Mystery Trip: REVEAL!

With an arrival time of 5 o’clock in the morning, the interns arrived with their suitcases in hand at the Go International offices anticipating the the long awaited reveal of the mystery. For months, the interns have been raising money for this mystery and guessing their destination. With their first clue received, the interns walked into the music room at the Go International offices to discover it had been transformed to South America. After a short “visit” to South America, the interns were escorted to their next continent, Antarctica, where they braved the cold weather and sifted through ice to discover their next clue. The journey continued, as the interns visited Asia, North America, Africa, Australia, and Europe. Although the journey through the seven continents riled up the interns with excitement, they were still clueless as to their destination. With 3 hours til the flight departure, the interns had one more stop to make before heading the the airport. After all, their destination was still unknown. After a series of challenges the interns were granted access to a to a key element, a video, that would reveal their destination. The interns watched the reveal video with wide eyes, hanging onto every word that appeared on the screen. The reveal announced that Go International would be going to a place home to 48 million people, with the highest number of people affected by aids in the world. The interns gasped as they clung to each other, tears began to fill their eyes as photographs of African orphans, African soil, and the South African Flag flashed across the screen. Jumping and screaming with excitement, the interns huddled in a circle as they cried with excitement for where they would be traveling to in less than 3 hours. Andrew Hunt, a first year intern, stated that he was “overwhelmed” and that this was the “greatest gift” he has ever received, his trip had just been paid for 48 prior to the reveal. As Kaylee, Hilary, and Lauren piled into the car to get to the airport, still in shock the girls eyes were still filled with tears as they continued repeating “We’re going to Africa!!” The three girls explained that over the last few months, the Lord had heavily laid the continent on their hearts and that they had a burning desire to visit and work with the people there. For many of the Go Interns, Mystery Trip’s journey to South Africa is the start of their dreams becoming a reality.

THE MYSTERY BEGINS NOW

Day 5 in Bangkok

Our last day in Thailand, we got up early that morning to have some team time to close out the trip. We then headed out for our last adventures before catching our flight  to the U.S. at 10:00 that night! First we drove a couple hours outside of Bangkok to the world famous “Floating Market.” The Floating Market takes place in a canal called Damnoen Saduak. We loaded into motor canoes of 8 with our coconut drinks in hand. Our guide took us through the canal with palm trees hanging overhead, passing small houses on stilts, we enjoyed our ride with the warm Thai sun beating down on us one last day.  Finally we arrived to the markets where sellers of fruit, vegetables and souvenirs lined the walls of the canal  on every corner, around every turn. Anytime we saw something we wanted to buy from a vendor, we’d stop our boat, and buy it right there on the river! The team was glad to get some last minute shopping in and get a chance to see such an awesome world-famous attraction. After visiting the Floating Market, we hurried to a place nearby where the next exciting opportunity awaited our team! They once again had the chance to ride elephants, and they even got to ride bareback if they wanted! After a tour through the jungle on the back of an elephant the trip was officially coming to an end. We then headed to the airport for our flight to Seoul Korea, and then onto the U.S.. Everyone was very sad to leave, but excited to get back home to see family & friends.

Take a look at the photos below from the day!

Day 4 in Bangkok

They started the morning with prayer and worship as a team preparing for their last day of ministry in Bangkok. After that, they discovered their “Love Challenge” for the day which was the annual “Go on Your Own Challenge.”

Each Mystery Trip the Interns participate in this unique outreach where they have the opportunity to come up with what their ministry for that day will look like.  The purpose of the “Go on Your Own Challenge” is to create an atmosphere for the interns that is much like the reality of a missionary who lives overseas. On short term missions, we are so use to the luxury of having the day to day ministry set up for us in advance by the trip leaders. But since we are all called to be leaders, the “Go On Your Own Challenge” provides them the chance to take the tools they’ve been given as they are led by God and put action to their creative ministry ideas!

This year, The whole team broke up into groups of 4 people with a budget for food, transportation and ministry. The teams prayed together and brainstormed about their plan for the afternoon, then headed out to reach the people of Bangkok. With a clear vision in mind and a unified goal in their hearts each team carried out their unique ideas differently to make the biggest impact with what they had. One team interviewed the young people of Bangkok by asking them relevant questions and learning about Thai culture and also encouraging them in what they are doing in their lives right now. Another team bought journals for a few Thai people to write down the dreams that are in their hearts and the things they’ve always wanted to do. They added their own encouraging words in the front of the journal, written in Thai, as a special note to the people they gave that memorable gift to that day. One of the other teams met a young lady from India and took her out to lunch, learning about Indian culture and spending the day with her forming a relationship.

