SO THAT Missions Podcast | FBC Boerne
So that...God's ways may be known on Earth.
"So That" is an FBC Boerne podcast focused on what God is doing around the world with missions and through FBC Missions partners.
SO THAT Missions Podcast | FBC Boerne
Episode 97: My Passport, The Jungle Bugs, And A Sidewalk For Jesus
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Fear can be loud, especially when you’re a teenager getting on a plane, heading into a new culture, and realizing you can’t control the details. Brittany sits down with her daughter Libby to tell the full story of two Mexico mission trips and the unexpected ways God used discomfort, schedule changes, language barriers, and even a sweaty bus ride to build courage and faith.
We share what serving in Cancun and the Yucatán region actually looked like beyond the tourist image: jungle heat, big bugs, rainstorms, and hard work alongside local leaders building long-term hope through projects like an orphanage, school, and medical care. Libby opens up about confronting her own materialism, learning that “blessing” isn’t about what you own, and discovering the kind of joy that comes from acts of service and worship in the middle of exhaustion.
The most powerful moment comes when Libby connects her adoption story to the gospel message of the Heavenly Father. Speaking to students who know the pain of absent dads, she explains how identity and peace are found in God’s love, not in a missing or broken earthly relationship. We also talk candidly as a mom and daughter about church hurt, prayer, and why every kid has to find God for themselves.
If you’ve ever wondered whether a youth mission trip can really change a heart, press play. Subscribe, share this with a parent or teen who needs hope, and leave a review with the line that stayed with you most.
Visit our website at www.fbcboerne.org for more stories, information, and service times.
Welcome And VBS Energy
SPEAKER_01Okay, hello listeners. I am so excited today because not to make any of my previous guests feel not as good, but today I have a favorite, a big favorite. So I'm interviewing my daughter, Libby, today. You're gonna learn this, and so am I.
SPEAKER_00Welcome to FBC Missions So That Podcast. This is an encouraging place to hear how God is working in and around us. We know that he blesses his people so that they can bless the world around them. Join us as we discuss how to join God and all that he is doing. Why is God working in our life, church, and community? It's so that through us the world will know that he is me.
SPEAKER_01Well, hello, this is Brittany and Libby. My daughter. I'm like, I'm um, oh, I'm gonna get emotional already. Lib Libby does not like that, do you? No. Okay, I won't get emotional. But um, today I get to interview my oldest kiddo, Libby, and it's just super special, Libby, to have you in here. So thanks for coming in. Yes, thank you so much for having me. You're welcome. I love you. I love you too. Libby has been helping out um with VBS this morning. Lots of activity going on here at the church. Yes.
SPEAKER_02Like 700 kids, I think. Did you have a fun morning? I did have a fun morning. Today was our water day. So we had the water slides out and we had groups rotating through.
SPEAKER_01It was very fun. For any of you that know or blessed to know my Libby, she has awesome energy and she brings a lot of joy. So thanks for volunteering. Of
Baptism Memories And Identity
SPEAKER_01course. But what we want to talk about today, Libby, is your recent trip to Mexico. And um, you know, Libby on the way here this morning, I was thinking about you, and I remember that this is the image that flashed before me. So as a parent, right, we all want our um we want our children to do great things. And recently, like I've shifted so much is I just don't want my children to do great things. I want them to know the Lord and do the Lord's work and truly me help them to understand their true identity in the Lord. And and that a lot of that I've always wanted, like you've gone to church your whole life. Yes. And the Lord has been doing a lot in your life. And the image that flashed before my head was when we were baptized together in Florida.
SPEAKER_02Yes, it was pretty awesome. Just anytime I look at the ocean, I obviously think of how we got baptized together, and just being able to in Mexico and like seeing the ocean and the water really like brought that back for me.
SPEAKER_01Really? Yes. I remember Libby was in fifth grade and we were driving somewhere, and I was talking to her about I had always known the Lord, but I wanted to get baptized again. And basically I was telling her about it, and she's like, I want to get baptized too. And so the Lord's always been a part of your life. You raised your hand and wanted full immersion, but you were baptized as an infant, but you wanted full immersion baptism with me in the ocean when you were in fifth grade. Yes. And I remember then you started telling me highs and lows was one of your favorite songs. That's what I was thinking about this morning, really, on the way here. Like just re-recounting your faith walk and your journey, and I'm so proud of you. This year you have gone on your first two mission trips. So, will you tell us about the first one?
