BE BOLD Journal entries from Chris Snodgrass, who participated in the Brazil Mission Trip in September 2023.
Thursday, September 28, 2023
No joking in her tone. No “heck no” intonation in her voice. It’s like God gave us married thoughts.
I’m standing at the front of a group of men that have gathered, about 15 in total. They are sitting in plastic outdoor chairs that have been placed in a semi-circle on dusty, dry earth with chickens and dogs walking amongst our circle as we converge. It’s a sweltering September afternoon; the temperature was supposed to reach 112 degrees today. My best guess - the ages of these men range from early 20s to mid-70s. And each one has their attention focused on me as Pastor Djard tells me it’s my turn.
When we get in the car, I bring the topic up for discussion, and she interrupts with, “Chris, don’t even think about it, just do it.” I knew she meant don’t overanalyze it, so I didn’t. I jumped in with both feet!
I take a beat to gather myself, shooting a quick prayer to God, please use this as an opportunity for someone to connect with You; let Your words speak from my lips. And then taking a calming breath, I begin. I share my story. Well, really, it’s His story.
I was born into a Baptist household. It was my lifestyle up until my freshman year in high school. Our family had a falling out with the church. My understanding is that my father had lost his job and reached out to our church for financial support so my siblings and I could continue to attend private school, and he was turned away.
Sunday, February 12, 2023 (7 months earlier)
My wife, Allison, and I find our seats at Faith Cedar Lake. We arrived a few minutes early and I’m reviewing the pre-service slides that appear on the screens in the worship center. There is a “Brazil Mission Trip” information slide, which catches my attention. I’ve never sought out a mission trip before, but I also can’t recall a time one was staring me right in the face. I instinctively think, “I think I’d really like to be part of that team.” Once announcements are underway - and the Brazil Mission Trip is being talked about - I glance my eyes over to Allison, who is already looking right at me. She whispers, “You want to do this, don’t you?”
Some backstory
And it almost seemed that with time, we turned away from God. For me personally, it wasn’t that I ever stopped believing in Him, but rather, I was living a life that served me. And it was in that style of living that I describe that period of my life as chaos. I knew I was making choices in my life that weren’t pleasing to God. I had a pretty rough marriage that ended in divorce. My ex moved our sons to a town several hours away and I saw my kids about once a month. After a while I knew in order to get my life back on track, I needed to be surrounded by other believers. It was my childhood in the church that my memories kept taking me back to. I began attending Crossroads in Schererville and later joined their Saturday morning men’s group. It was this group of men, my brothers in Christ, who
