Charlotte Martin - Power to Change
Will you consider being one of the 100 students we send on mission trips this year? This is the question I asked 360 students as I promoted our 2026 mission trips at our Summit retreat the last weekend in September.
As part of my global missions spotlight (pictured above), I invited three past mission trip participants to share about their experiences and answer questions like:
Why did you decide to go on a mission trip?
Tell us a story of how God worked on the mission trip?
How did going on a mission trip expand your vision of how God was at work in the world?
Here's a story, Maziko, a student who went on our Desert Rain mission trip shared:
"I saw God move in the finest of details, chasing after our local friends' hearts. For example, after a long afternoon of trying to make friends without much success, we decided to start walking home. On our way, we came across a really friendly guy, John, who was very willing to meet up again. On our next meeting, we had deep conversations about faith, and he told us that he actually knew some other Christians and that they've also had a lot of deep discussion. . . Out of the millions of people we could have met in this city on that day, God led us to someone he knew who needed more Christians in their life to be the aroma of Jesus, and challenge his beliefs."
The Summit retreat where I was, was one of six fall retreats happening across Canada. At each Summit we have a Global Missions booth where students can stop by to learn about our mission trips for the coming year. I’ve pictured some of our booths below.
SW Summit
Toronto Summit
BC Summit
Honduras Bound
In February I will be helping to lead the Honduras mission trip. I'm super excited to be working with a young leader to direct this trip and I can't wait to help the participants experience God at work in a different culture.
While in Honduras we will work with a local ministry at their Spanish/English school and medical clinic, and do some community outreach in rural areas.
Please pray as we won't be able to take everyone who applies for this trip. Pray that those who don't get accepted will consider going on a different P2C mission trip.
November 15th will mark six months since my Dad's tragic and unexpected passing. As I write this tears are coming to my eyes, because I miss my Dad's presence. I'm working from the coffee shop where I come some Fridays to do a Quiet Time and work. It has become a place where the tears just flow.
What has living and working with grief looked like for me?
Listening to a lot of books on grief. Here's one of my favourites - Grieving Room by Canadian author Leanne Friesen
Struggling with motivation
Losing my train of thought in meetings
Writing a poem/prayer to mark the significant event of selling Dad's pickup truck. You can read it here if you are curious.
Crying in coffee shops
Writing down grief moments and grief quotes in my journal
Reminiscing and sharing memories when I'm together with my mom and siblings.
I am grateful for friends and family that have been a huge support over the last six months, and I'm thankful for a strong team of colleagues around me who have been diligent and kept my team's work on track.
End of October lunch with my mom and siblings.