SPEAKER_02Yes. So, my
First Mexico Trip Nerves
SPEAKER_02first mission trip was back in March, and it was a family trip to Cancun, Mexico, and I was very nervous. I had never been out of the country before, and I was just I was just really nervous to be honest. I didn't know what to expect, but um I talked a lot with my parents and a lot with my friends that had gone on the other mission trip, and it honestly just made me feel a lot better, and it was an amazing experience being able to serve not only like with my family, but with other families also, and just getting to meet all the people in Mexico, and I found that I really had a heart for those people in that community, and it was really hard to leave.
SPEAKER_01It was hard to leave. Libby, when you were talking about being nervous about the trip, what were you most nervous about?
SPEAKER_02I was most nervous about just not knowing exactly what to expect and knowing I don't speak a ton of Spanish. I can speak enough to get through a conversation, but and to understand it, but I was really nervous that it would be hard to share the gospel and the word with the kids and even with the other people just because I don't speak Spanish and it's obviously like a big language barrier.
SPEAKER_01That's so true. And and I think with what you said about like I didn't exactly know what was gonna happen. One of the biggest things that mission trips always stretch me a lot because um one of the things you're often told when you're getting ready to go is like be flexible.
SPEAKER_02Yes, that was a big thing, is just go with the flow. Things change a lot, plans change a lot. Don't ask what the plans are because most likely it will change. And as someone who very much so likes to know what's going on and likes to have a schedule, it was really nice to just be able to kind of let go and just go with the flow and let God and the spirit guide like my journey in Mexico and just give me the words to speak and like the ears to hear.
SPEAKER_01I was so proud of you because um you learned that desire to have everything figured out a little bit from me. Yes, learning to let go is awesome. As you know, I haven't I'm still learning that. Um you're learning it earlier. That's awesome, Libby. Thank you. Um, so you said learning to hear um hear the spirit. That's really cool. We'll hopefully we'll circle back to that. Okay, so your first mission trip was with me, dad, um Zeke and Aya, and it was so cool to be there as a family. Um but sometimes like when you're with your family, um, just family dynamics. There's a lot going on. Um even when we were down there in Mexico, I remember saying, Oh, Libby, the youth group comes here too, maybe next year. Yes.
SPEAKER_02And even then, I was kind of opposed to it just because I'm I get a little paranoid and I wasn't sure about going out of the country, especially not with my parents, because we are very close and I do find a lot of safety and comfort in being with them places, even though they do drive me crazy, and so do my siblings. I knew like I just I just wasn't sure about it in the moment when you said that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's really cool though. Like I can think back to like we've been on trips already. You already know about passports, you already know how to navigate in airports, and so that probably helped us some, but it's a big step.
SPEAKER_02It really was a big step, and as someone who used to listen to a lot of true time, I do get a little paranoid, especially in a foreign country, and right before we had left for Mexico, um, I know things really blew up with like the cartel leader, and I was just hearing all this news and like seeing all of these things, and it had really stressed me out, and it had really like shifted my focus of like why I was going to Mexico to like my own personal interest, and like I was thinking like I feel like this is putting myself in danger, and I had lost sight of why I was going, and it definitely I feel really bad about it now, but God definitely like redirected my focus.
SPEAKER_01It's crazy how much y'all, your kids your age, we all have so much access to things in the world that can kind of take us out with fear. But nonetheless, we went as a family. We got go ahead.
SPEAKER_02We did, and everything worked out great. Like there was no times where I felt like in danger or like no, and it was amazing.
SPEAKER_01So then we get back uh in middle end of March during spring
Saying Yes To The Youth Trip
SPEAKER_01break. We get back from that trip, and I don't Libby, I don't know that I entirely know exactly how you got invited, but the youth trip was already in the planning stages, they'd already had one or two meetings, people were already support raising, and then how did that happen? What happened?
SPEAKER_02So on Sunday mornings, my uh small group leader is Linda Phillips, and she has a granddaughter named Tobin, and me and Tobin have just really gotten to know each other, and she had talked to me, she's like, Hey, would you want to come with us on the trip to Mexico? And I was like, sure, like that sounds really fun, and I'd love to like spend time with my friends. Um, and so I went home and I told you and dad, and I remember going home and something like Switch, and I was like, Mom, like, can I go on this trip? Like, I really want to go. Like, I know it's a really short notice. It was just like a few weeks before we were like supposed to leave, maybe a month. And I was very much so like, can I please like go? And I know there was a pretty hard like cutoff date, and there was a certain number, and I just really wanted to go. And so I came home. I remember we were standing in the kitchen and I was like, please, like, I really want to go.
SPEAKER_01I love that. And so you go from being nervous going with your family to I really want to go by myself when these group of people definitely. That's crazy and awesome and huge.
SPEAKER_02And I didn't know like very many of like the other kids on the trip. I knew like a few people that I'm pretty close with. Yeah, but there's a lot of people that um were like mutual friends, or I might have like said hi to them, but we definitely weren't close and I would not have just a conversation with them like in my day-to-day life.
