Worcester, MA: The Greatest Summer of My Life

Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God. - Leo Buscaglia

During my freshman year of college, I went through the rigorous process of applying, going through two rounds of interviews, and participating in a retreat in order to go on my very first mission trip. I got to include my top three choices on where to go on my application: Worcester and two different cities in Canada. Thankfully, I was placed in Worcester because it was a great fit for me artistically. That was the beginning of my greatest experience thus far in these twenty years.

I am finding it difficult to sum up my mission experience because so much happened in the span of two months that I will never forget, and I could write a thirty-minute post on all that. I will not do that to you few readers, so instead, I will sum it up the best I can.

I was sent to Worcester by myself to be one of two interns for The Church on Seven Hills. I served cake on my very first Sunday. I connected with the youth, sang during Sunday services, shared meals and Bible studies with the young adults, prayed with the older women of the church, talked with Muslims in their own homes, drew on one hundred journal covers, painted a giant painting for the church foyer, created images for the church's five habits they preach on, chaperoned the youth at camp, got amazed by the faces of the Muslim children as we watched the 4th of July fireworks, ate great food, went on a mini mission trip to Maine, swam at the Hamptons, prayed and cried with one youth girl, prayer walked around a college campus, got advice from a seasoned preacher's wife, cat and house sat, enjoyed the cool New England air, and said goodbye to the best experience and best people of my life.

I did a lot, prayed a lot, sang a lot, created a lot, and connected a lot. Throughout my journey, I kept getting asked by family members what my favorite part has been. My answer was always the people. The people I connected with and still talk with to this day were my favorite part. I met people of all different ethnicities and religions. I learned a lot about who I was and who I wanted to be. I still want to go back and reconnect with these wonderful people and feel the New England air on my face. I want to so desperately go back to this time of pure joy; a time before school sucked the life out of me, family dynamics changed, and my depression hit deep.

While this journey was overall amazing, I still had some hard times dealing with my anxiety as I was placed in a new setting with strenuous tasks and not knowing a single soul when I first got there. I was pushed mentally, physically, and spiritually, and the process was not all sunshine and rainbows.

From the Confessions of an Artist:

Right now I am on a mission trip, and everyone back home is like, 'Sydney is living her life so fearlessly for Christ' or 'Sydney is putting God first." Well, I'm not. I've learned that no matter how far I run, I cannot escape the devil. He still has a hold over my work ethic and self-image. I am 25 days behind on my Bible reading plan. I know I read barely anything during the month of January and have been very far behind before, but I am a MISSIONARY. I was reminded of that today by my mom. Here, I am called an intern of the church, not a missionary of the church. I have been staying comfortable inside with my artwork and fellow Christians. Well, that is not my life's purpose. My life's purpose is to bring people to Christ. I keep forgetting that as I get wrapped up in the artwork, music, childcare, hangouts, cleaning, organizing, meals, etc. I would rather spend this summer hanging out with the college group and sightseeing New England. No Sydney. I have to stay in Worcester for multiple reasons: summer missionary rules and making strong relationships with everyone. For me, travel equals comfort, and connecting with Afghans/youth/children and prayer walking not in the Bible belt equals uncomfortable. Christ calls me to not be comfortable while living life on mission for Him. I have to first dive deep into His Word; then I have to dive deep into the unknowing fire. It won't be comfortable, but as long as I trust Him and live my life boldly for Him, He will produce much fruit from my uncomfortable labor this summer.

I wasn't the fearless missionary I wanted to be, but I tried to showcase the Lord through my actions and words the best I could in a place where living for Christ or going to church is not prominent. If asked if I would do it all over again, I would immediately say yes because I regret nothing throughout my entire experience, except for driving around the sketchy parts of town trying to find a tattoo parlor.

If you would like to know more about my summer in New England, or something uber specific, comment below or send me an email. I would love to hear from you!

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20 NIV