Mission Trip Gave me a New Voice

My name is Dylan, and I served on my first mission trip from mid-June, 2017, in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. Two major changes happened to me on this Workcamps trip. One is that during worship, I sang so much louder than I ever have before. I don't have the most attractive singing voice, and my singing is really off-key sometimes, but something this week made me forget those things, and I sang loudly and wholeheartedly.

The other major change is that I was able to pray out loud. Almost every time I am in a group prayer or a prayer circle, I pass on praying out loud. I'm not usually good at saying prayers out loud, so I keep them to myself.  When I pray, I think a lot about what I say before I say it. This week though, I was able to get out two or three prayers for a couple friends in need. While saying these prayers, I had a strange feeling that what I was saying wasn't coming from me. On Thursday, words just spilled out of my mouth one after the other. I really felt like the Holy Spirit was working through me that night. I am definitely coming back for my second mission trip next year, and I hope that every year I am able to grow closer to God.