SPEAKER_01Wow, that's so awesome. And Libby, in that song Highs and Lows, one of the uh phrases or lyrics, I was listening to it just in honor of you this morning on the way to church, and it said, When the shadows feel like giants, are you chasing me down? Libby, I think like you know, that could have easily been a shadow for you, but God has been chasing you down.
Parenting, Prayer, And Owning Faith
SPEAKER_02He has, and it's been my spiritual journey has been obviously like I grew up in the church and I came to God at a young age, but that's not to say that I haven't had my things, I haven't it's been a rough like past few years, and I've grown in my faith and then fallen a few steps behind and grown in my faith, and I feel like before this trip um with the youth, I was definitely a few steps behind. I was feeling very lost, very sad, very anxious, just having a hard time in general, and it really felt like he had reached out and called me home.
SPEAKER_01And yeah, you don't have to be perfect, you don't have to have it all together. And to be honest, I don't know if you even want to go there, but we were at a church a few years ago and you really didn't even want to go to youth group.
SPEAKER_02No, I'd had a pretty poor experience, um, is one way you could put it with a youth group a few years ago, and it got to the point where I would cry and I would beg my parents not to go. I just I didn't feel the spirit, and it really kind of pushed me away from God in a big, big way, in a signific like a very like significant way. Yeah, and I was just not I was very opposed to coming to the youth group also at FBC. I hate to say it, but I did beg my parents not to make me go on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings, and I would try my very, very, very hardest to not make it to church.
SPEAKER_01I love that. I'm I appreciate your honesty. I love that you're being honest about that because Libby, probably in a lot of ways, this podcast could be a blessing to a parent who's listening and wanting their child to grow close to the Lord. Um, and it's hard as a parent. And there were a lot of times when I'm like, no, Libby, you're like, we're going to church. Um, but then there's been times where I'm like, it's okay. Like if she's come home, there's been Wednesdays when you've come home and you're tired, and you're like, mom, I have a lot of homework or mom, I'm tired. And so it's as a parent, like I've tried to, I know I've messed up a lot. I'm sorry. It's okay. I've messed up too. But like um there's been a lot of times when, you know, it's like just even as a parent, trying to follow the spirit and not be legalistic, like, no, you have to be a church. Yeah. Um, but but also like just really trying to follow follow the spirit and know that he's doing a work in you. And as a parent, it's it's just always remembering, like, and this is so cool because we're joined through adoption, but it's also like he's he is your father. And I am just I've been blessed to be able to steward the role of being your earthly mom and you know, trying to do it as as good as I can, and I mess up all the time because I'm a sinner and I fall short too. But it's like so cool to see what he's been doing in your life, and you know, I learned I'd love to hear your perspective on this, Libby, but like I learned sometimes I just need to, you know, shut up and pray.
SPEAKER_02Yes. And I feel like also like for any parents, like parents that are out there and like listening to this, just know like there's so many things your kids don't tell you, um, obviously, and I'm sure a bunch of you probably struggle with getting your kids to talk to you. I know my parents do sometimes, and just know like there's a lot of things outside of the home and outside of church and in school and sports that a lot of kids struggle with, and they might not be super open and forthcoming about it. So just be patient and always be there. And I feel like the more you push in to try and get information, the more it really pushes out. And also remembering, like, it's not always about like being a resource for your kid. Sometimes it's about just having a relationship with your kid, and things happen, and obviously as a parent, it is your job to like steward and like guide their life in a good way and bring them up in the Lord, but also know that they are kids, and I'm a kid, and sometimes we have to figure things out for ourselves, and we have to a big one is you have to find God for yourself. You can grow up in church just like I did, and you can have like everything go right, and but if you don't have a personal connection with God, you'll never get the relationship side of it, you'll just get the religion. And I feel like a lot of people are turned away from church, especially kids, um, just because the religion aspect of things, and if you don't have a relationship with your parents, it especially makes it different, like difficult, and it's a very different like feeling. So just pursue relationship and understanding while also um just bringing them up in the Lord and understanding that everyone has to find God for themselves, and yeah.
SPEAKER_01You're so amazing. Thank you. Thank you for inspiring me. What would you say is one way that you and I have a relationship that's helped you to pursue a relationship with the Lord?
