“A Beautiful Mess”

By: Alisen Key

I love how God knows exactly what is going to happen in your life and puts things into motion, even when it was never a thought in your mind. That’s how it was with me and missions. I never really had the desire to go on a missions trip. I thought I had enough going on and that I was already walking in my calling. But man, was I wrong.

In January of 2017, my mom went on a trip to Haiti with our church and an organization called Conduit Missions. At this point, missions was not anywhere on my radar. Honestly, when she got back, she got on my nerves with how much she talked about it. But that was only because I didn’t understand. Throughout 2017, she kept telling me I needed to go. I kept saying no, until my mom and our missions director were having a conversation about the trip and all the people they fell in love with in Haiti.

So that night I decided to go. I wasn’t sure why I decided to go, but I signed up that night. In that moment I had no clue how my life was going to change.

The months leading up to the trip, I didn’t really know how to feel or what to do. I didn’t do a good job with fundraising or preparing myself to go, because I didn’t understand the importance of what was about to happen in my life. So my mom basically did everything, knowing I needed to go. Fast forward to November 2017. It was time for the trip. Everyone around me was ready and so excited. I didn’t know how to feel, but the moment that plane landed in Haiti my life changed forever.

One question we were asked at the beginning of the week was, “Ask God what He sees in Haiti.” In that moment I had to look at a country, that most people see as a dump, in the lens of how God sees it. I saw the beauty God sees and fell in love with the people God loves.

That is what missions is all about. Loving people.

Lately, I’ve seen a lot of posts on social media talking about missions negatively. Many people think we go to expose how people in other countries live worse lives than us and that is the furthest thing from the truth. Yes, we do go and help build houses, or walk door to door telling people about the new church opening up in their village and tell them that they are loved, but the relationships we build with people are the most meaningful things we get out of our trips. At first, we think of how we are going to go and change their world, but in reality, it’s our world that gets changed. That’s one thing I learned very quickly. There isn’t much I can do for their country, but I can show them how loved they truly are. My whole world has changed because I finally said yes. I have been on three trips so far, and I am working on my fourth. Now, I am trying to figure out what being a full time missionary looks like for my life.

I don’t go on these trips for a vacation. I go to love people. And that is how I will forever live my life.

If you are wondering how I answered the question from the beginning of the week, Haiti is a beautiful beautiful mess. God loves Haiti, and God loves the people of Haiti. And so do I.

As the big sister of only brothers, Alisen isn’t afraid to get in the mud to love people. She has the heart of a servant and knows how to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Alisen went on her first mission trip to Haiti a couple years ago, going on several more since then, and would like to become a full-time missionary in the future. To learn more about Alisen, you can find her on Instagram here.