Some people may not think a mission trip to Washington State is all that important, because it’s not Africa or Asia or some country where people have never heard about Jesus. But that is not true.
Winnie NyatomeCentral Washington University is where I spent most of my time sharing the gospel. Sometimes it was hard, and sometimes I did not go because fear got the best of me. But I realize it doesn’t get easy, and you don’t get good at it. You just need to trust Christ to get you through it all.
In Washington, I found most people—at least in the college student population—don’t have any relationship with Christ. They might have heard of him or heard someone talk about him. But they don’t have a personal relationship with him at all. And some have never heard of Christ. As someone from Kenya, I was shocked. Here we are in a country that has all this technology, where in under a minute you can download a Bible, a devotional, a 30-day walk through the Bible or something like that.
Our team from Texas was put together with Resonate Church, which started in Pullman, Wash., and expanded to Ellensburg, Wash. We spent time with them, and they became our family as we became theirs. They showed us how a real loving community is supposed to be.
Everyone wants to be accepted, wants to be loved, wants to be needed and wants to be in a loving community. That is exactly what Resonate Church was offering. They did not care much about your past or what you have been through. They just wanted to know you, share the gospel with you and walk alongside of you until one day you find Christ for yourself. Too many Christians today have forgotten this is how Christ walked with his followers for three years. This is how it is supposed to be done.
I learned so much from this trip. If I had the chance to go back and stay there, in a heartbeat I would do it. But I know the Lord has called me back to my campus to build that same kind of community I found up there. Everyone needs to know about this sweet, sweet love. And slowly, I am learning to live out what I learned. I pray that as followers of Christ, we come to crave a community that reflects Christ and is living for Christ.
Winnie Nyatome, a student at Stephen F. Austin State University, served with Go Now Missions in Washington.
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