Today’s Volunteer Spotlight features Mary Beth Wiggins. As a volunteer, Mary Beth is heavily involved in the planning and execution of Resurrection’s Beyond Kansas City mission ministries. She has been on more than 12 mission trips to Honduras, Haiti and Africa.

How did you get involved in missions as a volunteer?

My daughter, Molly Simpson, came back from a mission trip and told me that I needed to take one. I am one who likes the comforts of home. I am not a fan of bugs and I don’t like rodents. I really resisted it. My first trip was to Honduras because Molly was urging me to go.

What did you learn after going on your first mission trip?

I can survive. I am still not fond of bugs and I don’t like waking up with them, but they don’t do anything. I have learned to adapt. I tell people that if I can do this and love this, then you can too. It was the things I thought I needed that I made out to be so big in my mind - yet in reality they are so very small.

In what do you find the most joy when going to these countries?

To see God at work in their lives is going to stay with me forever. In Honduras, it’s strange but I got joy seeing a piggery. You see these conditions and the care and the love that goes into raising these pigs. It’s amazing to see hope in a pig.

I think what stuck with me as a learning experience is I see people who have a total dependence on God. They have got to pray that they have a next meal. They have to pray that their family member is healed and that they have a roof tomorrow. They live in conditions that I can’t even imagine. To see people who have so much total love and dependence is life changing. There are people in Haiti or Malawi who really do wake up in the morning and praise God that they made it to another day.  I just can’t imagine having joy in those conditions, but they do.

What would you say to someone who is thinking about going on an overseas mission trip?

Regardless of what your skill level is, there is a trip that is suitable for you. I have no special skills. I am not a medical person nor am I a teacher, but I study a lot and do a lot of research. I have been fortunate to hook up with the right people who can help me wherever I am going.

To read more about what Mary Beth is working on, check out the IMT Malawi News: http://conta.cc/15gj0Lk