Catchin' up...

As Phil predicted, it's great to have everyone back and to hear what each of us has been learning and what God has been doing on these trips! You can definitely feel the buzz of excitement as we all share stories and gear up for more trips this spring and summer--we spend a lot of time in preparation, in planning, in prayer, but seeing God at work on the trips is the fuel that keeps us going. I'll let the Baja and DR teams share their stories...are you in for a treat! Keep reading!

Reunited

Its been a while. The whole Summit team as not been together for more than 3 weeks now and the joyous reunion will commence tomorrow. All members were dispersed all over and have returned recently to the greater Chicagoland area.

• Nancy and Ryan returned back from Long Island about 2 weeks ago
  
• I have recently returned from Haiti last week
  
• Lori and Justin returned from DR over the weekend
• The Steves (Gerber and Houck) returned from Baja over the weekend

I am sure there will be plenty of time updating each one on all the ways they saw God at work. It is always a time where we are reminded of how BIG of a God we serve and how we are blessed to be a part of His work and His body. These times become a "cloud of witnesses" that spurs be to continue to run His race with perseverance.
Stay tuned to read posts from the recent DR and Baja trips.

Fooling the Wise

Yesterday for our Life Session we watched a documentary on miracles called, "The Finger of God". It was quite interesting to say the least & I think everyone should take a look at this movie (it is about 90 minutes & is free to view on YouTube).

The movie was about a gentleman who basically took his video camera, "which looked like he bought at Radio Shack for $39.99," says Phil, & just started meeting up with people who were witnessing & taking part in miracles. The first part of the movie seemed a little ridiculous because the miracles were gold teeth, & jewels showing up at churches who met at airport hotels. But as the documentary went on it began to show miracles were happening all over the world. High school students here in the US, to underground churches in China, to men rising from the dead in Africa were all apart of these miracles.

Now I'm not here to convince you that God does or does not sprinkle gold dust on people, or allow children to place hands on people and heal them, but I am challenging you to think about just how great and powerful is our God? 1 Corinthians 1:27 says, "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise." Who are these wise people in our lives? No I don't think the Olsteens, Warrens, & Bells of our Christian world count, mainly because we have no interaction with them. But really, can we think of wise people in our lives who we can or have shamed with foolish things?

I have begun to be a little restless with this idea because I am really struggling to think of who these wise people are in my life, and if they don't exist does that mean I am the wise person who is being shamed? Just a few verses later in verse 2:4 it says, "we want men's faith to rest not on men's wisdom, but on God's power." Miracles are one of the big ways that we can show just how powerful our God is, & to be honest I don't think any of us experience our Lord this way enough. How much more exciting would it be for us, & how much easier would it be for us to smash stereotypes as Christians if we were able to experience God's power & then be able to share about it.

So let us not jump to conclusions or make assumptions the next time we hear about strange or unrealistic miracles happening around us. Most of these are happening without us even knowing, which adds a bit more validity to them because people are simply being a part of God's power without seeking recognition for it. Let us go into our day remember that, "the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power" (1 Corinthians 4:20).

Out in the wild...

Please pray for Steve Gerber and Steven Houck as they are currently running a wilderness trip in Baja, Mexico. While beautiful and exotic, this will be the hardest thing some of these students have ever done--please pray for transformation to take place as they learn to overcome challenges and experience real leadership opportunities, pushing them to a greater dependence on God!

Live from the Dominican Republic

Okay, it's not live, but it is pretty close. Below is an update from Lori & Justin, who are in the middle of their last week in the DR. The first week they had some middle school students from Florida, and this week they have a college group visiting them from Cedarville in Ohio. The text below comes straight from the email they sent me. As you will see, God gets the attention of not only the students who are on these trips, but us as staff as well.

Thanks for the prayers, they were much appreciated! Ramon & Juana (our missionary partners in the DR) have definitely been an answer to prayer. Their faith, encouragement, & sharing scripture with us was a huge blessing. Also, Jenny & Carlos (teacher & husband) were incredibly supportive as well.

I (Lori) had been praying for God to do the unexpected, to humble me, & to increase my faith & reliance on Him. Lets just say He definitely did that & not at all in the way I expected. I have been reminded of the power of God's word, living & active, & have been continually praying hearts will be softened to it.

We had some really neat moments with some of the parents which was really encouraging. We also had some great conversations with the students during the week. God really is at work in their hearts which is so encouraging & a great reminder that it is God who is at work.

LeaderTreks trips are always a blessing because you just never know how God is going to show up. I challenge those of you reading this who might be considering applying for Summit to ask yourselves this question, "How many 'jobs' provide me the opportunity to follow God & see his work not only in this country, but in others around the world?"

Students Taking the Next Step

I was told right from the get go that students often leave our trips motivated & inspired to do something when they return. Often times its a combination of using something they are passionate about to meet the needs of what they are burdened by.

During our trip to Long Island I was able to connect with a student who began to dream big about what she could do when she got home to help the orphans in our world. She comes from a family that loves orphans, and she wants to begin to put her faith into action. She later told me that she had a love for baking. In fact, it is what she was intending on going to school for. How cool is that? Well as we were "spackeling" drywall one day, I began to ask her some questions about what steps she needed to take when she got home to get the ball rolling. I could tell that her love for helping orphans & baking were both great, she just need to do a little creative thinking to begin to discover how she could tie those two together. What did she ultimately end up doing? Well, I don't know yet. She has a list of things to research on, people to talk to, and things to be asking and bringing before the Lord. Whatever does happen it is always a unique experience when students want to take things into their own hands and not just wait around for another mission trip.

Read on to hear a little bit from this student and what she learned on the trip;
I always had a concern for orphans but on this trip I realized it was so much more than a concern, it was a burden. I had a conversation with Ryan about this while we were working. He asked me questions that helped me come with ideas & a game plan on how I can pursue this in my life if God really wants me to help orphans. I also have a passion for baking and that's what I want to do with my life. IT would be totally amazing to be able to incorporate my talent for baking & my burden for orphans. I am very grateful for the opportunity to go on this trip. It really changed my life.

Transformational change is one thing we try to drive home on our trips. We don't want to be simply transactional and have the student just going through the motions on a trip. We want them to see the connection to their lives back home so they can make an impact.