Team 63, an Express team, is a larger team than most, with 12 teens and 3 leaders. Before they went out, they had months of discipleship leading up to their placement. Austin says, “Our weekly meetings really helped the team get to know one another so there was a good base of friendship by the time we travelled. Everyone was on the same page about the service we were going to do, and the shared mission helped everyone keep focused.”
After their months of discipleship, they all headed to the Texas Hill Country and San Antonio in the United States. While most teams arrive at their placement and then stay in that same place all week, team 63 was a little bit different. “Our team had more moving parts than most; we actually changed sleeping locations twice,” Austin recalls. But those changes didn’t stop the team from settling into a good routine.
“Most days began early with breakfast and a team devotional, then we would travel to our morning ministry project where we served with youth from a local church. After lunch we usually had another ministry project, followed by dinner and downtime.”
“During the week, we served at a local foodbank, a community services centre, and a homeless shelter,” comments Austin. The team also had the opportunity to experience some American pastimes. He adds, “We had our launch weekend in Fredericksburg, TX, where we got to celebrate the 4th of July with fireworks and line dancing!”
For Austin, one of the most memorable parts of leading the trip was seeing the impact that it had on team members. He recalls, “It's always a privilege to see young people getting outside their comfort zone, discovering leadership qualities they didn't know they had, and being blessed by God as they serve His kingdom.”
While many moments of a team are planned and scheduled, sometimes it’s the spontaneous moments that are the most beautiful. Austin’s favourite moment from the whole trip was “...the unexpected worship session we had driving home from our 'adventure day'. It was so authentic and really changed the tone of the rest of the trip.”
From fun moments watching his team learn to line dance, to deep moments of worship, leading this trip was memorable in so many ways for Austin. Most importantly, he says, “I was able to see each of our team members grow in their knowledge of God and faith in Him.”
