“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”                                                                    Colossians 2:6-7

The Abiding team put in early mornings and late evenings to accomplish their goal

The team met morning and evening to share testimonies and prayer with each other

A team of fourteen—6 adults and 8 teenagers—traveled from their church, Abiding Savior Freedom Lutheran Church, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota to El Paso on the third week of July for their very first mission trip.  Their mission was to bless the staff, volunteers, and people at Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care (YLM).  Their goal: to accomplish it in three days.

The result was a beautifully painted Main Office building, front church benches stripped, sanded, and painted a cheery color, a newly planted olive tree, and friendships forming through prayer, testimony sharing, and the study of God’s Word.

“It was a blessing to come here for our first Rooted youth mission trip,” Christ, youth leader at Abiding Savior, shared on the last day of their trip, “Not just to YLM, but overall.  We were all truly impacted by what we came to accomplish.”

The joy and kindness with which they served overflowed to the staff and volunteers at YLM, but it wasn’t one-sided.

“Getting to hear your testimony gave me courage to share mine,” Rebecca, one of the adult leaders, shared with one of the staff members on their second day, “It helped me see I wasn’t alone in my struggles and pain, but also, it showed me God’s love and grace working in, and through, someone else.”

The team took time to pray over two El Paso teenage girls for their youth ministry

Teenagers and adults worked together to finish painting the Main Office building in three days

Their determination to finish their main project—painting the exterior of the Main Office building—resulted in early mornings and late evenings, but it got done.  This led to the opportunity to explore some of what El Paso had to offer.

They had the joy of trying out local cuisine, spent an evening gazing over the lights of El Paso, Juarez, and Las Cruces as the sun set, and early on Wednesday morning, they headed out to Franklin State Park to hike the Aztec Cave Trail before heading to downtown El Paso for some exploring.

These fun events gave them the opportunity to meet other people, to encourage and pray for each other, and even to pray over two strangers; two teenage girls shared with them how they were trying to grow their own youth group at their newly planted church.  After the hike, as the team was getting ready to go, three of the adults struck up a conversation with a Park Ranger, and before leaving, prayed over him as well.

“It’s a blessing to see how God serves those who come to serve others,” Luz, YLM staff member, shared, “This group came with the purpose of blessing others, and they did, but they also left blessed.  It’s how God works.  He returns blessings with blessings.  He is never one-sided.”

What a beautiful testimony of God’s love shown through, and to, the team from Abiding Savior.  It was a joy to have them join YLM in its mission to change lives every day through simple acts of kindness.