My name is Zachary Shearer, I am 18 years old. My family and I worship at Wildwood Baptist Church,Village Mills, TX.
This summer I am going on my first mission trip abroad with iGo Global to Madrid, Spain.
When I first heard about this trip, I was at Super Summer youth camp at ETBU, which is a church camp that our Wildwood Baptist Church youth group goes to every year. At Super Summer, iGo has a meeting on Thursday after lunch. At this meeting, they tell you about the location they have chosen for the next year, how to apply to go on the trip, and about asking your parent’s permission.
When I got home from camp, my mom was looking at a sticker that had all the information on it. She asked me what it was. At this point, I still didn’t know if I was called to go on this trip, but I explained all of the information to her. Before I had the chance to ask if I could go, my dad asked if I wanted to go. It was nice that they were letting me make the decision.
The next step was the application process. In addition to my information, iGo required that I have three letters of recommendation, and that I fill out a survey of my personal faith. The survey was the hardest part. They had you answer questions about what you believe. It was difficult to take something so internal and put it on paper. After submitting the application, I had to wait. Eventually, I received a packet telling me that I was accepted. The first step they had me focus on was raising funds and getting a passport.
I will admit, raising funds was not easy. The first fundraiser I did was a bake sale. I was overwhelmed by the support I got from my Wildwood Baptist Church family. I had two or three tables of baked goods. With the support of the community , I was able to raise about $700. There were also a few fundraisers that the youth group did at Wildwood Baptist, where they split funds raised between youth group activities and a donation to send me to Spain for this mission trip. There were a few times where I would think that I wouldn’t get enough money to make a scheduled payment, and God would send someone with a check with the exact amount of money I needed.
At each level, God provided.
As time went on, iGo Global sent another packet in the mail that included the dress code for the trip. The dress code was something I hadn’t even considered.
Guys weren’t allowed to wear shirts without collars, and absolutely no shorts were allowed on the trip. Having just graduated from Warren High School, for years my wardrobe has been almost exclusively shorts and t-shirts. I just don’t have collared shirts or dress pants. I was really worried about how I was going to get new clothes. Of course as I was worrying, God was working. I had someone come up to me and tell me that they had some money that they had put away somewhere and forgotten about. They happened upon it and decided to give it to me for the specific purpose of purchasing clothes.
At that point I was sure, without a shadow of a doubt, that God wanted me to go on this mission trip.
Finally, with the help of family, friends, and my Wildwood church community, my first international mission trip was paid for. From then on out it came to waiting and praying.
iGo Global sent another packet providing more specific and detailed information. It included the specific flight we would be on, where we would go for base camp, why we go to base camp, what to pack, what not to pack, and (most importantly) who would be in our trek group. From what I understand, my trek group is the group of people I will do all my prayer walks and mission work with. The packet also invited us to join a Facebook group that was set up for the people going on the trip. There, I was able to meet other people who were going on the same trip as me, as well as those who would be in my trek group.
More time went on, and summer hit. The packet had also explained how the Thursday of Super Summer we would get to eat breakfast with a few people from iGo. This turned out to be much more exciting than I had thought. They were able to tell us things like what to expect from base camp, and they emphasized that we needed to be very flexible throughout the whole trip. There were two interns and a lady who was helping to coordinate the trip. Getting to meet them was a relief, because they were really cool people. I knew if most of the people at iGo were like them, then I would really enjoy the whole trip.
Going into this trip I really don’t know what to expect. It is my first time leaving the United States, and my first foreign missions experience.
I know that God will do great and amazing things, but I’m not sure yet what they will be. I get more and more excited with each passing day, and I look forward to being able to share with my Wildwood Church family what God has done when I arrive back home.
