When you go on a cross-cultural missions trip with someone, you tend to learn a lot about them and see them for who they really are. While missions trips can be exciting and fun in so many ways, there are also a lot of scenario’s that don’t tend to bring out your best characteristics, especially towards the end of the trip when exhaustion hits and you’re in a setting that’s so different than what you’re used to.

When I was in Dominican Republic with Josh and other students from our church this summer, I was so impressed by my fellow team members and how everyone just banded together to help each other out. While it would have been easy to fall apart as a team and put ourselves first, the opposite was true and it was so encouraging to me to learn from my friends while serving alongside them!

One thing that is awesome about Josh is that he gets along with everyone and is really good at talking with people and making anyone feel welcomed, probably because he’s the middle child of three brothers! He constantly was playing sports with his Compassion sponsor child while we were there, which was inspiring for all of us on the team — whenever we’d start to feel tired, we could look over at Josh and see him still going strong… making a conscious effort to show the Dominicans the love of Jesus.

Josh isn’t quite sure yet where he’s headed to college after he graduates from high school, but I know wherever he goes, God is going to use him in big ways! Enjoy a few of my favorites from his senior session!