S6 Bonus 15 | Introducing Carla’s Son Caleb: Guatemala Missions Trip
So many of you helped make Caleb’s first missions trip to Guatemala possible - through your generous giving and prayer covering.
So Carla thought what better way to thank you than to get Caleb on the podcast and share his takeaways as well as encourage any of you who feel like God’s plan is going sideways.
God is at work in this generation!
1. The Power of Community and Teamwork
Caleb shares the importance of building strong community bonds and teamwork, emphasizing how it can make or break a mission trip.
Highlights the significance of operating in grace and unity within church communities.
2. Embracing Unexpected Obstacles
Discusses how the original missions trip plan was disrupted by flight cancellations and delays.
Encourages listeners to trust God's timing, even when facing unexpected obstacles and delays.
Emphasizes that challenges can serve as opportunities for internal growth and reliance on God.
3. Finding Joy Amidst Poverty
Reflects on witnessing poverty in Guatemala while also observing the genuine joy in the local people.
Caleb attributes their contentment to appreciating blessings more deeply and finding happiness beyond material possessions.
Acknowledges the role of inner joy and a strong faith in transcending challenging circumstances.
4. Overcoming Discouragement
Offers advice for those navigating obstacles on their spiritual journeys, reminding them that discouragement is a valid feeling.
Encourages continued prayer and reliance on God's strength to overcome challenges.
Carla shares her perspective that God may allow us to face more than we can handle alone to draw us closer to Him.
5. Lessons from Speed Bumps
Caleb's metaphor of "speed bumps" represents life's challenges that may slow us down but should not stop us.
Encourages listeners to keep going and trust that God's plan will prevail, even in the face of difficulties.
Connect With Carla:
Inquire about 1:1 coaching ---> carlaagreswellness@gmail.com
Join In His Image Wellness Collective ---> carlaargeswellness@gmail.com
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TRANSCRIPT
[00:00:00] Carla: Hey friends, welcome to Affirming Truths. I'm your friend and host, Carla Arges. This show is a safe place to share our struggles, grow in faith, and root our identity in Christ. My hope is that you will leave each episode feeling encouraged in your journey. Subscribe so you don't miss an episode and it would mean the world to me if you would leave a review.
[00:00:30] Carla: I am so glad you're here. Let's get started. Hey friends, welcome to this bonus episode of Affirming Truth. I've gotta say, I am so excited about the conversation I'm going to have because it is actually with my son, Caleb. He is making his debut here on Affirming Truth. Hey
[00:00:54] Caleb: guys. How's it going? Um, pretty good.
[00:00:57] Caleb: I'm really excited to be on here today.
[00:00:59] Carla: Oh, we're so [00:01:00] excited to have you. So as many of you know, Caleb was recently on a missions trip, his first ever missions trip to Guatemala. Many of you supported this through your donations, through your prayer coverings, and we just want to report back to you all that God did, right?
[00:01:21] Carla: Yeah. Okay, so I have a series of questions I would love to ask you. And are you ready to dive in. I'll do my best. That's all you can ever do honey. Okay. What made you want to go to Guatemala in the first place when this opportunity came up in the church you had to apply you had to go through an interview process.
[00:01:45] Carla: So it wasn't just. You know, uh, a chance thing you had to intentionally go about getting a spot on this team. What made you want to go?
[00:01:56] Caleb: Well, um, when I heard about the opportunity, [00:02:00] I just thought it'd be like really unique and something very memorable. Like I, I thought it'd be a great opportunity for me to grow in my, um, connection with God and grow my connection with others.
[00:02:14] Caleb: As we were, I was with the same people for almost two weeks, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to, to bond with them. And really, since we were on a mission there, we didn't really have free time. I thought it would be a good opportunity to like get, get undistracted, if that's a word. Yeah. From like, Daily activities that typically distract me and have more time to focus on time with God.
[00:02:40] Carla: Yeah, and you know, you guys really built a great team. You didn't just show up on the day you were leaving. You guys spent a year together in meetings, in practice, in serving, growing as a team. How important is it, community? I know that I'm throwing out [00:03:00] this question that wasn't on the list, but Through your experience of growing a team, how important have you realized that community is and teamwork is in the church?
