Interested in Going on a Mission Trip with AJ? Check this Out!

Jan 16, 2018

Board member and Director of Missions for Addis Jemari, Tracey Craven, is our guest blogger today and she shares with us her heart behind missions…stay tuned for a live Facebook video later this week, where she will answer all your questions! 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”  Proverbs 3:5-6

Have you ever had a bible verse that you have heard and/or read countless times, but one day it just stops you in your tracks?  Well, Proverbs 3:5-6 has rocked my world this year.  A little over a year ago, a pastor at my church shared a message with this verse.  At that time, I felt a little nudge, possibly heard a whisper.  Since then, it has randomly popped into my day and I have managed to cover it up with “busyness and life.”

However, in rolls 2018, and this verse is no longer a whisper or a nudge.  It has body slammed me from the top rope.  I have been chewing on it, digesting it in small pieces, and putting some back for leftovers, because it is all too much for me to take on at one time. One thing I do know is, God wants me to live out this verse loudly.  Hence, why I am sharing it with you.  I also know that part of it has to do with Addis Jemari, mission teams, and my role as Director of Missions.  When it comes to missions, I believe that if God is pressing on your heart to go and do and serve and love, then it can only be done by fully relying on Him and surrendering all to HimOne cannot go on a mission trip with an agenda, a plan, a purpose.  It is God’s plan, God’s agenda, and God’s purpose. 

I am praying that the Addis Jemari mission teams that travel to our much loved city of Addis Ababa, will see the people of Ethiopia through God’s eyes.  I pray that they will have clarity and discernment and follow God’s lead in how, when, and where to serve.  I pray that Addis Jemari is a tool that God uses to share His love.  I pray that seeds are planted in the heart of the mission team members that will have a positive and lasting impact on the lives of the people they meet in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

All the feels are hard to put into one blog post.  So, I am fully relying on God, and submitting to Him, and putting myself out there live on the Addis Jemari Facebook page later this week to share more of Addis Jemari’s heart for mission teams and answer any questions you may have about joining us on one of our 2018 mission trips.  Date and time TBA.  Stay tuned.  ~Tracey Craven