Wow! On a 3-hour ride into the jungles of Malaysia, we swayed and bounced in the open backs of Land Rovers to reach some of the more remote villages. Traveling with our local hosts, wonderful people with generous hearts, most of us were from the World Harvest Church in Roswell, Georgia.
Now it’s hot and humid in Georgia, so that part of the jungle trip was familiar, but Roswell is a suburb of Atlanta, with shopping malls and nice, smooth roads. For some of us, this was a totally new type of adventure! The wild, lurching ride over creeks and rivers, through deep, standing water, and into a number of huge mud ruts that sent the Land Rovers slipping and sliding, had us all “hootin’ and hollerin'”, as they say here in the South – we were having the time of our lives! The Land Rovers were loaded with food, medicine, and supplies for the villages we were going to be visiting and we were all excited and happy. We spent the day traveling among several of the villages, dispensing medicine, and distributing food and supplies. The gospel was preached and we were thrilled when, in one place, virtually the whole village accepted Christ! Riding out towards the end of the day, we were tired but happy, talking about the different people we’d met and the things which had happened.
When we’d first arrived in Malaysia, we’d all hit the ground running, working in different areas during the day and having services most nights. Being physically fit, as well as spiritually fit, was a huge help to meet each busy day and night’s challenges with energy, focus, compassion, and passion! Knowing that a mission trip, while being fun and exciting, is also stressful and physically demanding, I had been running and doing hour-long walks regularly in the weeks before leaving to boost my general conditioning, strength, and endurance. Being physically fit definitely helped me fully enjoy the wild trip in and out of the jungle, including pushing the Land Rovers out of a few places where they got stuck, and I still had the energy to fully engage with the villagers we met! So as you prepare for mission trips, along with spiritual fitness, be sure to get physically fit to fully take advantage of, and enjoy, your trip!
