More Than a Trip: Discovering Community, Creation, and Calling

For Brian and Claire, the Florida Impact Trip became much more than a week away. It deepened their relationship with God, connected them with a new community at Ward, and sparked a growing passion for creation care and stewardship. In their own words, here’s how God used this experience to shape their faith and what has happened since returning home.

“The Florida Impact Trip was a great opportunity to meet new people at Ward with similar interests to you. The people we talk to most at Ward are now the people we met on the trip. Some of us are regularly sitting together in the Contemporary Worship service these days. I’ve since learned a lot about non-creation care related opportunities at Ward just by talking with them on the trip such as Days for Girls, the Sunday School and other bible study opportunities, and even the Northville Pickleball Club.

Before this trip, I think we both mostly thought about our relationship with God in terms of church, prayer, and Bible study. Being surrounded by nature every day on the trip made us slow down and pay attention in a way we normally don’t. Brian shared with me that the time spent in quiet reflection by the ocean helped him start noticing the detail, balance, and beauty in creation, and it made God feel more present and personal to him. For me personally, I realized creation is not just something God made long ago in Genesis, it is something that continually reflects His character every single day.

The trip also challenged the way I think about responsibility. I’ve always personally felt called to conservation, but I think sometimes it is easy to get caught up in believing that your small everyday efforts will never be able to outcompete the destruction that corporations cause. The trip helped me to start seeing stewardship as an act of obedience and worship and not a political issue.

One of the biggest impacts was how the experience deepened my sense of humility and gratitude. Spending time outdoors and participating in restoration work, like the nurdle hunting and mole crab research, reminded me how dependent we are on things we often take for granted such as clean water, healthy soil (in this case, sand), food systems, and ecosystems working together. The best way to describe it is that I felt smaller, but not insignificant in the best way possible. The tiniest little mole crab can remind you that even though you’re physically a bigger animal, you’re no less or more important than they are to God.

What impacted me (Claire) most was the sense of hope I experienced. Participating in even small acts of restoration gave me a picture of redemption. Seeing damaged places begin to heal, like the Orlando Wetlands Park or even just the comparison between the Cape Canaveral beach vs the more public beach, reminded me that God is always working toward renewal. It made me think differently about the “river of life” described in the Book of Revelation and the vision of restoration in the Book of Ezekiel, and my responsibility in helping work towards that renewal.

After this trip, Brian and I can say that our faith feels more active and connected to the world around us. We came away with a deeper appreciation for creation, a stronger sense of stewardship, and a renewed awareness that caring for what God made can itself be a way of drawing closer to Him.

Since the trip, Brian and I joined the Ward Woods Trailkeepers alongside Marion, and we dedicate a few hours of service each month to maintaining the trail system. Marion and I are working on more established nature walks where we can teach people of all generations about the nature even found just in Ward Woods. Marion has me addicted to the Merlin birding app now too!

We’ve also been looking into the various citizen scientist programs in Michigan and have signed up for a few that we can participate in while we’re out doing our normal hobbies. One of them is a trout conservation project that looks for blocked creek/river flow and reports it to the DNR. Another is one that donates the stomachs of predatory fish (such as salmon and trout) for research on invasive species. The last one is to capture photos of the amphibians in the waters of Michigan. These are great projects for us to get involved in when we’re already out fishing, but also contributing to conservation efforts. There are many more projects people can get involved in based on their interests.

We’re still praying into this, but these efforts don’t currently feel like enough for the passion we now have for creation care. We’re just not really sure what God is asking us to do, but thanks to this trip we know that there is more to this story! The trip also expanded our understanding of loving others. We saw more clearly how environmental damage affects real people, especially vulnerable communities. It helped us connect creation care with compassion, justice, and loving your neighbor the way Jesus taught. We’ve considered getting involved in disaster relief efforts or even the project that hopes to bring clean water to Bangladesh; our hearts are definitely open to new opportunities, just don’t exactly know where that is yet.”

If you’re looking for an opportunity to step out of your routine, deepen your relationship with God, and serve alongside others, consider joining a future Impact Trip. You never know how God may use the experience to reveal a new calling, spark a new passion, or begin a story that’s still being written.