A New PEACE Experience

Two impactful PEACE trips to Rwanda with Saddleback’s Orphan Care Initiative were foundational in Carol’s calling to live life on mission globally. During those short-term training trips, Carol felt right at home caring for the youth, teaching parents, and assisting the local church in living out the Bible’s call to care for the vulnerable in their community. 

Carol had grown comfortable and familiar on those trips. And, she assumed that she’d continue serving in those areas. She found each trip meaningful and life-changing and couldn’t imagine going to any other place or getting involved with any other initiative. 

But earlier this year, Pastor Rick and Saddleback launched a new PEACE Plan hub in Central America and Carol signed up to join a team heading to Costa Rica to help with the launch. This was a new experience for her and after praying about it, Carol decided to take a leap of faith and step into this new season she felt God calling her to.

This past July, equipped with curiosity and excitement, Carol joined one of six teams that embarked on Saddleback’s very first PEACE trips to train local churches in Costa Rica.

Over their 12-day trip, the teams were split into five different focuses. Initially, Carol had signed up to serve with the English as a Second Language team. She thought her passion was in relationships — directly engaging in conversations out on the mission field to share God’s love. She loved having conversations with people every day to find out what people thought about God and spirituality. This is where she felt the most comfortable, but God had another plan for her during this trip.

Another trip member who was involved with the clean water initiative couldn't attend training,and Carol was asked to swap places. With an open mind and willing heart, Carol accepted. She would soon come to see that she was given the opportunity of a lifetime to be involved in training a local Costa Rican church on clean water.

While the Costa Rican partner churches are primarily in areas with access to potable water, it’s not a far trek to areas of poverty, sometimes consisting of immigrants, displaced from their homes, where access to clean water and proper sanitation is limited and a cause for public health concerns. The Clean Water training equips the Costa Rican churches with skills to reach their neighbors in new, practical ways.

One specific training was conducted on how to make and use a tippy tap — a hand washing station made from commonly available items. Carol was encouraged to see the excitement and joy on the faces of the people she worked alongside as they learned how this simple tool could improve hygiene in communities that lacked clean water.

One local woman who attended the clean water workshop was so intrigued that she met up with their team at lunch and peppered them with follow-up questions.

Now back from her trip, Carol has processed the importance of listening to God’s calling and trusting that He will equip you with the skills you need. Sometimes faith looks like saying yes to God’s call to go, and sometimes faith looks like abandoning our set ways and ideas of how God is working, in lieu of his grander plan.

Learn more about PEACE at saddleback.com/peace