God connects us on a deeper level when we share our stories! The Third Church IMPACT Team had one last day on the island, experiencing a local farm, enjoying downtime, and sharing their Impact stories. These final reflections from Daniel, Jason, and Sarah paint a picture of their beautiful week in Abaco.
Daniel: Today, I took a tour of Gideon Farms. We met this dude that was pretty cool. He had some goat berries which looked interesting to eat. I thought that today was nice since we had quite a bit of time to hang out, which was relaxing after our week. Later, we shared our Impact stories, which was interesting to see since I hadn’t had deep conversations with everyone, so I found out how different people thought about the trip and how God changed them. I found that it made me relate to people better and was nice for me spiritually.
Sarah: We had the option of getting up early this morning and climbing a small mountain to watch the sunrise. There was no path, and it was still dark, so it made for an interesting/challenging climb (more so for some of us). There was a lot of poison wood all over the mountain, so long pants and sleeves were the best choice. Once at the top, we had time to just enjoy the peacefulness of the gorgeous view while we waited for sunrise. It was incredible to look out over the island, and it was yet another reminder of how great our God is. It was a fairly clear morning, which made a beautiful backdrop for the sunrise. The trip back down the mountain was a little intimidating, with loose rocks falling at times.
After breakfast, we all headed to Gideon Farms. It was very educational and amazing to see crops growing from what we, in the states, would probably call unfarmable ground. Yet, God provides for this family faithfully, and it has allowed them to pay for their 5 kids to attend college! They were even generous enough to share some of their produce with our team! We spent a great deal of time processing through our week and writing our personal Impact stories.
Before dinner, we each shared with our group what our impact moment and story was, and how we plan to go in action to implement our story once we are back home. It was very emotional for some, and was a real bonding time as we learned about each other on a deeper level. Reflecting on the events of the week was very impactful in itself, and will definitely be something I think we will always remember.
It’s been so wonderful growing together and getting to know one another throughout this experience, and I for one, will miss our team when we go home. I pray that God will make ways for us to serve in some capacity with team members again in the future. We also had the ability to spend some time relaxing on the beach, kayaking, swimming, etc., for one last time this afternoon, which was really refreshing. I am so thankful for every moment of this trip and pray that we had a positive, maybe even lasting, impact on the people of Abaco. I know the impact it had on me will be remembered forever.
Jason: Since the day has been recapped already, I’ll just sum up my trip week with a few comments to reflect on how I was impacted personally. While I’m very hopeful the people of Abaco were blessed by the work of the team this week, from the stories I heard from the time of sharing tonight, I know many of us were blessed as well. I came down here this week with my wife and three of my younger children hoping for my kids to experience a different culture with a different economic situation than the affluence we are accustomed to.
What I wasn’t expecting is how much this trip would cause me to reflect on the time my family and I spent in full time medical missions in Honduras from 2011 to 2015. Through some comments by my daughter Aniah along with a wonderful time of sharing with A.T., a missionary with Many Hands, God did some additional healing in my heart from that time that I didn’t realize still needed to be done. Much of the activities of the week had me reflecting back to that time in Honduras, both the highs and the lows. I’m thankful for that surprise!
— Daniel, Jason, & Sarah
