“God basically just picked me up and put me there,” Cassia says about her recent 10-month mission trip to Cameroon. Her journey began with some challenging visa complications, but God paved the way for her to be there—and He used the trip to change her in unexpected ways.

At first, she felt homesick, but she started each day soaking in scripture and eventually found a new sense of normalcy. “God just got me through it,” she says. “He gives you hard things to push you, but He’s always got your back.”

In Cameroon, her daily routine involved teaching preschool in the mornings and assisting in kindergarten and first-grade classes in the afternoons. A few months into the trip, she also began aiding a special needs child. On weekends, she enjoyed attending a local church and playing volleyball with its members.

One of her favorite things on the trip was experiencing the church services there. “They worship God with all their heart,” she says. She described worship in America as occurring more inwardly, whereas in Cameroon, people outwardly express their worship through song and dance without worrying about what others think.

And while she attended church over the course of her trip, she saw God lead Anita* to get baptized. After a classmate invited her to church, Anita sensed God’s love in the congregation, and got baptized just a week before Cassia’s trip ended! It was such a powerful reminder of how God works through His people.

Not only did Cassia see God transforming the locals, but she also sensed Him working in her own heart. “I’ve always been a servant,” she says, “but now I also really want to get to know people’s hearts.” 

While she was there, some of the missionaries took a sincere interest in her life, which really touched her heart. After telling one missionary where she was from, he pulled out his phone and zoomed in all the way on the map to find the exact street she lived on. As a foreigner who was missing her home, it comforted Cassia to know that someone would care that much to learn about the home she missed. Now she wants to model that same level of care in her interactions with others. “Now I really feel like I have a heart to get to know people,” she says. 

We’re so thankful for all the ways God worked through Cassia’s willingness to engage in missions. If you want to be a part of the life-transformations God is bringing through missions, check out our opportunities to “go” or consider partnering financially with someone already on the field.

*Name changed for security