SPEAKER_02Definitely like me being able to like come to you and talk about anything just makes it a lot easier because um I feel like if you can't talk to your parents about anything, talking about like your spiritual journey and like knowing telling your parents that you're struggling is never a thing that like anybody wants to do, whenever anybody's like anyone is struggling, reaching out to others and being honest and being like, hey, I'm having a really hard time. It's just not not super common, especially um because like I'm very independent. I don't like I'm not a big emotional kind of person, and so like I know y'all didn't know a lot of like what was going on before I went on the trip, but one thing that like I feel like has helped our relationship is just you being there for me and like giving me space and time to like process things also and honestly just good communication. I know we fall short a lot of times, and when I'm just in a bad mood for no reason, or you're in a bad mood for no reason. Um but just recognizing that and giving each other the space we need and also like being there for each other. Um I feel like that's a big thing, and like mother-daughter relationships are usually pretty tumultuous, I guess, especially like talking to a lot of my friends. Um so just like being yes, a parent and like also we're friends with each other, and like me being able to say like I would hang out with my mom and like coffee dates help. Yes, coffee dates help, especially before school, you know. Um coffee dates do help a lot, but just being able to think of like your kid as a friend, but also a parent, like there's a line, but also knowing like it's not legalistic.
SPEAKER_01That's a good lip. Yeah, like I often think like I'm sitting here telling you to love Jesus and be like Jesus, and then you see me sometimes acting like a jerk, and it's like, oh man, but I try to always tell you I'm sorry, or often tell you I'm sorry, and you know, when I mess up and it's like I I love Jesus and I'm not Jesus, but I want to try to be like him.
SPEAKER_02Yes, so and that goes both ways. So, like also like as a kid, being able to say, like, hey, I'm very sorry, like I because there's just days sometimes where you're gonna mess up, you're gonna be angry, you're gonna be frustrated. Because when you live with someone 24-7, like you really get to know them, obviously. And um, so just being able to like say I'm sorry and have accountability, and when they tell you to do your chores and you forget to do it multiple times, just take that accountability. Like while I go, yep, mom, can I go with so-and-so this afternoon?
SPEAKER_01Have you done your chores yet?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, nope, but I will get them done before I go.
SPEAKER_01Oh, I love you so much. And like, listeners, you can't imagine, like, truly a few years ago, the Lord just helped me to see like my need to control and say all the things and do all the things, and the probably the best thing the Lord has ever done is like allow me to see the power of prayer. And there's so many prayers that right now I'm like sitting here just giving God all the glory because there's been many times when it's like, nope, Brittany, just be quiet. And just I would pray for Lib and pray for my kids and pray for my husband and the power of prayer. Need I say no more. So okay, so Libby, you get this opportunity, you're like, Yes, I want to go on this mission
Discomfort, Fear, And Flexibility
SPEAKER_01trip. And so let's dive in and talk about your trip to Mexico. So we here at FBC, y'all, if you have not heard, um you can go back and scroll. Like James Smith, he started all this. I interviewed him after the family uh mission trip. Um that man is amazing. He has stored up so many treasures in heaven, been going to Mexico for 20 years with this church. He started the family trip and of course, or excuse me, the youth trip, and now, of course, the family trip. And so in this series, we're gonna be interviewing, of course, Libby today and then some other people. But it is really an amazing opportunity to just start our children um looking at serving others, going getting uncomfortable. We were talking about getting uncomfortable. Very it was very uncomfortable at times. So let's just start there, Libby. Like uncomfortable. You already mentioned the language barrier, you mentioned leaving the country with your parents. Yes. But what does God do in the uncomfortable?
SPEAKER_02Well, first of all, I'm terrified of flying. And if you were on me up the like on the trip with me, I'm sure you figured this out. But um Which is so funny as an Air Force kid. You you it is very funny. I've flown my whole life, and I've I've just found that I'm not a fan of it um at all. But um just getting uncomfortable, like taking the first step, like getting on the plane and going to another country. And when you think of Cancun, Mexico, you think of like the tourist area, like the beaches, the big hotels, the whole line. While we're going not at all. And so we um we get on this bus and we drive, and it's a long drive. It's hot, it's not very fun, you're already sweating, it's extremely humid, you're tired from the plane ride, you're tired from the airport. It's very high energy, it's very high energy, very overstimulating. You're trying not to get fooled, and um so you're on this bus and you're thinking, what your passport, mom nothing.
SPEAKER_01Oh my goodness.
SPEAKER_02My mom didn't hold my passport, I needed to keep this in line, this in line, needed to make sure my luggage didn't get lost, keep up with the group. Um it's just a lot. Yeah. And so you're sitting there on the bus, you're like, oh my goodness, like what did I get myself into? And then I feel like it's in that very first bus ride that like God starts to work. Because everyone's talking to each other, which is very odd because I feel like in Bernie, especially, there's a lot of like cliques and just things are very like a lot of these kids have grown up together, which is one thing that like I struggled with, especially um I was very nervous to go on this trip just because I know there were a lot of friends on the trip that had aren't like known each other previously, and so I was like, okay, like I don't want to be left out, I don't want to put myself in like an awkward situation. But like even on that first bus ride, like getting to talk to everyone and like hearing like what the returnees are excited to like experience is just really moving.
