Plans and Purpose

Megan & I on a chilly evening
in August

      “I’ve been thinking more about service projects and volunteering,”  Megan said to me over coffee one afternoon in February. “I’m thinking about the Chi Alpha missions trip to Slovakia and the Czech Republic this summer.”
     “Really?”  I replied, quite surprised. 

Megan, a junior Math Education major, had been coming to Pursuit faithfully every Tuesday night since the fall semester, but she usually left as soon as the meeting was over, making few connections with other students.  I had started meeting with her regularly in October, encouraging her in faith and the fine art of juggling classes, friends, and her relationship with God.  A bright girl, she was driven in her studies, and spiritual things seemed on the side of her busy life.  That’s why I was so excited when she first told me she was interested in the missions trip. I began talking her through some logistics of the trip—fundraising, cross-cultural experiences, the dynamics of living and working in a team of 15 students for 3 weeks, etc.  In the process, I also discovered she had never even flown before.  It was all going to be quite new!

Megan & Bianca
working hard and getting dirty at a faith-based
drug rehabilitation center in the Czech Republic
(June 2010)

A hike in August was the first time I had a chance to ask Megan about her missions trip experience.  She said it really changed her life and gave her a whole new perspective of the world.  While she still plans to teach in rural Montana, serving God as a role model that can “be there” for high school students others may overlook, she now recognizes that God could call her to live and work elsewhere, and she’s open to His leading.  “I always thought that Montana was the only place I could call home.  Now I see that any place can be home.” 

More immediate impacts from the trip have been a renewed passion in her love for Christ and deeper relationships with other Christians. This semester she is co-leading a Chi Alpha small group, and she’s helped initiate and lead connection events with other girls.  Above all, I’ve noticed a shift in her from a life centered around her own plans to one centered around love for God and people around her.

I love that Chi Alpha can be in the middle of the university experience—helping students discover who they are, who God is, and the role and purpose God has for them.  Chi Alpha gives them an expanded world-view from God’s perspective.  In discipling these students, I get to see their growth up close, but all who pray for and give to my work here are partners in this ministry.  Thank you!


Prayer Request:  for this year’s upcoming missions trips (Spring Break and Summer 2011), that God will call more students to radical trust in Him & that they’ll get to see Him work through them in powerful ways.

Chi Alpha Team to Slovakia/Czech Republic
(May-June 2010)