[00:03:10] Caleb: Well, I think it's something that can really, like, make or break the team. Like, if all of us on the team, like, didn't like each other or were always at each other's throats, I feel like the team wouldn't have been as fluid and kind of inclusive as it was on the trip.
[00:03:27] Carla: So you probably needed... Grace. Probably.
[00:03:30] Carla: A lot. Yeah. You know, when you come together in church community, we don't all have the same personalities, but to work together as the body of Christ, we have to operate in grace. We have to kind of check our ego at the side and let other people work in their giftings that may be different than our giftings.
[00:03:50] Caleb: Yeah, definitely.
[00:03:52] Carla: So you guys had a big hiccup. You guys were originally supposed to leave July [00:04:00] 2nd. Yeah. And a few hours before takeoff, your flights got canceled. You guys went to the airport. There was no flights. The trip itself got canceled because they couldn't, well, temporarily canceled, you know, the surprise ending that they make it there, but your trip got canceled and there was no, uh, guarantee at that moment what the outcome would be.
[00:04:27] Carla: What did you think during that time? Like, how did you hold on to faith? You feel like God's calling you somewhere and all of a sudden. The trip is canceled. How did you guys come together as a team? How did you hold on to faith in this really uncertain time because it was really uncertain.
[00:04:46] Caleb: Yeah, well, we just kind of looked at it as like a bump in the road.
[00:04:52] Caleb: Like, we kept praying about it, we realized that it was part of God's plan, like, although it was in line with our [00:05:00] timing, it may not have been in line with God's timing. So we realized that, like, Maybe he was protecting us from something that was happening that week. We'll like, we'll never know, but we just, we just kept praying and realized it was for the best and that God's plan would come to fruition regardless.
[00:05:17] Carla: I love that because even canceled flights can't stop God's plan. And sometimes what we think is a rejection or a stumbling block is actually God's protection that we may never fully understand until we get to heaven. Yeah. So you guys ended up going a week later. Your, your trip got pushed back a week later, but you
[00:05:40] Caleb: made it.
[00:05:41] Caleb: Yes, we did,
[00:05:42] Carla: thankfully. And, um, While you were there, you went to a lot of different schools, you helped out at a church, went to a maternity hospital, Um, and I know you told me you saw a lot of poverty, but you also saw a lot [00:06:00] of joy. Yeah. How do you think those things exist together?
[00:06:06] Caleb: Well, I just figured, like, what I was thinking is because Like the, the people we saw in poverty there, they always had a smile on their faces, and I figured this could be because maybe they, they need less than what we need or they're content with less, like they've learned to live with less, and they've learned to like appreciate blessings more than we have here, because we live in such a blessed area.
[00:06:35] Caleb: Um, in a blessed country where things that could be like riches to them are just. that we'll get not even thinking about it here. So I figured that when you learn to like live with a lot less, you can become much more happier in the things you do have.
[00:06:55] Carla: And it's also a really good statement on what brings [00:07:00] you happiness.
[00:07:01] Carla: Because if your happiness is on the things you have, those are temporary. It's not lasting, but if you have the joy of the Lord in your heart, that transcends your circumstance. Mm hmm. Yeah, I agree. So how did you see God move? How did you see him show up on this trip?
[00:07:24] Caleb: Well, one thing that I thought was really special is when, when we were originally going to go on the second, we were all given like little communion cups to bring with us that we never ended up using.
[00:07:36] Caleb: And we kind of forgot about due to the shipping pushback. But, um, when I got sick, um, there in Guatemala, two others got sick and. Um, one thing that was really special is one of our team members, our leader, was on the phone with his friend and his friend told him that he should just do communion. So, he looked around and [00:08:00]opened his bag and he found exactly three communion cups that were in his backpack.
[00:08:04] Caleb: Like, kind of one for each of us, which I think was kind of just God placing it there, like, kind of a sign, you know, that he was with us and it was going to be alright.
[00:08:14] Carla: I love that. So you mentioned you got sick there. Yeah. And because you were sick, you had a fever and everything. You actually missed the three days of serving, you know, we, we see God call us places.
[00:08:31] Carla: And sometimes we think that because God is calling us someplace, it's going to be easy that, you know, the walls of Jericho will fall down right away. We forget that there is. A seven time marching, we forget all the things that go into it, but obstacles still happen. How did you deal with that obstacle?
