Nashville, 2014… Where to begin? I went in to this trip expecting to interact with others and God in a somewhat mundane and quite general way. Never did I think I would gain so much knowledge on who God is, nor did I think I would see a worship leader practically jump out of her skin to pray for a stranger.

My adventure in Nashville was not nearly as mundane as I had expected. I learned a lot more about God than I ever thought I would.

Being a teenager, it’s not really common to have a strong faith and relationship with Jesus, however, I feel that my experience in Nashville taught me how to have that relationship. It opened my eyes to the fact that a relationship with God is not a one sided journey. Nothing in life is a one sided journey.

I know that this trip was an opportunity for not only my eyes to be opened, but also the other teens that ventured with me on this trip.

Previous to this trip, I never opened up. I didn’t like to. Not to my friends, not to my family, and not to God. I thought I could do it all alone. If I couldn’t take care of myself how could I expect anyone else to? That thought haunted me all throughout middle school and throughout my first year in high school. This trip was the opportunity I had to hear God’s voice and have him remind me that a relationship requires two. Life isn’t something you can do alone.

Personally, I have trouble hearing God when he speaks to me. I usually end up realizing it days later. So of course, it wasn’t until I got home that I realized that I’d heard him through others, I’d heard him in worship songs, I’d heard him in devotions, and I’d seen him in every change of scenery we had. Between seeing the people I’ve been friends with for years finally break free of their fear, their anxieties, and their bondage to seeing strangers being broken from depression by my worship leader, this trip hit home. I saw people saved.

Though they might be too tough to admit it, that trip helped each of us realize something new about ourselves and about our relationship.

I believe that the mission trip we were on was not only to help others, but to also help us build our faith and gain affirmation that we are not alone. To understand that we can’t do “life” alone. I believe that the underlying lessons of the entire trip were affirmation and relationships, which are, in my opinion, two of the most significant parts of faith.

 “So that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.” (Acts 17:27)