“Our first night of ministry was at a youth group in Subotica, Serbia,” said second-year Charis Bible College student Lauren Bartlett. “I noticed this small, pale boy in a death metal shirt, standing in line for the altar call. When it was his turn, the first thing I asked him was if he was saved, to which he said no. So, I asked him if he wanted to be, and he said yes!
“In that moment, I could actually feel heaven leap, shout, even dance with joy. It’s one thing to know in your head that heaven rejoices and God dances over each lost soul that comes to salvation; it’s another thing to truly experience it.”
Last December, a group of second-year Charis students entered the spiritually dark corners of Eastern Europe, taking God’s love and grace to people who had never heard the Gospel. Teaming up with European Initiative, the team traveled across Hungary and Serbia, seeing soul after soul translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light (Col. 1:13).
Students made the most of every opportunity to reveal the Father’s love to those precious people. Whether it was leading worship in the subway stations, performing dramas in the schools, or playing with children in the Roma villages, the love of God overflowed.
Faith Kennedy, another student on the trip, recalled such a time in the subway. She noticed a woman who had been there for a while, clinging to every word the team shared. Faith inquired about the woman’s story, and when she heard what the woman had to say, Faith’s heart began to break.
“She said she had been raped, her husband cheated on her, and [she] had been homeless for the past three months,” Faith said. “I don’t remember everything the Holy Spirit had me say, but I do remember sharing God’s heart with her. I expressed to her how the Lord’s heart broke at the thought of what she’s been through and that He wanted to love, protect, and restore her. I could actually feel the ache of the Father’s heart throughout my bones. As I spoke to her, I began to cry, and so did she.
“I finally asked her if she would like to receive Jesus, to let Him love her and take care of her. She said yes! So, we prayed, and she received the Lord that day. I wrapped my arms around her, and we both began to cry. After a little while, I began to sing in tongues. This turned into singing in English, and then she began to sing with me in English, even though she didn’t speak the language. Afterward, I had the interpreter tell her what we were singing. It was the Lord singing over her, ‘You are mine; I will never let you go.’”
Eastern Europe will never be the same, and this is only the beginning. More and more students are being sent out to minister the Gospel to a lost and hurting world. Charis missions trips are made possible through the support of the partners and friends of Andrew Wommack Ministries. Students are challenged, and people across the world are introduced to their loving Father. With every trip, miracles abound, student’s lives are impacted, and hundreds of lives are eternally changed.