[00:08:53] Carla: It's like, God, you brought me to Guatemala. I want to serve. Here I am stuck in the mission's [00:09:00] house, sick for three days, not doing what I came here to do. And yet God is still in it and still at working. So how did you deal with that obstacle?
[00:09:11] Caleb: Well, I figured that like you you don't have to be out in public all the time to see God move I figured that um Me getting sick.
[00:09:24] Caleb: Oh Allowed me to have more time to pray to him and focus on him Because a lot of the time there was just go go go we were doing all these different things in ministry So I thought that getting sick We're just him testing me to, to put my trust in him and put my faith in him. Cause it helped me realize that speed bumps only slow you down there.
[00:09:48] Caleb: They don't stop you.
[00:09:50] Carla: Oh, I love that. Speed bumps slow you down, but they don't stop you. And nothing can stop the plans of purpose. God has. And I [00:10:00] remember you and I talking about this over text saying that this is actually part of your journey. That God will use to draw you closer to him, that God wastes nothing.
[00:10:11] Carla: God's not wasting those three days you were sick. He was doing something in you.
[00:10:16] Caleb: Yeah, instead of external work during those three days, it was internal work.
[00:10:20] Carla: Yeah, that's amazing. So, What advice do you have for someone who is doing what God called them to do, but keeps running into these obstacles? Like, you guys saw your trip canceled.
[00:10:34] Carla: You got sick. Like, there seemed to be obstacle after obstacle as you were trying to be obedient to where God's calling you. For a lot of people, they get discouraged in seeing that. What words of advice or words of encouragement would you give the listener today who is struggling through some obstacles?
[00:10:57] Caleb: Well, um, going through that, I think [00:11:00] discouragement is definitely a valid feeling, but I feel like some of those obstacles, when you know you're following what God wants you to do, I feel like those obstacles can sometimes just be brought on by the devil to try to discourage you or make you get off track or lose sight of what God wants you to do.
[00:11:18] Caleb: The real goal is in the ending is like he'll try to beat you up with these obstacles to discourage you and make you want to give up, knowing that you're on the right path to what God is wanting you to do to help more people come to faith.
[00:11:32] Carla: So how do you keep going in the midst of that discouragement?
[00:11:37] Caleb: Um, I think you just need to keep praying about it because like it says in the Bible, God will never give you anything like too much that you can't handle. So even when it feels unbearable, just know that it's not because you're still kicking it. You're still going to what God wants you to do. And God is with you kind of like [00:12:00] sheltering you from the full wrath of whatever hard trouble wants to come upon you.
[00:12:06] Carla: And it's not in your own strength. You're not doing the obstacles in your own strength. You know, I do hear sometimes God won't give you more than you can handle. But I actually have a different perspective on that. Let's hear it. I kind of feel like Actually, God does give us more than we can handle. So that we come to him?
[00:12:26] Carla: Yes. So that we lean on his strength and it's his power at work in us. It's not our own power, but his power in work in us. So when we see something that's overwhelming and we think we can't do it, we can be like, that's okay because God by his Holy Spirit will equip me to rise to the occasion that he's calling me to.
[00:12:49] Caleb: Yeah, that, that's definitely a valid point as
[00:12:52] Carla: well. Yeah, and I think, you know, if you're discouraged because you keep running after bumps, [00:13:00] stop trying to fix it in your own strength. Wait on the Lord. Abide in Christ. Get into the Word. Build up your spirit. And one step at a time.
[00:13:12] Caleb: Yeah, definitely. I couldn't agree more.
[00:13:14] Carla: Yeah. Do you have any lasting words you want to say?
[00:13:19] Caleb: Well, just as I said before, this, when you're going through obstacles and hard times and you feel like there's all these speed bumps, just remember the speed bumps slow you down, but they don't stop you keep going and you build up speed again.
[00:13:33] Carla: Amen. Well, thank you so much for sharing your experience.
[00:13:37] Carla: Thank you so much for sharing with my audience, and maybe we can have you back one day and talk a little bit about OCD and mental health and how you are overcoming that with Christ. Of course, I'd love to. All
[00:13:54] Caleb: right. Thank you. Thank you so much.[00:14:00]
[00:14:02] Carla: Thanks for joining me today. I hope we're already friends on social media, but if we're not, come find me on Instagram at Carla Arges or at Affirming Truth. Can't wait to see you back here next week. Bye, friends.