SPEAKER_01And and to be honest, we I our families truly experience FBC's a special place.
SPEAKER_02It really is.
SPEAKER_01Um people are welcoming and loving, very welcoming.
SPEAKER_02Yes, going to like different churches. Um, when we came here, I was like, wow, like I really like this is the most welcomed and the most loved, especially after like my very bad church experience. Yeah. Um, it's like wow, this is what church is about. This is the faith community, and this is what I feel like all churches should strive to be like. Like, nowhere's perfect, but um, I would say FBC is pretty close.
SPEAKER_01Yes, same. Yeah, we love it. And didn't we didn't grow up going to a Baptist church? So I just think people here love love Jesus. Um it's so apparent.
SPEAKER_02And they love other people also, which is a big deal. Because if you love Jesus truly, then you can't also not love other people.
SPEAKER_01I agree. So you step out of your comfort zone, there's so many things, but God starts working on that first bus ride. So, Libby, what did the Lord like, what did he show you? Like, what are some of the things when you said the Lord showed up? How did he show up for you on this trip? What what are some
Materialism Exposed And Joy Reframed
SPEAKER_01things that happened?
SPEAKER_02Yes. So one of the first things that I noticed pretty quickly was how materialistic I truly am. And when I'm in Bernie, I I'm very like, oh no, like I'm not materialistic at all. Uh-oh. And then you get to Mexico and it's like, oh my goodness, I am materialistic and I am selfish. And I don't think outside of like my my Bernie bubble. And it was just really moving to see, like, to be able to let go of like being materialistic and like Can you give me an example of letting go of being materialistic? This is super like the a very small thing, but my jewelry. Like, usually I'm like, oh, I don't go anywhere without earrings, I like my neck. I like my bracelets. I like all of my jewelry and I like my clothes to be clean and like I I like my room clean and um like I really value like my heated blanket. Yeah I missed it a lot. And being in Mexico, I was like, wow, like I really don't need any of this. And first of all, just need it, and I also don't need it to be happy because seeing these families and these kids with so much less kids my age, just be truly like so joyful and so happy, and like they obviously don't have as much as me. And I don't want to say they aren't as blessed as me because blessing is not materials, it's not like you can get blessed with financially, but being blessed is not about what you have. What's it about? It's about the joy that the Lord gives you, and um being able to like go and serve God's people. One of my uh love languages is definitely acts of service, and like I was so blessed to be able to serve others and pour into them, and I feel like I didn't have much to offer them, but they were so grateful and like I feel like they might have given to me more than I gave to them, and they felt the opposite way, and so it was just it was really awesome.
SPEAKER_01It's so wild when you show up somewhere on mission. How it's such it's like it's like the blessings are just like it's almost like a tennis match of blessings. It's like bing, bing, oh yeah, yes, enjoy. That's awesome. So um you mentioned that you got to serve. How are some of the ways that you got to serve?
Clearing Jungle Land And Building
SPEAKER_02Well, the very first, uh, I guess the second day, so after we had landed, we had landed on a Monday. The very next Tuesday, we went to a Noah's Ark project where um Abby and Andreas, they're pastors down there, um, they're building an orphanage and um a school and a doctor's office to where the kids of Puerto Morales can come and um just meet the Lord and get their like easiest, like the most simple needs met um with free um like doctor care, free schooling, like the orphanage, and it was really amazing to see that. And um the whole project like hadn't come together yet. They had just bought this land in the jungle, and I've never been to the jungle, and so they laid out like their whole project and they were talking like have faith, like it'll all come together, and we got to see the blueprints, and then um it was really awesome because we got to go and help clear land for this new project that they're taking care of, and it was definitely a task. Um, I don't know if y'all have ever been out there. It probably you're in a jungle. We were in a jungle, um, bugs, big bugs, bugs I've never seen before. Um it rained on us probably every 20-30 minutes, which felt really nice after sweating and working very hard, but um but humid, very humid. Yeah. And once again, the bugs, and there was also poisonous trees. Did you put on makeup or earrings that day? Nope. Nope, I didn't even think about it. Um yes, I was we were all covered in dirt, and we were digging post holes for fences and planting new trees, fruit trees, and it was just it was amazing. It was like, wow, like we get to come down here and maybe in a few years I'll bring my kids here and get to see how far things have come. And like being able to just do that, and then um at the school in Kunamaya, we built a sidewalk, which was pretty rough because it was me and four other girls, and we had shovels in a wheelbarrow, and we were shoveling dirt and rocks, and um that was it was rough, but also like we were pl playing worship music and we were listening to it and singing, and there's moments where like I think we all felt like crying, like when we had just shoveled very tired and probably frustrated. Um, but we had shoveled like a whole wheelbarrow, and then we'd be wheeling it and we'd hit a rock and it would tip over. And it was like, oh, I don't know if we can do this anymore. And it took like three hours, and we had maybe made it like 10 feet. Oh that's awesome though. Yes, and then a few days later, um, we had help from the rest of the team to come and help us build this sidewalk, and being able to see, like, wow, like we all came together to build something so simple, and we all did it, we all worked together and do it, like did it for the good of the people there. And it was it was just amazing. And to be, I feel like as a woman, a woman, there's often times where it's like um there's different ways that men, men and women serve, and I feel like we all came together and did both. Like there was men in the kitchen helping cut up fruit, and we were out there shoveling and we worked together and we gave each other tips, and like it was very amazing to just see like be allowed to serve fully and like embrace the service part of it.
