On September 13th Mission 403 had the opportunity of visiting Hamlet Church of God of Prophecy in Hamlet, NC. Steve Crews, the pastor of the church, previously was part of a mission team to Paraguay in 2013 with Stephen Schaefer. During that trip, Pastor Crews helped the team minister to the small community of Quyquyho and assisted on some of the construction efforts for the Quyquyho Community Center, an ongoing project of the church and the ministry of Dan and Gwen Miller. Several life-long friendships were made and God blessed both the community of Quyquyho and the team members. It was a great trip.
At the NC Church of God of Prophecy State Convention, Pastor Crews invited Stephen and I to visit his church. Again we brought along our three friends and talented musicians PJ Dublin, Isaiah Mack, and Taquiceya Johnson. We sang two songs for worship with Stephen playing trumpet on the last song. It was a very sweet spirit that inhabited the worship service and many people were able to reflect upon God. The presentation of Mission 403 went well with the entire congregation giving us a standing ovation at the end. It was remarkable how a group of people unfamiliar with us could be so appreciative and enthusiastic about our ministry.
After the service, Stephen and I were invited to each lunch at a local restaurant with Pastor Crews, his wife Jackie, and a couple of the members of Hamlet COGOP. It was here that I (Jessica) got to hear some amazing testimonies of how God made a difference in the lives of a young couple. Afflicted by addiction and a dysfunctional relationship, this couple was on a road from bad to worse. They knew of God but sadly they’d never made a personal connection with Him. After some very unfortunate events, they both finally decided to turn their hearts over to Christ and their lives and relationship with each other began to heal.
Having been through some of my own personal trials, we talked about how God has used our past in order for us to counsel and help make a difference in the lives of people going through similar circumstances. It’s funny, we all agreed that if we could choose to go back and undo what happened to us we would gladly do so. However, at the same time we know that our past hardships have helped to shape who we are as individuals. Without our experiences, we would not be able to connect with others going through what we went through. Experience gives us perspective. Someone struggling with addiction issues is not going to listen to someone who has never faced that demon. Sometimes you can’t understand someone until you’ve walked in their shoes. Past experience may not always be wanted, but what happened in each of our pasts is just that–the past. We cannot change what happened we can only go forward and try to help others along the way.
Mission 403 is a music ministry, but it is also a ministry that seeks to reach out to hurting people. We want to make music that helps people endure their pain and aid in starting the healing process. We want to make a difference in people’s lives by meeting physical needs, helping to provide access to good education, and promoting spiritual health through a relationship with God. We want to use all of our resources, musical or otherwise to help those we come into contact with whether they be in Paraguay or elsewhere. I am sure Mission 403 will encounter many unique situations while on the mission field and I know that through Christ we can make a significant impact. We hope to surround ourselves with people just like that young couple at Hamlet, who have real world experience and perspective of life’s struggles. Through God, music, prayer, dedication, and hard-work we will make a difference in our world.