Watch the video below to see a bit from one of the team’s time as they went to a city park to build relationships with the people there, encouraging them as they shared their faith.

After the “Go on Your Own” challenge, the interns rejoined and shared their stories from each team. Following that, they had the chance to go to the English exchange school for the last time. They all loved the opportunity to teach English and build relationships with the students there.

To finish the night they went to dinner with some of the students at a beautiful restaurant on a rooftop overlooking the city! It was a great way to end the ministry time in Thailand.

Changing a Family’s Life for $200

Article written by Anna Brown, Go Intern

Upon arriving at a small village surrounding a church on our third day in Cambodia, we were warmly invited by smiling faces, respectful bows, and bashful giggles from the children. Both ministry teams were able to participate at this site, making a team of twenty-five total. We performed our dramas for the enthusiastic crowd and after praying over the small congregation, we began connecting with the people.

After an intense game of “keep-away” with the kids, Greg called the group together for a quick update. He informed us of a woman whose husband had passed away the Monday prior to our arrival. A month before, our contacts had lead him to the Lord and left him a Bible to read to his family. Through this the wife and her children had personally decided to follow God with him.

The widow and her family currently lived far away from the church, but close to one of the many Buddhist temples in the area. She feared raising her children apart from a Christian community would cause them to follow Buddhist beliefs, but could not afford the $200 cost to build a house near the church.

We had been learning about hardships in other countries in our “Eyes Wide Open” series just a couple of weeks ago in the Go Internship, but it was totally different seeing it for ourselves. Greg presented us with the opportunity to give. So we prayed about it briefly and decided it was something we wanted to do. About ten minutes later Greg came to us with the total amount of money we had come up with: $356! Our contact brought her over to our group and Greg told her the situation through the translator. The look of appreciation in her eyes as she looked at each one of us is something I’ll never forget. To us, it was roughly ten dollars each; to her it was something that could change her children’s lives.

Watch the video below!

Day 3 in Bangkok – Night of Refuge

The very first “Night of Refuge” hosted by Go International

Article written by Kaitlyn Schmitt, Go Intern

A place of refuge is something each human being longs for, as if it was purposefully placed inside us. I believe this longing for safety was placed inside us by God so we may draw closer to him. Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.” What a wonderful thing it is to know that God, the maker of all things, cares enough about you and I to answer when we cry out to him.

Sometimes that cry is answered by an encouraging word from a friend, or from a verse in the Bible, or maybe even by an act of love from a complete stranger. The Go Interns and Staff were able to show the rescuing love of God by creating the very first “Night of Refuge” in Bangkok, Thailand. This event took place at a beautiful restaurant in our hotel that we rented out for the evening, and our guests for the evening were prostitutes.

With a heart for the hurting and oppressed we were determined to give these women a night of rest, and a night were they felt loved and cared for.
Now, to go give our guests their invitation actually took us going down to the bars and “renting” the women for the night. The term “rent” in conjunction with a human being sends a shiver down my back. It only became more real to me when I had to speak to the manager of one of the bars; it was as if he was selling merchandise. Like he owned them. The next bar we went to was the place we found our girls. We invited them to the party back at the hotel and they quickly agreed to come with us. Needless to say we were so happy!

An hour later all the 4 teams combined and brought together a total of 31 girls. Now, it was time to take them to the party, their party.

I wish you could have been their to see us make our way back to the hotel, but since you weren’t let me paint a picture. Imagine 68 people making their way down the street, arm and arm with prostitutes and then watch all 68 people get on the same subway. Everyone is nervously laughing and making conversation unsure of how the remainder of the night will unfold, and the women are still obviously unsure of what they have gotten themselves into. As we exit the subway and make our way down the street, anticipation starts to build. We’re almost there. Hotel in sight, the excitement ensues. Walking through the doors, heads turning as we walk by, we just smile to ourselves knowing what’s about to take place.

The women entered the party apprehensive, still unsure of our intentions, though they began to relax when we served them refreshments.

