Travel & Faith Lessons I Learned in Czech Republic

God showed me, taught me and reminded me of so many things in the two weeks I spent in Czech Republic. When you go on a mission trip the person who is often most impacted is you.

In some ways a mission trip creates a bubble around you and when you return home that beautiful little bubble is burst. You know the bubble wasn’t meant to last forever but you still ache to still be in it a little bit.

God has shown me His sovereignty

God has shown me His sovereignty. Not because things went perfectly, because there were times they did not. There were tough moments, awkward moments, miscommunications, irritations and even mistakes made. I am far from perfect, but God has grace and for that I am grateful. In my moments of anxiety and stress I raised my concerns to the Lord and He was by my side. I was especially nervous for our return trip to Prague. I prayed constantly and God was there each moment providing and meeting our needs. The group I was traveling with was patient and understanding with me as I navigated us through the city on foot and as I figured things out with trams, buses and which stops to get on and off at! In the moments in between God blessed us with some helpful person to point the next step out to us each and every time. I covered our return trip with prayers and watched the Lord place person after person in our path to keep us safe and on track in our travels. Perhaps these helpful people would have still been there without my prayers, but each of them is still a testament to God watching over us. I prayed continually unable to do any less. In prayer God helps us to trust in him regardless of the outcome. God is good. I know that even had things gone wrong I would still trust that God is sovereign.

People are priority

In the two weeks we spent in Czech Republic so many reminders were placed on my heart. The biggest one is that people are priority. People have a way of capturing our hearts. Not experiences, adventure, material possessions, and definitely not media. These things have their place and these things are good. Creating is a joy, adventure opens the world up to us, a home we love invites and welcomes. These things are important. But people, people, matter the most. We can have joy in all circumstances. We can be content with very little. If we aren’t, shouldn’t we challenge ourselves to question why? Every time I go on a mission trip I’m reminded of how much I have and how much I’ve been given. Things are just things.

The kids we taught at English Language Camp were so precious. A week is not enough time with them. Despite the language barrier we still find ways to get to know each other and there’s definitely plenty of smiles and laughter.

It’s the people that make a mark on my heart. They matter the most. Love for people should be why we do what we do.

I’m thankful for the team I traveled with and served with. I loved watching each person’s unique gifts and talents come out. I loved watching them give of themselves, build friendships and pour out God’s love on each other and others. I know I’m not the only one being impacted. God had lessons for us all to learn. God has so much to reveal to us, to teach us, to help us grow in our relationship with him and not just because we go on a mission trip. He desires us to draw close to him continually.

I love my Lord and I want others to know this God I serve. Do you know him? Have you heard of him?

People matter the most to him

People matter the most to him. When Jesus rose from the dead he came to Mary Magdalene at the tomb. She was in grief and utter sorrow that they crucified her Lord. Jesus died on the cross so that each of us could be redeemed. Perhaps you’ve heard this, perhaps you haven’t. I never focused much on this passage in the Bible. This is a unique, personal moment between Jesus and Mary told in John 20. In her grief she doesn’t even recognize Jesus until he says her name, “Mary.” It’s such an impactful moment. People matter. Mary mattered and Jesus met her in her sorrow and turned her sorrow to pure joy. It’s just as personal for us. He knows our name. He knows my name. He knows your name.

People matter to Jesus. I matter to Jesus. You matter to Jesus.

I realized some pretty cool travel lessons and was struck by how much they apply to our faith:

It’s okay to ask for help and directions

My friends and family are probably pretty familiar with the “perfectionist” side of me. They’re probably shaking their heads as they read this. It’s true, something about my Type A, first born, advocate personality that pushes me to figure things out, solve problems and makes sure everything is fair and right. While the adventurous explorer in me loves to see and experience new things it can be hard to feel at ease in travel with so many unknowns thrown my way. It comes as an irony to myself that I feel thankful to have been stretched, pushed and to have found myself well outside of my comfort zone. It’s in these moments that I have to utterly and totally rely on God. Life will never be perfect and building completely comfortable lives is actually kind of boring when you think about it. I had to ask for a lot of help and directions on this trip. I prayed for two days straight. The verses in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” have never been more true for me. At times I walked up to complete strangers to ask for help and directions and every single time I was given help.

You have to take action

In leadership, in life, in our walk with the Lord forward momentum is key. I found many times on this trip that I had to take steps forward and leaps of faith. There were elements of figuring things out as we go and just having to take things step by step until a task was complete or a destination was reached. We don’t always have it all figured out from the start. This is a big lesson for me. I like to have all the steps figured out in advance and the outcome assured. Life doesn’t work that way. Faith doesn’t work that way. Instead I look to the Lord and trust that He has the steps and the outcome figured out. I just have to look to Him, keep me eyes on Him and trust in Him. I think our whole group had moments of being out of our element and figuring it out as we went. It’s a growing moment and that’s a good thing.

You can live with a lot less

There’s nothing like traveling to take materialism away. The longer I travel the less stuff I want and the more I realize you really can make do with a little. Even when I limit myself to a carryon suitcase I still managed to bring stuff I didn’t use. You begin to feel burdened by things. It reminds me how little material possessions really matter in the end. People matter more. I’m very challenged by how much I own and how I spend my money right now. I’m really challenging myself to be content and happy with what I have. Life is not about amassing things.

God is good

The truest thing is that God is so good. God is just so good. We witnessed Him show up over and over again. The lyrics to one of our camp songs was “Amazing love, amazing love, I can’t get enough of your amazing love. It blows me away, your amazing love.” It really does blow me away. We answer the call to go and serve in all our humanness and God uses us. Not because of us but because of Him. I watched our hosts and translators serve so humbly. They set such an example for me as they show us such warmth and serve the Lord so faithfully.

At the end of camp, as we gathered in a circle for prayer for our final team meeting, my heart was overflowing and overwhelmed with the week we had. God did so many amazing things. His presence was felt over and over in this place. So many precious little hearts raised hands to become followers of Jesus. This is it. The reason we go, so that the Gospel and Jesus’ love is shared. He does the real work in hearts. We get to humbly go as his tools and messengers. It impacts us too as he speaks to us in the midst of serving him. How can we not come away changed.

I love all the friends I reconnected with and the new friends I made. The kindred spirits we found in ministry and friendship with our Czech teammates can hardly be put into words. These friendships are born of a kinship as fellow believers grounded in our love for Jesus, our desire to be in his will and the bond of doing ministry together for the sake of his kingdom. They each have an irreplaceable spot in my heart.

Upon returning it truly felt a bit strange to be home. A few days into our second week in the Czech Republic many of us felt the mixed feelings of never wanting to come home while at the same time wanting to be home. I think that’s what happens when you connect so deeply with people with your heart. It’s hard to describe the kinship you find with fellow believers. To be a world apart, come together and so beautifully bond with one another in sharing the love of Jesus. I cherish these sweet friendships we make.

I’m so thankful for this trip, for everyone who supported me, for those I served with and for God speaking to my heart!

What’s something God’s been teaching you lately?

xoxo Naomi