Simonne and I recently returned from leading a CVC Youth mission trip to Panama City, Panama. We first wanted to thank you all for your prayers and investment in our trip. Our team shared the Gospel in 50 homes to over 80 people and saw 39 of them give their lives to Christ. We also stayed protected and unified with no injuries, illnesses or major conflicts on the trip. Every student and leader has a story of a house that stood out to them and a way that they grew from the experience. One high schooler went from being nervous to share on the first morning to loudly exclaiming, “One more house? Of course we’ll do it!” by the afternoon.
CVC, I also want to encourage and challenge you to continue to pray and invest your time, money, and energy into our youth and missions. You may have dozens of reasons why you aren’t ready or why you can’t but YOU CAN.
Simonne and I went on our first mission trip to Guatemala in 2025. And this may not sound like a big deal to most, but it was a huge step for me. International travel makes me anxious, I can’t speak Spanish (though I am at over 500 days on Duolingo), and I am an introvert who is not the best with words. All of these may sound like fantastic reasons to stay home within my comfort zone, don’t they?
But no, God called us to Guatemala. It didn’t matter that I didn’t speak Spanish, there were translators. It didn’t matter that I was an introvert, my most impactful gospel conversation was a simple sharing of my story. And while the travel still made me anxious, the trip was worth it. God showed himself to us throughout the experience and allowed me to grow in my faith because I said yes. If I needed more proof that I was doing what God wanted me to do, we entered a woman’s home who said she had a dream the night before that she was going to have Americans in her home. Her daughter knew but had not told her we were coming!
A Filter of Hope trip is like a fastball down the middle. Filter of Hope organizes your travels, lodging, transportation, food and fun day. In the field, your team is supported by Filter of Hope Staff and members of the Local Church who make the initial connections with the homes and are responsible for following up. Finally, you go to meet a physical need of clean water but also a spiritual need by telling them about Jesus, the living water.
As 2025 was ending, we knew we wanted to do another Filter of Hope trip. Simonne noticed that there was not (at that time) a trip planned for the Youth. While we were leading a Young Adult LifeGroup, we did not have much experience with Youth, but long story short, we signed up to take a bunch of high schoolers to Panama.
Do we have a high schooler? No. Do we have any children? Not yet—Hopefully soon. Was I going to have to add learning “high school slang” alongside my Spanish lessons? “Low key” definitely. Did we sign up to fill a need, but was it probably going to be really uncomfortable? Bingo!
But did God show up in Panama? Do you even have to ask?
We set out for our first afternoon to share the Gospel in Panama. We took a thirty-minute ride from the church, walked a mile and a half in the rain and mud, only for there to be lightning in the area causing us to cancel and head back up to the bus without distributing a single filter or breathing a word of the Gospel. One would imagine our team would have been upset, and our high schoolers were disappointed, but they understood. All of that for nothing. For a day…
The next day we made it down to the same village and saw people catching the rain in every barrel, bucket, and tub they could find. They welcomed us in, and we began our filter distribution and Gospel presentations, and we were asked, “When did you get to Panama? We have not had water for 15 days. So, thank you for bringing the rain.”
Without the rain, there is no water. Without water, we can’t show them how to use the filter. Without the filter demonstration, we cannot easily physically show how Jesus cleans us from our sin.
So, CVC, I challenge you. To go out! Go Serve! Do something that makes you uncomfortable! Get your passport if you don’t have one already! Use it in God’s name if you do! Go on mission! Go on a Filter of Hope Trip! Learn a language! (Or two if you want to lead a youth trip!) Don’t wait until you are ready. What may seem like just rain might have a larger purpose in your life and the lives of others.
