It was 9 years long ago that I went on my first overseas trip with iGo Global (then known as iWitness Ministries). I can still look back and point to that trip as a major spiritual landmark in my life. Since then, there has been an ever increasing desire in me to see other students experience and learn those same life-altering, plan-ruining truths.

Now that I have been on staff for a while and now that iGo has grown so much, I do not get as much direct interaction with individual students. Because of this, I sometimes wonder if what happened to me is still happening to them. It seems that with most things in life, when quantity increases, quality decreases. When I went as a student our team consisted of 13 people, and we were the only team. iGo now sends around 500 students each summer.

It’s easy to see the spiritual growth in our leaders and in those who have been with us multiple times. What about the student whose involvement with iGo is limited to a one-week trip to the UK?

While I was in London this year, I decided to sit in on one of the share times that a team was having at the end of the week. What I saw was very encouraging.

I listened to this group of 8 to 10 students (part of a team of 70) share what they had learned throughout the week. Many of them had that “Where do I even begin?” look on their faces.

One girl spoke of our first core value: The Bottom Line (God’s desire for His glory among all nations). She explained how the things she underlines in her Bible are different now. She used to just underline verses that dealt with how God would bless His people. Now she’s underlining verses about His heart for His glory and fame among all nations on earth.

Everyone nodded in agreement as she spoke. It was obvious that the way they read their Bibles had been altered as well. Another girl shared about learning the joy of sharing her faith. She explained how awesome it was to experience the joy of sharing with someone, even if they didn’t convert, knowing that God is sovereign and did not need her to finish his work in that person’s life.

The more they shared, the more obvious it was to me that every single one of those students had been impacted in a big way. They had been changed by their experience overseas, and also by the Base Camp teachings. Those teachings had given them a scriptural understanding and basis for their experiences on the field. It was so refreshing to me as I got to sit back and listen to them share. I just kept thinking, “Wow, they’re getting it. God is still using this teaching to alter the lives of students. My time is well spent here at iGo.”