From the moment I got off the plane, I have been in numerous orientation meetings, two host homes, met a couple of dozen people, spent more and more time in the Bible, gotten to know my incredible teammates and learned from two passionate church planters.
But the adjustment to the busy schedule seemed trivial compared to our time getting acclimated to the altitude up here. We’ve suffered headaches, exhaustion, trouble breathing, nausea, dry skin and dry hair. Blame it on dehydration, but as our trusty team of four likes to say for every situation, “Just blame it on the altitude!”
Why did God call me to the Rocky Mountains for a summer away from family and friends? Initially, I thought his purpose was for me to build churches, help out some ministers, grow my leadership skills, maybe write a little bit, and spend some time in an environment that would be more challenging than back home.
But the more I learned, I found I had put God’s desire for how he wants to use me this summer in a box. I realized it during our orientation with the director of Longs Peak Baptist Association of Churches, John Howeth, who serves as our supervisor or as what he likes to refer to himself as a “coach,” through our time as summer missionaries. He reminded us of a simple concept: In all things, we should strive to just be at Jesus’ feet. While leading worship, making fliers, interviewing locals, coming up with creative outreach, serving the communities and being in God’s awesome creation are all good tasks to be completed, they are completed in vain if each individual on the team has not taken time to be with Jesus. How can we expect to be effective in this ministry if we are not taking time to humble ourselves before the One whose ministry was, and is, perfect?
God called me to commune with him humbly at his feet, so each person I come into contact with will see the transforming power of the Holy Spirit and will want to experience it personally. The ultimate goal is eternity. We hope to be vessels of Living Water to the spiritually dry region that is the Longs Peak region of the Rocky Mountains.
Student missionary correspondent Amber Cassady, a communications student at Texas A&M University in College Station, is serving in Loveland, Colo., with Go Now Missions.
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