KAMBRIA SALIDO

At first applying to STSM, I was scared that I was not able to raise enough funds to go and STSM would also be my very first mission trip experience. So I became anxious about being able to be prepared enough financially and mentally to be able to serve. However, the Lord constantly continued to show me that He will always provide for me in the path that He has laid out for me. The Lord revealed this to me not only for myself, but through the missionaries as well. After attending WinterCon, during fervent prayer, I was sure the Lord was definitely leading me to serve in STSM that summer and I also felt a strong call towards going to India.  

Upon training to go to South India, during Prep and Intensive Week, I began to struggle to feel that I would be able to connect with my team on a more personal level. However, I became very blinded to the fact that I had a valuable presence on my team and it weighed me down throughout training. Thoughts of panic arose from things in my personal life that seemed to be falling apart, as well as feeling useless from not having a labeled role of leadership on my team. Because of these things I began to become insecure of my own personality as I was not “clicking” with anyone on my team easily. Unsure of what to do, I prayed to God that these feelings would dissolve during the trip, determined to move past these things as  I was most importantly there to serve the Lord. I knew harmony with my teammates was also something that I needed to embody to glorify the Lord in His decision to place the people He chose to go to South India. 

As our team first took off and arrived in India, I was frustrated to still feel the same about our team dynamic and my place on our team. However, after our second day in India I began to get sick. I was not only very sick but my symptoms were the most intense the day before the first day of ministry. Feeling defeated, I once again turned to the Lord for strength and guidance. I prayed that if He wanted me to participate, that the Lord would grant me to do the energy and will to do so because as it was, I did not have the ability to do so at the time. The next morning, I was woken up at 5am to get ready for morning exercises with Missionary Chung and the seminary students. I woke up with a lot less pain and more energy than I expected and from that day on until the end of our ministry, the Lord continued to sustain me in all aspects: physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. Not only was I sustained in all these aspects but mentally and emotionally, I was thriving more than anything. During the first two weeks of our trip I was sick, my heart was softened to all those around me and although I was also struggling with being homesick, I was truly able to enjoy and treasure the times we had as a team. Even though I was also not able to fulfill my initial role of MC because of my broken voice (because of sickness), I found so much joy and satisfaction in playing a small part in the role of God’s kingdom. Furthermore, at this time, I was not only being cared for by my team but also by the missionaries in India who saw I needed help during my sickness. As a result of this, the Lord revealed to me through answered prayer and people how He always has my back and not just when I am obediently serving Him, but through any trial I may be forced to endure.

After our two weeks of ministry, I was feeling better physically and I was able to truly engage with my teammates. For the rest of the trip, our team traveled from South up to North India. Although this part of the journey was the most dangerous, I feel that the Lord was really drawing me close to Him at this time. As our team traveled from one Hindu temple to another, the lies that Satan was feeding to the people of India became very apparent to me, although it seemed like there would be no hope for India at times. Bangalore was proof that God can truly work through any people as it served as a Christian haven for India. Learning more about how the people of India strive for excellence and success, I could see how the work of St. Paul School’s excellence was that much more important. I have always known that we should as children of Christ, do all things for the glory of God, but the way that St. Paul School uses this to be successful in the eyes of God and Man in order to show the greatness of our God is nothing I had truly embodied before. Comparing Bangalore and Varanasi, the “spiritual city” of India, they seem so vast from one another, but it only shows how powerful the Lord is in restoring those who are lost and desperate for a loving caring God. Even now, we can still have so much hope and faith that the Lord will bring a revival to the country of India so that every ear may hear the truth of the gospel so that one day, Jesus will return to take all of His children up with Him into heaven forever. 

As I continue to look forward to all the things that the Lord will continue to use me through, I hope I continue to embody the excellence the Lord deserves and confidence that the Lord loves and is proud of the person he has crafted me to be today.