A Blessing in my Childhood

Last summer I had the wonderful opportunity of attending the RP International Conference in Grand Rapids, Mich. Coming from Scotland, which has fewer than 100 RPs and only two RP churches, it was quite the experience to get to meet so many other RPs. The singing was phenomenal, but for me the thing that stood out the most was sitting in a lecture theater one afternoon at the RP Missions debriefing.

I listened to talks being given by RP mission team veterans and heard testimonies from missionaries who had given up everything to serve their Lord, but when I looked around I saw dear friends and people I had come to know well. My eyes welled up and my heart was filled with thankfulness as I realized just how many of God’s blessings I had received through RP Missions during my life.

I thoroughly enjoyed the one team I participated in. I learned a lot from it and it gave me a chance to grow and develop my own gifts; but I was benefiting from the RP Missions program long before I first served with them.

The first RP Missions team came to Airdrie in 1997, when I was just 7. They’ve been back every year since. Being a young person in a small church, it was great to have teenagers and young people prepared to invest time in me, befriending, encouraging and challenging me, setting me an example of the way to live.  

We have also benefited from a number of individuals and families who, as a direct result of having been on a team to Airdrie, have decided to move here for a longer period of time.  These people especially have invested so much time and effort in my life.

Apart from the direct effect individuals have had on my life, we have been assured of the continued prayers of the many churches throughout the States who have sent their young people.  This has given me a heightened awareness of the worldwide kingdom of Christ and of how we are united together as a body.

If you have never been on an RP Missions team, I would urge you to at least prayerfully consider it. If you are willing to serve, God can and will use you in mighty ways for the advancement of His kingdom, whether that is through reaching the unreached in Uganda or encouraging the saints by sitting and spending 15 minutes chatting to a young girl from across the sea.  

—Carla Quigley, Airdrie, Scotland, RPC member

Opening My Eyes

Since 2005, I have served with RP Missions in Cyprus four times. Thinking back on the first time I went, I am amazed at how God has worked things out in my life. When I was first deciding where to go with RP Missions, I wasn’t even thinking of Cyprus. But God knew what He wanted for me and, between His closing of doors and Matt Filbert’s convincing, Cyprus was where I ended up! And it is where God has continued to draw me.

The main thing that God has used to draw me back there again and again is the relationships I’ve made with the people there. I love the kids I’ve gotten to know through working with the Interchurch Youth Group in Larnaca. I’ve been blessed to get to know the members of Trinity Christian Community Fellowship and the Greek Evangelical Church.

Today, God is continuing to work things out in my life in (it seems to me) crazy ways. This summer I find myself with the opportunity to return to Cyprus again, this time for the whole summer. Ultimately, my hope is to go to Cyprus to serve long term as a leader for the youth group. This summer will give me a chance to build on relationships I have already made, to form new ones, and to get an idea of what it would be like to actually live in Cyprus.

Over the years of serving with RP Missions, I have learned a lot about what it means to really serve Christ and to be an active part in His church. I can honestly say that God has used RP Missions to open my eyes to what He is calling me to do.

—Kaitlyn Gladfelter, Broomall, Pa., RPC member