Mountain Mission Trip with Competition Team Member & Coach, Lily Pittman

In July of 2024 one of our competition team members and coaches, Lily Pittman (wearing orange in the photo), went on a 1 week mission trip to the mountains in Knoxville, Tennessee. She went with around 40 people from  Grace Community Church through the organization Mission Serve, to help with construction projects  for people in the area who are struggling financially.

Stories from Lily

We got to help serve a man who had roof damage for several years and he was so thankful! Most importantly we got to share the gospel on the trip. God kept us all safe while we were climbing up ladders, carrying wood, ripping up shingles, and nailing in new ones. It was a relatively dangerous job considering we were working with a bunch of teenagers, but the finished product looked amazing! We were really worried that it wouldn’t be finished in time, but God helped us get the job done!

There were also multiple different crews from my church and other churches that were helping build decks, ramps and roofs. God changed so many peoples lives on this trip, including me, and I will always be grateful for the opportunity to have worked that summer.

Learned

A big takeaway Lily learned is that the gospel can get to so many different people in all different situations. It doesn’t matter what the family believes; you can share the gospel with anyone. For example, the man they served, Mr. Lary, was in a rough spot. A lot of his family passed away, and his house had a lot of damage. However, the team did a lot of Bible studies with him and were able to remind him and refresh him about the gospel – the good news of Jesus love.

Realizing what people have in different places, makes Lily more grateful for what she does have. It motivates her to continue to pursue God and get into the Word (Bible) as much as possible.

Closing Words

Even if the situation feels really hard and scary, God will see you through and keep pushing you. As the team helped fix the roof, it was really hot. It was unbearably hot, to the point where people wanted to quit and not keep going. However, they kept going and worked hard anyways so they could finish their project. 

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at a proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

– Galatians 6:9