My name is Zhenya Ballenger, and this is how I’m living deeply.  

“Isn’t it interesting how you can love learning about mission work, but not necessarily see yourself getting directly involved in it? I grew up at CSPC attending the church’s mission conference, which I still really enjoy. One of my favorite parts was always Missions Fest, where you get to rotate rooms and listen to different missionaries (one per room) share their stories. (But it’s always so hard to choose only four missionaries to listen to!) I had never really thought about going on a mission trip myself, though, until this year. My mom asked if I wanted to go with her on a trip to Guatemala this summer. I didn’t really think I wanted to, but then my cousin said she was planning on going, so I changed my mind. One of the first people I told was [CSPC Local Mission Coordinator] Kathryn Ann Laux. She had also gone to Guatemala when she was younger, and said it changed her life. Hearing that helped me look forward to the ways God might want to change my life, too. I still wasn’t sure, though, how I was going to fundraise for my trip. But I was in for a surprise- I ended up watching God provide more quickly than I ever imagined. My parents told different friends at CSPC about the trip and, in just two days, I had all the money I needed! One moment especially was so cool. Someone rang our doorbell. Two girls we didn’t recognize were standing there, and they handed me a card with $200 inside to go toward my trip. Our CSPC family is so generous when it comes to missions, and God allowed me to see that firsthand.

When the time came to actually leave for Guatemala, I was still really nervous: Where were we going to sleep? What kinds of food were we going to eat? I had never even been on a plane before- now my first flight was going to be all the way out of the country! Plus, I didn’t know Spanish (I took French in school). As you probably guessed, all these things I was worrying about worked out just fine. But that doesn’t mean everything was comfortable or easy. I had the unique experience of standing up in the back of a pickup (!) as our team of high school and college-aged students drove up into the mountains to host a kids’ program at a church and a school. The buildings didn’t have air conditioning- and it was HOT! (I didn’t realize how much I had taken for granted every day.) It was worth the discomfort, though. The kids were so happy to see us! A little girl even gave me one of her bracelets to keep. We sang songs, taught a kids’ lesson, and then did rotations with crafts, games and play dough- all similar to the programs my mom organizes at KICKO (Knoxville Inner City Kids Outreach). We ended up repeating all this at several different churches and schools. Everyone was so nice and welcoming, especially at the churches we partnered with. And for our final day, we got to take in the beauty of the volcano-surrounded city of Antigua. I loved this trip so much, I’m planning on going back to Guatemala next year to do it all over again. If you haven’t been on a mission trip, don’t be afraid- when an opportunity comes up, just join a team and go. You’ll meet new people, learn new things about yourself and the world, and discover how quickly you can become friends with someone in another country. Best of all, you’ll see how God is at work all over the world- and you might just be surprised at how He calms those fears that kept you from doing this earlier.”