Next on the agenda for the evening, party games! Never in my life have I seen anyone have so much fun playing musical chairs. The girls were squealing to high heavens, literally throwing themselves into the seat, which caused lots of body collision and more laughing followed. I think it was in this moment we forgot these women’s occupations and realized just how much we have in common with them. It was such a great moment to be apart of. After the most competitive, thrilling game of musical chairs ever played… we did the Cha Cha slide. Oh yes. So much fun! They caught on quickly and loved every second of it. Following this wonderful time of relationship building we invited them to sit down and watch a drama we had prepared. The drama shown was called Bondage, in which the main character, a girl, is bound by a chain. This chain, along with some of the circumstances she goes through in the drama represents sin and its control over her life. The dramas conclusion was met with silence and tear-stained cheeks, the women were identifying themselves with this girl. As she had struggled through life bound by sin, so were these women bound by their own sin. It was then that we spoke to them about the forgiveness found in Jesus; the undying, irrevocable love found in Christ alone. What a beautiful message this was to them.
The girls of Go International then went out to pray with the women. During this unforgettable time of prayer and sharing of our faith 19 of the 31 women gave their hearts to Christ. Remembering this brings tears to my eyes.

To close out the night we all joined together and sang a simple worship song, “Hallelujah”. I had the privilege of leading this time of worship, and the only word I can think of to describe it is breathtaking. Women, who two hours before were giving their bodies for money, were now linked arm and arm singing praises to God.

The night ended with the wonderful men of Go International giving each girl a rose as she left the party. With the last rose given and tearful goodbyes, we looked around at the empty room in complete amazement at what had just taken place. At that point I think the question hanging in all of our minds was, “will they go back to the bars?” Without an answer to that question, we hope the refuge experienced that night by each woman is something she not only holds onto, but also never forgets she can go back to. When each of those women experiences the raging storms of life we know they can find strength in the arms of their Savior.

Check out the videos and photos below of the Night of Refuge!

Day 2 in Bangkok

First thing in the morning the Interns received a Truth Challenge. Where they would take time to learn about the culture and information about the country of Thailand. The team had the chance to go to the Grand Palace and take a tour of this beautiful place. Later on that afternoon we had the opportunity to go to a English exchange center where you can go and speak with Thai students to practice their English, and talk about any subject you’d like. The team had a complete blast! They loved creating relationships with the students. Check out the photos below!

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Day 1 in Bangkok

The day started pretty early as we got up to catch our flight from Cambodia to Thailand. We arrived in Bangkok at around 12:00 noon. After getting settled into the hotel, the team was so excited to be in Bangkok and have the chance to see some of the city! We spent the last half of the day shopping and just enjoying seeing Thailand!

Check out the photos below!

Last Day in Cambodia

Sunday morning we attended a service at the local church that we’ve been working with. The team performed the drama “Bondage,” and Greg Baca shared a word in season. After church the teams went out to their final ministry sites while in Cambodia. We had the chance to minister in some villages, and it was a perfect end to the 3 days we had in this beautiful country. We are so thankful we had the opportunity to spend time in the villages surrounding Kampong Thom and love on the people there. What a beautiful place!

Check out the photos and video below!

Cambodia Day 4 from Go International on Vimeo.

Discovering the Next Destination

The night before, the Interns received a Travel Clue saying: “Tomorrow at 7am we will travel to one of the ancient wonders of the world, Angkor Wat! Surrounded by a moat stretching in the length of two football fields. Choose to explore these grounds either by foot or on the back of an elephant.”
The next morning, the day started at 7:00 am and we drove from the village we were staying in to Angkor Wat, which was 2 hours away.  After arriving at Angkor Wat, the team was ready to explore and see this beautiful world wonder. Little did they know, that they were about to start a Travel challenge that would reveal their next country destination!

As a team, they would thoroughly search the grounds of Angkor Wat to find 6 puzzle pieces that when put together, would reveal their next country destination! After an hour and a half of searching the temple, the team found all 6 of the puzzle pieces. They all gathered together, and worked as a team to assemble the puzzle that when put together, was a word spelled out in Khmer (the language spoken in Cambodia).  After getting the puzzle translated, they found out the puzzle read: THAILAND.

Check out the photos and video below!

Cambodia Day 3 from Go International on Vimeo.

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