SPEAKER_01That's awesome. That was another thing I remember you told dad and I is that you really saw like the roles of men and women, and it even inspired you for like future relationships. We shared about that.
SPEAKER_02Yes, so one of the biggest things I noticed is um just the way how all of these women, both in our group and outside of our group, like the locals, they were very nurturing and very loving, and um they were able to like take care of their families, and I feel like a lot of that was because there were so many amazing and strong men that did their role, like protecting and providing, so that like and even me like being a young lady, being able to truly like step into that and feel like I did not look like a young lady at all. I was covered in dirt, my hair was always nasty, very sweaty, but I felt very like not feminine, but I had really been able to step into like who I was called to be. I was very it was so much easier to be patient and kind and loving because I felt like I felt really taken care of, and that was a big thing, especially like looking forward to relationships, because I want somebody that can allow me to be able to step into that because I'm not worried about other things, and that was very healing and very like amazing to see, and just the family aspect of it too was amazing.
Fellowship, Family, And Gratitude
SPEAKER_01We've talked about at home how like you've felt like there's so you've had so much joy from that trip that's even continued your you talked about your Mexico high. Yes, and we've talked about how when you're doing the the work of the Lord, the joy is so profound, and like not only did you feel the joy, but you also saw what it looks like, like kingdom relationships.
SPEAKER_02Yes, um, and like coming home to my family was definitely hard because um I just really miss like being in Mexico and being with my friends, and they were like a new family to me. Like everyone on the trip I really connected with and amazing fellowship. It was amazing fellowship, and it was also I was able to come home and be grateful um for my dad because in Mexico um the men are not usually expected to stay with their families. Um, and so there's a lot of like single moms and kids that don't have dads that are working, and so being able to come home and be like, wow, I have a really, really great earthly father and a really great mother, and they do so much for me. And just being able to pour into my family also being back was pretty cool.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's like it's hard to be back and it's good to be back all at once. Very much so. That's the kingdom, it's always it seems like it's a more of an and than an or. Yeah. Okay, so Libby, you talked about fathers, and it's crazy, like it's almost it's pretty much time to start wrapping it up.
Adoption Story And The Father Message
SPEAKER_01But the Lord used you powerfully when it comes to fathers. Um Pastor Garrett, our youth pastor, so you are gonna have to jump in if I get this wrong or correct me. But from my understanding, um Pastor Garrett had a talk or a sermon prepared for the students at Kingdom Academy, which is a a school, and he really wanted to talk to them about the love of our heavenly father. And he had in this when he had delivered this talk before, he would talk about like his love for his son and how that shows like the the love of our heavenly father. But like Libby said, like most of these kids, their fathers have abandoned their family. Yes. So for Pastor Garrett to use that illustration could have caused harm in some ways. Not very much. Libby and Pastor uh Garrett had never had an opportunity to share or talk about Libby's story, Libby's testimony. And so the Lord ended up using her and her testimony. Can you tell us about that? And per and some of the listeners, some of you might have heard Pastor Jason um even use this as a sermon illustration um in church, but gosh, Libby, that that brought your dad and I so much joy, just that you even already understand your testimony and how the Lord um used you in a mighty way. So as we wrap it up, will you share that story and thank you for sharing it again? I know we've asked you a million times.
SPEAKER_02Yes. So um Pastor Garrett had come up to me at the very beginning of the trip and he's like, I've never really gotten the opportunity to hear your story. I was like, Oh yeah, like sometime over the trip, like I can definitely sit down and tell you. Um, and it's not something I share with a ton of people previous to this trip and previous- I've never heard it.
SPEAKER_01My mom had never heard it, and I feel like that should tell you but it's but that's okay because like when you're ready to share your story, you're ready to share your story. You don't have to share a story with me.
