Back row left to right: Shane Sapp, Seth Wing, Jeremy Vogel, Matt McClain, Isaiah Bartel, Nathan Curtis, Garrett Mann
Front row left to right: Clementine Sapp, Kelly Sapp, Michaela McClintock, Emily Graham, Bethany Kroeker, Grover Sapp, Valerie Swigart

2007 RP Mission Team
As we stood inside the Roman Catholic school, it's safe to say that we were all feeling a little bit scared. It's not a small thing to stand in front of twenty cynical, seemingly self-assured high school students and tell them about the changes God has done in your life. But at the same time, a strength and assurance flowed through all of us. We had something they did not - the truth! The group dynamics were drastically different when we came back together after an hour. Some were enthusiastic, some were quiet, but all knew that it was only by God's grace that we were enabled to say what we had. On my part, I felt a much deeper understanding of the lost state of the world. When those students were sitting there, so unable to see and accept the truth when it was right there in front of their faces, it left me feeling a deep sadness. But, at the same time, it drove me to desire to show them how lost and confused they really are.

The Airdrie 2007 RP Mission Trip has been, I believe, a truly deepening experience for all of its members. When we arrived four weeks ago, we all expected something great, something exciting, something life-changing. What we got was so much more than we could have imagined.

The first week of our trip was spent preparing for our presentations in the local Airdrie schools. We were blessed to be able to go into five primary and three high schools. For the primary schools we prepared a short drama, based on the Parable of the Wedding Feast found in Matthew 22. Through that short drama, we were able to convey God's call to people to come to Him, as well as the consequences for those who did or did not answer that call. We also prepared a few Psalm selections with actions to teach to the kids. When we finally got to go into the schools and interact with the kids, it was such an edifying experience! The warm welcome and the enthusiasm they showed was truly a blessing. We continue to pray fervently that the Gospel message presented will be used mightily for His Kingdom.

For the High Schools, we all prepared a personal testimony of how God has changed our lives. This was definitely a challenging endeavour! We spent many hours with each other, critiquing everything from content to presentation. In the end, however, we all felt that our testimonies had been polished to be the most useful for presenting the gospel. Going into the high schools was much less outwardly encouraging than the primary schools, as we got more questions and less acceptance from the kids who found some of our beliefs hard to accept. But, it was more rewarding on a deeper, spiritual level, as we felt that many of the kids had genuine questions. Our hope and prayer was that our presentation would make the kids consider what they believe, and what the truth really is.

The second week was spent mainly in school presentations and much study time. We spent at least an hour each day in team devotions, studying Ephesians. This was such a blessing, as it caused us to grow spiritually, as well as become more developed as a team. God often used this time to show us weaknesses in our team dynamic, allowing us to correct them and become a stronger team. We also spent time in prayer and Psalm singing, which was always encouraging.

The rest of our study time we spent discussing two theological books, Every Thought Captive by Richard Pratt, and Spiritual Disciplines by Donald Whitney. The first book was about Biblical apologetics, which was practically helpful while we were in the schools as we entered into many discussions regarding Christianity. The second book addressed the necessary disciplines of the Christian lifestyle, such as prayer, Bible study, and evangelism.

A great deal of the third week was spent on the Covenanter Tour with Pastor Quigley and Pastor Dick Knodel. This was a very rewarding experience, as we learned so much about our Covenanter heritage. Hearing of the sacrifices these Christians had to make for their faith challenged many of us to consider the compromises we make in our own lives today. It was a very sobering thought to realise that what they died for, Christ and His Kingdom, is so easy for us to passively deny today, merely by not outwardly proclaiming this truth.

The last three days of the trip we spent distributing the Airdrie RP Church News pamphlet to the area surrounding the church. The pamphlet contains a short testimony, gospel presentation, and church contact information. We hope that an awareness of the church will be expanded in the community through this bi-annual church distribution.

Though we were quite busy all the time, we weren't without our times of fun. We spent an afternoon at Stirling Castle, two in Glasgow, an entire day touring the highlands, a congregational trip to North Berwick, and we even had a free day at the end of the trip. We also enjoyed a weekend wigwamming trip with the CY, which was a great time of fun and fellowship with the youth.

Perhaps the best part of the trip was simply getting to enjoy the Airdrie congregation, where we found the people wonderfully warm and friendly. We got to know so many wonderful fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, and these experiences greatly enriched our time here. Whether it was through touring different places with various people, going into schools with them, working alongside them on the work day, or simply enjoying after church fellowship, these are all experiences and friendships that we will greatly treasure for the rest of our lives.
Emily Graham