just 00:34:22.530 --> 00:34:26.889 being in the position that I'm in and God just 00:34:26.889 --> 00:34:30.239 telling me like nothing's wasted. Everything 00:34:30.239 --> 00:34:32.119 that I do has intention. Everything that I do 00:34:32.119 --> 00:34:35.900 has purpose. Every person that I use, every person 00:34:35.900 --> 00:34:38.739 that I put in your path has intention. There's 00:34:38.739 --> 00:34:42.099 purpose in all of it. And so coming back, that's 00:34:42.099 --> 00:34:44.940 just the biggest burden I have is nothing is 00:34:44.940 --> 00:34:48.099 wasted. Me waiting in line for 20 minutes, inconvenience? 00:34:48.119 --> 00:34:52.239 No. There could be purpose in that. And I think 00:34:52.239 --> 00:34:54.280 a lot of the times we do a good job of minimizing 00:34:54.280 --> 00:34:59.300 those moments. And going, oh, like, it's just 00:34:59.300 --> 00:35:01.940 a small moment. It's fine. No, nothing is wasted. 00:35:02.260 --> 00:35:06.639 Every moment is intentional. Every story that 00:35:06.639 --> 00:35:09.900 you hear, everything that God has done through 00:35:09.900 --> 00:35:12.400 your life, everything is for a reason. It's for 00:35:12.400 --> 00:35:17.179 a purpose. And ultimately, it's our story to 00:35:17.179 --> 00:35:21.400 share Jesus with others. And there's no, it's 00:35:21.400 --> 00:35:25.099 not wasted. Even getting Skittles. Even the Skittles. 00:35:27.059 --> 00:35:29.519 But you guys, thank you. Can we thank them this 00:35:29.519 --> 00:35:46.659 morning? The fun thing about Sarah Love, who 00:35:46.659 --> 00:35:51.619 went to the Czech Republic, is I got to know 00:35:51.619 --> 00:35:57.869 her at Starbucks. Often kind of my rhythm is 00:35:57.869 --> 00:36:01.329 I'll write messages at Starbucks and there's 00:36:01.329 --> 00:36:03.570 no reason other than Starbucks will let me have 00:36:03.570 --> 00:36:05.610 a table for a really long time and not kick me 00:36:05.610 --> 00:36:09.730 out. And so I had this rhythm. I would go to 00:36:09.730 --> 00:36:12.809 Starbucks and Sarah would often be the person 00:36:12.809 --> 00:36:14.889 handing me coffee. And I don't know if you noticed, 00:36:14.949 --> 00:36:18.309 but she has the greatest smile and she's just 00:36:18.309 --> 00:36:21.809 so kind. And you ever meet somebody and you go, 00:36:21.909 --> 00:36:25.489 there's something about them. Right. Like there's 00:36:25.489 --> 00:36:27.989 something different about them. That was Sarah. 00:36:29.090 --> 00:36:32.329 And one day she's handing me coffee and she looks 00:36:32.329 --> 00:36:35.010 over and she goes, do you know who I am? Which 00:36:35.010 --> 00:36:37.809 is like the worst question in the world for me 00:36:37.809 --> 00:36:41.329 in Prescott. Right. And I'm like, no. And she 00:36:41.329 --> 00:36:44.469 starts to explain who her family is. And I make 00:36:44.469 --> 00:36:49.150 the connections and I go, no way. And so instantly 00:36:49.150 --> 00:36:52.269 I knew who she was. And instantly in that moment, 00:36:52.309 --> 00:36:56.360 I began to reflect. Because I'd watch her walk 00:36:56.360 --> 00:36:59.320 into Starbucks for her shift and I'd watch her 00:36:59.320 --> 00:37:03.119 co -workers get so excited she walked in that 00:37:03.119 --> 00:37:06.760 they cheer for her. And on other days I'd watch 00:37:06.760 --> 00:37:11.099 her come in and sit down at a table, bring her 00:37:11.099 --> 00:37:13.460 Bible and spend 45 minutes with Jesus before 00:37:13.460 --> 00:37:17.320 she started her shift. And I just love that I've 00:37:17.320 --> 00:37:19.179 watched her from a distance before I ever knew 00:37:19.179 --> 00:37:24.050 who she was, have this rhythm. of living life 00:37:24.050 --> 00:37:27.909 intentionally on mission. And it makes me wonder, 00:37:27.989 --> 00:37:30.289 we were chatting this week just about this idea 00:37:30.289 --> 00:37:32.889 of when we live intentionally on mission, everything 00:37:32.889 --> 00:37:37.710 that we do becomes vital. Everything that we 00:37:37.710 --> 00:37:40.050 do can have meaning. Everything that we do can 00:37:40.050 --> 00:37:43.230 have expectation. And so we started talking this 00:37:43.230 --> 00:37:46.250 week and Target came up and we're talking about 00:37:46.250 --> 00:37:48.369 a conversation somebody had with somebody who 00:37:48.369 --> 00:37:51.190 works there and just a burden that they had to... 00:37:51.719 --> 00:37:56.019 to see them and slow down. And we realize that 00:37:56.019 --> 00:37:59.039 bleach, you know, because you got to go to Target 00:37:59.039 --> 00:38:01.039 to get your bleach or whatever it is you got 00:38:01.039 --> 00:38:03.360 to pick up. That's your task. But what if the 00:38:03.360 --> 00:38:06.400 bleach is the opportunity? What if the bleach 00:38:06.400 --> 00:38:08.980 is just God needs you there intentionally on 00:38:08.980 --> 00:38:11.760 mission, just like dinner. God needs you to go 00:38:11.760 --> 00:38:14.179 to Target because he's got you on mission and 00:38:14.179 --> 00:38:17.840 you enter that space with expectancy to give 00:38:17.840 --> 00:38:21.619 away what you've been given. God has been good 00:38:21.619 --> 00:38:29.199 to us. We have so much. He's given us so, so 00:38:29.199 --> 00:38:32.159 much. And what he's asking is, will you just 00:38:32.159 --> 00:38:35.019 give it away? Just live on mission and give it 00:38:35.019 --> 00:38:38.460 away in every space you go to. So we sing this 00:38:38.460 --> 00:38:41.559 song here. We've sung it a little bit. And a 00:38:41.559 --> 00:38:43.800 part of it, it goes like this. If the Lord's 00:38:43.800 --> 00:38:48.150 been good to you, sing. That's not bad. You can 00:38:48.150 --> 00:38:50.170 do better. If the Lord's been good to you, sing. 00:38:50.769 --> 00:38:53.869 Hallelujah. I think you got more. I think if 00:38:53.869 --> 00:38:56.150 you stand up, maybe a little extra air in your 00:38:56.150 --> 00:38:58.630 lungs. If the Lord's been good to you, sing. 00:38:59.210 --> 00:38:59.570 Hallelujah.