Mission Report Devotional
This devotional explores how mission trips create lasting impact on both participants and those they serve, using the framework of interconnected lives to demonstrate the eternal significance of brief encounters.
The Five People You Meet in Heaven
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom is a fictional account of a man named Eddie. Eddie is a grizzled war veteran who feels trapped in a meaningless life of fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. As the park has changed over the years so, too, has Eddie. He has changed from an optimistic young man to one who is embittered as he ages. His days are a dull routine of work, loneliness, and regret. Then on his 83rd birthday, Eddie dies in a tragic accident trying to save a little girl from a falling cart. With his final breath, he feels two small hands in his and then nothing. He awakens in the afterlife where he learns that heaven isn’t a Garden of Eden but a place where your earthly life is explained to you by five people who were in it. These people may have been loved ones or distant strangers. Yet each of them changed his path forever. One by one, each person reveals the unseen connection to his earthly life. And one by one, Eddie learns something about his life and the impact that one individual may have on another.
The Impact of Hidden Connections
While it is fictional, wouldn’t it be great to know the impact we had or that others had on us. Right now you can think of 5–10 people who have had an impact on you. You might even be able to think of those that you have impacted. But what about those obscure people—those that you don’t even remember meeting. It was Corrie Ten Boom who said, “Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our path, is the perfect preparation only He can see.”
Why Mission Trips Matter
This is one of the reasons why mission trips matter. We support these trips because not only are the participants changed by their experiences, but those who are touched by the presence of these for even a short time can be changed. Tonight we are going to hear from those that we supported in missions this summer. Courtney Carr went to India. Megan and Rebecca Goddard went to the Village of Hope in Ghana. Our teens went to Janesville, WI to conduct a Vacation Bible School. Each in turn will report on their trip and allow us to know that our support made an impact. Let’s pray.
Follow Jesus
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