SPEAKER_02I'm honored if you do, but like it's okay. Yes, and so I'd never really I'd maybe shared it with like two or three people at best, and probably like just half the story. But so I was like, oh, okay.
SPEAKER_01I'll have to share it today if you don't want to, by the way.
SPEAKER_02No, I feel like it, I feel like it needs to be said. Okay, but um, yeah, and so I'd never I hadn't gotten to tell them just the busyness of being there and how crazy it was. We left the house at like eight and we weren't back till probably like eight or nine. Then of course the Spurs were playing in the Spurs were playing the World Cup.
SPEAKER_01Um and y'all were still going up early in the mornings on the roof to do Bible study, like lots of lots was going on. Yes, it was amazing.
SPEAKER_02Um, but so I'd never gotten to share, and then one day he came up, he was like, Hey, I feel like the Lord is really calling me to ask you if you want to share your story tomorrow at this school with these kids. And I was like, Oh yeah, like I'm totally open to that. Like, what like like what are you preaching on? Like, I can see if it'll tie in well. And he told me he's like, Yeah, I'm preaching on like the parable of the la the lost sheep and like heavenly love. And in that moment, I was like, So this is why I'm here, because I wasn't exactly sure like why God had called me to go on this trip, but um it was like it was like everything clicked in my head, and it was like wow, my pain and my suffering, and everything is making sense now of like why I went through this, because um you always want to hear that like you didn't suffer for anything and you didn't like struggle for no reason.
SPEAKER_01Well, in the book in the book of James, chapter one, verses like two through four, it says, consider it pure joy when you face trials of I'm I'm paraphrasing when you face trials of any any kind because it will help you to build perseverance.
SPEAKER_02So Yes, yeah. Um and so it was on the van ride to the very school that I told Garrett my testimony, and um it was he was very like, Oh my gosh, like this is perfect. And so I get to the school, I'm very nervous, and I share about my adoption and my biological or earthly father that I never got to know. And um it was basically me saying how because I didn't know my father, I didn't know if he was a good man, and I know that I look like him, and my athleticism, I feel like, and just my character traits and a lot of things that like I wonder about myself, and um I wondered, I was like, I wonder if he's a good man, and it caused me a lot of anxiety, and honestly, it caused me to kind of have an identity crisis, just knowing like I my I very much so value like morals and like good versus bad, and um I was unsure because I was like, how can I be good if I didn't come from someone who was good? Because you didn't know, and I didn't know, yeah, and it honestly made me very depressed, and I had a lot going on, and so I was able to sit down and share this like with these kids that don't know their dads, and that probably if they do know their dads, they're probably not great, and if they do, then they're blessed, because that is very rare to find in the area we were. And then I shared how I'd found peace in my my heavenly father, and that like his love was just it brought me home and how I was very lost, and I looked for like love and just my worth everywhere except for God, because you know, you know how these stories go. That's always the last thing people run to, and it's the last because it's the only thing that works.
SPEAKER_01But wow, hang on, it's the last because that's the only thing that works.
unknownWow.
SPEAKER_01I mean, Libby, we started this conversation and you talked about being able to hear God.
SPEAKER_02Yes, and so like getting up there and like looking at these kids in their eyes and being like, Your heavenly father is not like your earthly father. You can find peace in him, you can find rest, you can find love and comfort, and um they f I could feel like the tension, and like it's almost like I could see the healing kind of take place in the moment, and not only healing for them, but healing for me, because I hadn't completely worked through it before it to be honest. Um it was something that did cause me a lot of stress, and I feel like I was able to find God and open my Bible and just really like pour into my relationship with my heavenly father, and all of a sudden, like my earthly father and who he was doesn't matter, and I knew that I came from God at the end of the day, and God is good, and so that's beautiful, it just it just really opened my heart.
SPEAKER_01God is good, Libby. He he he's infinitely amazing and good, and I'm so grateful he brought us together, and I'm so grateful for how he used you.
SPEAKER_02Yes, me too. Thank you for sharing that, sweetie. It was amazing, and um just to hear like the pastors of the church of the churches down there come up and say, like, these kids needed to hear that, like I could see them listening, and I might not see how that impacts their lives, but I know like it impacted mine and that the Lord will carry that.
SPEAKER_01Have you ever seen a picture of like um a statue, like a like a a rock statue, how they have to chisel it away? Yes, you were part of a chisel for somebody in terms of like breaking down and like you said, the healing and the tension melting away, like that was the start, or it could have been the fine the the finish for someone. You never know the part you play.
