Speaker: Mary Carletta Denise Johnson, Antioch, California
Tell us about yourself and why you chose to come to this AYP mission trip.
Mary Carletta Denise Johnson: My name is Mary and I'm a high school Spanish teacher and I just really enjoy mission trips. I also have been working with Build and Restore for a few years now and I enjoy doing mission trips all over the world. And what better place than sunny Miami. That's why I decided to come.
What was the most impactful moment of your mission trip and why?
Mary Carletta Denise Johnson: I would say the most impactful moment of the mission trip was just getting to meet different people, different young adults from all different parts of the state and coming together to work together to get a common goal completed. So we worked hard together, we played hard in the evening and I also enjoyed the devotionals that we had in the evening, especially as we would be on the beach, hunt for a couple of them out in nature. And we could just really ponder how God speaks rest through nature as in the ocean. For example, how the ocean is constantly moving. Like God's love is constantly moving.
How did this mission trip strengthen your faith?
Mary Carletta Denise Johnson: This mission trip strengthened my faith in that it helped me to just completely rely on God because as we know on mission trips not everything goes smoothly or everything goes perfectly. But God so far has always come through for us.
How do you plan to apply what you've learned from this mission trip in your daily life?
Mary Carletta Denise Johnson: I think what I can apply to my daily life from this mission trip is just a reminder that you can do so much more working together. Like we would be working and, you know, it's really hot. We'd be tired, but because we're walking and working all together, it just made it so much more pleasant, so much easier seeing that other people were with you, other people were supporting the same work you didn't feel like, oh, I'm clearing all these desks out of this room all by myself or I'm carrying all these things over here by myself. But because we were all together as a team, it just made it much more enjoyable and it made it go a lot faster.
What's your message to someone considering whether they should come to the next AYP mission trip?
Mary Carletta Denise Johnson: If you're ready for adventure, come to the next AYP mission trip.
