AIM Mission Trip Kansas City  

June 2015

 Trip report

 By: Amber Espinosa

Church:  Olivet Congregational Church, St. Paul, MN

 Today's Scripture reading depicted Jesus as the good shepherd, saying, "I know my sheep and my sheep know me."  

We read, and prayed and talked about what it means to hear the voice of God calling to us, calling us to follow. 

And today, we listened for the voice of God, listened for what it is that we are meant to be doing here and now. We listened for who it is that we are meant to befriend, what we might do, and what words we might say.

Today, following voice of God looked like a bunch of teenage guys playing a game of basketball and laughing together.  

It looked like Victoria showing children how to make origami. Today, hearing God's voice looked like Earl chasing children around a playground in a wild game of tag.  At a home used to help people transition out of homelessness, it looked like Alexander wedging himself between a wall and a bush to clear away overgrown brush.  Hearing God's voice looked like Ellie building a friendship with a young woman from another youth group. 

After a long, busy day, just when it was time for dinner, hearing God's voice meant jumping back in the van to drive downtown and help serve at the Micah Project, the most amazing soup kitchen we've ever seen. It meant white table clothes and more than 600 tired hungry people sitting down to be served a homecooked meal. Hearing God's voice looked like Erik donning plastic gloves and waiting tables.

It looked like Gustaf waking himself from sleep in the van when we arrived, to go and play basketball with the teens who had just finished dinner. 

Today, following God's voice looked like Will's eyes sparkling as he delivered glasses of milk and juice.  It looked like Sam sharing a meal, and hearing the story of a man from Sudan.  God's voice spoke through the many volunteers who coordinated food, toiletries and clothing to give away to so many people every single week. 

God spoke through  a simple t-shirt worn by the volunteers, which read, "Feed my Soul." Indeed, God's voice spoke to us, and fed our souls we worshipped together tonight,  And we can't help but turn our minds and hearts to listen for, and to imagine what God might be calling us to be and do tomorrow... and when we return home.