SPEAKER_02And it was it was just amazing and being able to serve them both physically and spiritually, and like I felt like I was able to relate to them, and it was very, very hard to come home, and I feel very called to like service in that way, and I felt like my testimony finally made sense because here in Bernie, like there's not much of like like fit fathers and families are pretty involved, and going down there and being able to relate and be like, Wow, this is why I'm on this trip, this is why I went through this, like this like it felt like my whole story came together for like a reason, and that reason was for God's children. I am so grateful that Linda asked you to go.
SPEAKER_01I'm so grateful you said yes. I'm so proud of you. Thank you. Okay, so Libby, we um have gone over time a little bit. Oh, okay. Listeners, thanks for hanging on, and I know it's been worth it for you. It's certainly been worth it
Support Raising And A Prayer Answered
SPEAKER_01for me. I love you so much. But I want to before we stop, like, okay, we we I think the trip was like 1500 and that had to happen really quickly because you joined late. And um I know that you have had people supporting you financially with prayer, oh yes, with letters written. That's been amazing.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I'm so grateful because like um people blessed me and helped me get on this trip, and because of that, like I was really able to bless other people. Yes. And the whole time I was there, I was thinking, I was like, Thank I I want to thank everyone that like helped me get there and prayed for me because it really did change my life and other lives.
SPEAKER_01It was amazing. Your dad and I were prepared to help you with a little bit of the trip financially, but um we didn't have to. We um like one weekend we were going out of town for um one of your cousins' uh college graduations, and you and I had worked on a letter or you had worked on a letter before we left to drive um to Lubbock. And I was like, Libby, and and I'm sure you were probably, I don't know, maybe like mom, but I was like, Libby, like let's pack up the letters, the stamps, the envelopes, and you I was very annoyed. You had to prepare for finals. I did, I was very stressed. You set up that desk in the hotel room, um, Zeke and I and I went down to the pool. You sat there and wrote out those letters and you stamped them, and we mailed them the next morning in the hotel lobby. How many letters do you remember? Twenty-six? Probably. You mailed 26 letters telling people, hey, I'm going back to Mexico. And one we like money kind of started like slowly trickling in, and then one day you and I were like, Oh, like it's already past. I was very worried. I was like, Oh, I might not make it. It's already past due, and we got on do you remember that? We got on the bed and prayed.
SPEAKER_02Yes, I do remember that.
SPEAKER_01And what happened the next day?
SPEAKER_02The very next day, like probably half of my funds came in uh first thing in the morning, and I remember you texting me the screenshot and being like, Wow, like we prayed for this, and it was really it's really eye-opening to me. I was like, huh, like I really am supposed to go.
SPEAKER_01Like, and maybe, maybe there is a reason. God's ways are not our ways, God's economy is way different, his ways are higher. Libby, as we wrap it up, um, is there anything else you want to share?
Serve Locally And Final Encouragement
SPEAKER_02Um, just to anyone listening, that God and Jesus loves you, and that service to others will fill your cup more than anything. And it doesn't have to be going to Mexico or going to Africa. There's so many people here in Bernie. Those are great. Oh yeah, they're amazing. Um but feel called to serve wherever you are. Um, even if it's just opening the door for someone, you will you will obviously feel better after you do something nice for someone, and in the name of God, doing something for someone in the name of God is very fulfilling. And um, so I just encourage everyone to take their time. Um take the next step. Take the next step and slow down and appreciate your life and um recognize how truly um wonderful Bernie is in America is and just know like it's not like that everywhere, and to be thankful and be grateful and to hold on to those close to you.
SPEAKER_01So good. I love it. I love you. I love you too. Good job, sweetie. Thank you. You're welcome. So, listeners, um I tell you what, our children are so inspiring, they help us so much as parents. And um, you know, if you're listening to this and you're like, I could never put my child on a plane and send them off, you can and pray about it. Yes, my parents survived. Yeah, we survived. We were so excited to see her at the airport and and seriously to see her growth in seven days was phenomenal. It was worth every moment and all the prayers. And so, parents, I implore you to get on your knees. I implore you to just really consider what it looks like to help your child find their unique calling in this in this kingdom. You know, what are your what are your children's gifts? Um what are their passions and what do you think their sense of calling is and you know, helping them to cultivate it? It's worth it. And it matters. And if you need help with that, um seriously, Andrea and Garrett, our youth pastors here are incredible. Get them plugged in, seek their help, have conversations. It's just it's just amazing here. So, listeners, I appreciate you tuning in. I look forward to the next episode. This is gonna be a um part of a series for our youth Yucatan trip, and I know it will bless you if you just keep hearing the story. So, thanks for listening.
SPEAKER_00We are so thankful that you joined our podcast today. We would love to hear any feedback you may have for us. Remember, Psalm 67 says, May God be gracious to us and bless us. And make his face shine on us. So then, your ways may be known on earth and your celebration. Don't forget one of the Lord blesses.