December 5, 2021

Today was the first full day of the mission trip to New Mexico. The team and I decided to start the day super early, before sunrise so we could watch a hot air balloon festival. At first, I wasn’t very excited because we were all exhausted from traveling for 12 hours the day before. However, I am glad we took the time to observe the festival because it allowed us to see the beautiful sunrise and rocky mountains that painted a gorgeous picture of God’s creation. After that, we went to the local church, which was difficult for me to sit through because the service was very similar to past experiences I disliked in a different church. Later that day, we made a trip to Walmart to gather some necessities for days ahead of us. Towards the end of our Walmart trip, we were able to help two homeless people by giving them some of our extra food and praying with them. As my team and I tried to make it across the street safely and back to our vehicle, we were almost hit by several cars. While that may not seem like a good thing, it was. Our staff sponsor decided to use that moment as a lesson to show us that the Devil will always try and strike whenever you are doing the Lord’s work. The biggest thing I was able to take away from today is that everyone struggles. It’s okay to struggle because, in the end, it will write a beautiful story that will one day be worth sharing and that story may help others.