serve - andrea maggio

2nd August 2010 by Julia Hosking

In April 2009 I went on a 10-day mission trip with teachers and students across the grades at my school to the outback in Central Australia. It was one of the best experiences of my life and I learnt so much.

One of the biggest eye-openers for me was in the first three days of the mission. We stayed at an Aboriginal community called Amata. Each night the community would meet for a church service that went on until the early hours of the morning. Their church was just a small shelter with a few instruments on a wooden stage and a cross dug into the red dirt below.

During the day we saw the children playing with old hoses and footballs and running around with no shoes. We noticed how little they had in the community, yet they went to church and just worshipped God for hours on end. They seemed so content and happy, much more than any of our team members, yet they had so little.

It was such a shock and eye-opener to see this happen in our own backyard. I was amazed that night by the faith of those Aboriginals as they had the courage to make themselves vulnerable by kneeling down in front of the cross and raising their hands up to God, while others prayed for them.

None of the members of our team had that same courage, and from that, I learnt to find new ways of worshipping God, even if it meant stepping out of my comfort zone. I prayed that God would give me the strength to grasp every opportunity on the mission, no matter how much it put me out of my comfort zone.

The next night I was challenged to kneel down at the church service in front of the cross and make myself vulnerable before God, and it was a great feeling to know that I had found the courage to do so.

We believe in a God of the present, and reckon there is always something that you can share with others about God’s work in your life. Whether you’ve shared a story before or not, don’t be put off submitting three, four or twenty save-grow-serve stories! Don't delay, click here today!

Comments

Kimberley

August 03, 2010 at 3:40pm

That's awesome, Andrea!
It's so exciting when God reveals something new to us and challenges us to step out in faith.
Keep up the good work.

Reply