I didn’t expect to go on a mission trip to Mexico and come back with a deeper understanding of what it means to simply be myself… but that’s exactly what happened.

At the beginning of June, I had the opportunity to serve with an incredible team on a mission trip to Mexico. While the trip started out as one for our Young Adults Ministry, God had plans far bigger than any of us could have imagined. He pieced together the most intentional multi-generational team, each person clearly placed there on purpose.Our team partnered with Kingdom Builders to help construct a house for a local family. We crossed the border, picked up hammers and paint brushes, and got to work. However, somewhere between the long car rides, the shared meals, and the building, God began gently reminding me of something I didn’t know I needed to hear again: you are fearfully and wonderfully made, just as you are.

Even before we arrived in Mexico, I felt it. On the drive down, I found myself sitting in the back of a van with someone I already knew, and spent the ride catching up on life. We talked about what God was doing in our hearts, shared stories, laughed way too loud, and bounced between serious and silly with ease. We were just being ourselves.

Later, someone from the row in front of us came up and said she had been encouraged by that conversation. She told me she had never experienced friendship where people talked about Jesus so openly and casually, and it gave her a picture of what real community could look like.

That comment stuck with me the entire weekend. Because if I’m honest, I’ve spent a lot of my life trying to figure out how much of myself is too much. I’m a social person and I love people, but I’m also an introvert. I have a loud laugh and a voice that carries. And around new people, I sometimes catch myself wondering if I should hold back a little.

Be quieter.
Smaller.
Easier to digest…

But something about this trip felt different. The team we went with didn’t feel like strangers for long. Whether it was singing while hanging drywall, sharing stories around the dinner table, or unwinding with a devotional at the end of the day, we felt like family. The kind of family that makes space for people to show up exactly as they are. I found myself leaning into that community and leaning into who God made me to be.Community has been a huge part of my faith journey over the past few years. It has marked some of the most transformational seasons of my life. And on this trip, I saw that same kind of community take root quickly, both among our team and with the people we met. The local church embraced us, the family we were building for served us in ways that inspired me, and somehow we left with a sense of belonging. That is the kind of community Jesus invites us into. It is not something that only happens on mission trips, but something we are called to cultivate wherever we go as part of The Church. 

While community is absolutely something you can find on a mission trip, it wasn’t my main reason for signing up. Lately, I’ve been in a season that feels like a weird in-between. So many of my friends are seeing big prayers answered, and I’m just… here.

Still waiting.
Still trusting.
Still trying to believe God is moving, even when I don’t see it yet.

Not forgotten, but not fully seen either. And it’s pushed me to lean into God even more. Saying yes to this trip was a quiet step of obedience, and in His kindness, He met me there – in the drywall dust and the back of a van.He reminded me that He sees me, He knows me, and He made me on purpose. The same is true for you! Sometimes all it takes is a step of faith to position yourself to see it.

There’s something powerful about stepping out of your routine, your distractions, and even your comfort zone to serve others. That might not always look like a mission trip to Mexico, but moments like this give you the space to listen, respond, and be reminded of who God is — and who you are.

Jesus came not to be served, but to serve; and when we follow His lead, we open ourselves up to being changed in the process.So if you’re wondering whether you should go on the next mission trip, here’s what I’ll say: yes. Absolutely yes! Not just because you’ll help build a home, but because you never know what God might build in you while you’re at it.

 

By: Becca McLachlan