Suzanne's Experience
By Suzanne
November 18, 2004
Of course there were plenty of reasons that could have stopped me from going to Russia this past July as part of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship's Global Project. Reason #1. Money. Yep, I'm a college student. Need I say more? #2. Time. I'm supposed to give up a full month of work and other important aspects of my life during the summer? #3. Fundraising. How is that going to work? #4. The unknown. I'm supposed to fly over 9 time zones and across the ocean to a place I don't know anything about?
It would have been easy to look at this list and say, "No contest…I'm staying home this summer." However, if I said that, I would have missed out on an open door from God; a door that lead to opportunities to share Christ as we are called to, develop new friendships, and have an unforgettable, growing experience.
It truly has been a growing experience since the beginning of the trip. And when I say beginning, I mean far before we took flight in Minneapolis, MN. The entire process has been a growing experience: hearing about the trip, contemplating and praying about if I should apply or not, going through the application process, finding out I was accepted, fundraising, meeting the American team, flying across those time zones, being submersed in a new culture, meeting friends from literally across the world, sharing the joy in my heart, witnessing God's provisions and power, entering back into the states, and even sitting here and writing this. I've been learning and have been changed throughout this all and will continue to learn and be changed for the rest of my life.
Many people ask what impacted me the most and one particular convicting, yet encouraging lesson always comes to mind. I realized on a new level the importance of going deeper and trusting in God. The Russian students and American students were together for approximately 2 weeks at a camp outside of Petrozavodsk. Seeing what God was able to do in that short amount of time in all our lives, but especially the lives and hearts of the Russian girls through our time in scripture, deep & meaningful conversations about God, Jesus, freedom, sin and forgiveness, relationships, and other topics made me stand in awe of what God can do through His servants when we trust in where He leads us. There was a growing hunger in the hearts of the girls. One particular day, we were reading scripture about sin and forgiveness. We had taken a break and when our small group was coming back together, one of the Russian students asked, "What are other passages about sin and forgiveness? I want to read more…" It really struck me that I had been on campus in Bemidji for 9 months prior to this trip and I lacked so much trust in where God was leading me in friendships in my life. He had been opening doors for me, but I wasn't stepping inside. I was letting fear control my actions, or lack thereof. God used the time on this trip to help me understand this.
I encourage you, as students, to at least view this trip as an open door from God and dare to ask what would happen if you stepped inside.
