Let me start by giving all the glory to God for such an amazing opportunity; He saw us through each and every leg of this journey and without Him, none of it would have been possible. We traveled through wonderful places in South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota, and saw some of the most beautiful aspects of God's glorious creation. The trees, the rivers, the mountains; you simply cannot imagine the beauty of these places God has created without witnessing it firsthand, yet somehow, the beauty of Christ's love shining through each and every one of the Agape Singers is what I will remember most from this trip.
Lives were changed, relationships forged, new beginnings embarked upon, past mistakes forgotten, and some of the greatest memories a human mind could ask for were created. I write with a grateful heart to God that He called each and every person onto that tour for a reason, and with a grateful heart to the attendees that they had prepared their fields for the rain God was ready to deliver to each and every one of them. The verse we focused on for the trip was from 1 Thessalonians, and was centered on the message that we are called to be messengers of God's love and God's word, not to bring glory to ourselves, but to draw people into His loving embrace. He has trusted us with this deed, and the revelation and understanding of this verse definitely came into fruition for the singers on this trip.
Verse:
For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts.
~1 Thessalonians 2:4
Upon arrival back in Dawson on Saturday, the service of worship the Agape Singers took part in may have been the most amazing representation of what the trip meant as a whole. The light and love of the Lord Jesus Christ blazed within them. The transformation, rededication, commitment, love, redemption, forgiveness, renewal, passion, and hope lit up their faces like only God can do. The raw emotion displayed by the singers gave fellow worshippers a small glimpse into what an Agape Tour is truly all about. Our God worked in the readied fields that were the singers' hearts on this trip, and the results of that were so evident for all to see.
Many ask what an Agape Tour is all about, what we do, and why we all love it so much. It is not an easy task to tackle answering these questions. All I can say is God works in the most mysterious ways, but I believe that His unpredictability is one of the many things that make our God the most amazing being we will ever encounter. People do not necessarily understand how lives can be changed on a week long tour, and putting how that happens into words is even harder, but I believe that God has readied the hearts of the Agape Singers to fulfill what it says in Thessalonians about being God's messengers; He has prepared you, and now through prayer and willingness, you can be sent out to spread His word, His love, His forgiveness, and how this Agape Tour experience has changed you forever.
To my Agape crew, I love you with my whole heart and pray for continued growth and development in the faith that Christ has sparked in each and every one of you. He is at work in your lives, there is no doubt about that. Keep your flames burning brightly, allow yourself to be used as a vessel of God's love, be a beacon in the darkness, and let your light cover this Earth. You have the power to be the change you want to see in this world through the power and love of Christ. The world may be afraid of the flame of Christ we carry, but let this not stop us from setting the world on fire! Now go, and be the messengers of Christ we are all called to be!
With so much love and fondness, God Bless!
Jacob Wager
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