question #1: Have you been on any other mission trips besides this one?
Yes, I have been on many different mission trips. From others outside of the country to as close to home as downtown Columbus. Just for a few that I’ve gone on are to Cincinnati to help serve food and work at a church for a weekend, to Joplin Missouri after the terrible tornado that tore through there in 2011, to Maryland to help paint and work on houses in an impoverished area, to Mexico to help build a church and build up the children’s ministry in a remote village in the Yucatán peninsula.
question #2: What was your favorite part of the trip?
My favorite part of the trip was going to a really remote village in the pouring down rain. We went here to see what churches were like in extremely rural areas of the world. We had the opportunity to see what their youth service was like and had the chance to play with all kids. On top of that, they cooked us a meal and served us on banana leaves! They made mushroom patties, rice and cooked fish from the local river.
question #3: What did you expect to get from this mission trip?
I was really hoping to be able to work more on building thigs or working on houses. Those are my favorite things to do on a mission trip. This mission trip was much more culturally based. We shared culture and belief with people we did not know, which was very fun and rewarding, just not in the ways I was expecting.
question #4: How has this trip impacted your life?
This trip helped open my eyes to the more impoverished side of the Philippines. My family being from the Philippines lets me understand a lot of the culture, but this trip showed me a different side of the Philippines I had never seen before. I learned so much more about the Philippines culture and had the opportunity to share my faith with people who may have looked like me but come from a completely different walk of life than my own.
question #5: How have you grown Closer to god from this trip?
This trip pushed my boundaries of being comfortable with talking to others about my faith. It was helpful that we were normally just talking to people who had similar beliefs as my own and were also similar age. By being more comfortable in sharing my faith I feel as though I have grown closer to God in likeness because it would be as if He was sharing about Himself with others. But by filling my mouth with His words and helping me speak to others about Him have made me feel a lot closer.
question #6: What surprised you about the Philippines Culture?
The most surprising culture to me was seeing how similar church was in the Philippines. They have youth groups, they have Sunday school, and their services have music and praying. I was just so surprised that even halfway around the world, with completely differently lifestyles, the culture surrounding the church can still be so similar. Even in the remote village that we visited.
question #7: what was it like getting to experience this trip with your family?
It was really nice to have my entire family there. Although I have been on many mission trips, this is the first time it was with my entire family. It was really cool to see them grow and experience God in different ways that they do not usually experience at home. Also, just getting to grow in faith as a family is not something that all families get to do, so having the opportunity to do so with my family was a huge blessing and I think even helped me grow deeper in my faith than if I would have just made the trip by myself.