Sweet Beverly by Alison Sales

Playing with children every night after a long day of construction work.

I was driving to work and listening to the song “Oceans” by Hillsong United when I made the decision to go on my first missions trip to the island of Vanuatu. If you haven’t heard the song, the chorus goes like this...,

“Spirit lead me where my trust is without boarders,

Let me walk upon the waters,

Wherever you would call me.

Take me deeper than my feet would ever wander,

That my faith would be made stronger,

In the presence of my Savior.”

As I sang along I realized this was my call to go. Did I really mean the words I was singing, did I really want to grow stronger? Then I needed to be willing to go anywhere. With that willingness God did take me deeper than I could have ever anticipated.

Katlin Hicks & I holding little ones before crossing the stream.

After tickets and team meetings, packing and prayers, I found myself standing barefoot in the middle of a river holding a sick and sleeping little girl. Looking down at baby Beverly I crossed the river on the way back to her village. After a long day at the church construction site I felt an extreme flood of compassion for the little girl in my arms. Regardless of her runny nose, which was now smeared all over my t-shirt, she was perfectly beautiful. I felt with complete certainty that Christ looks at me with the same overflowing compassion. In Psalms 103:13 it says, “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him”. Suddenly, God flip-flopped my perspective. I had traveled countless hours to the village of Vuziroro to help build a church, so that children like Beverly would have the opportunity to grow up with a personal relationship with Christ. While standing in a river, on the other side of the world, God showed me that He had taken me deeper than my feet could have ever wandered on their own. God took me to Vanuatu to use beautiful, sleeping Beverly to show me His overwhelming incredible compassion for me! He showed me His compassion for all of us. I was able to receive this immense blessing through sweet little Beverly.

Beautiful Baby Doug baptized me during the Bible movie one evening. No diapers in the bush! ;-)

Even if you’ve never heard “Oceans” by Hillsong, we all sing similar choruses every Sunday, “take me deeper, take me deeper”. Try asking yourself if you really mean what you’re singing.  I had to ask myself if I was really willing to go anywhere He wanted me to go. When you go where God leads,  I guarantee He will meet you there and you will not be disappointed!

Every night we bathed in the steam in the village & the little girls would help me wash my hair.

Designing & painting the sign for the church we built.

We went swimming at a beautiful blue hole. We swung off a tree 30 feet in the air into the water. Scary, but fun!

Our Trip Newsletter will be coming out soon along with a video.