Julie Griffith

05.23.13 | Stories of Life Change

    I went to Bolivia when I was in my early twenties. Seeing people with no legs begging in the street changed my life's perspective. A missions trip is a chance to serve others, but it is even a bigger chance to change our focus from temporal things to eternal things.

    Tell us who you are and a little about your family.

    Dan and l live in Lee, IL. We have been married for 24 years. Dan runs a painting business and I'm a teacher, although rather non-traditionally. I teach piano lessons, homeschool my kids, teach science labs to 35 homeschoolers, and am starting a business teaching study skills to public school students. We have four children. The oldest (Elizabeth) just graduated from Cedarville University with a B.S.N. in nursing. She will be married at VBC on June 15th. Alyssa (19) is a piano pedagogy major at Cedarville. Melody (15) loves drama and playing the violin. Brandon (13) plays percussion and soccer.

    Which campus of our church do you attend, and for how long?

    We attend the Indian Creek Campus of Village. Dan grew up at this campus while it was still a Baptist Church, so we've been attending here as a couple since 1989. We've been attending here as a part of Village since it was adopted.

    What ministries are you or your family involved in at Indian Creek?

    Dan is an elder and leads a small group ministry in our home.  I play on the worship team every other week. Melody and Brandon play on the worship team and are involved in the puppet ministry.

    You signed up for the July mission trip to Chicago, what intrigued you about the Here’s Life Inner City trip?

    I went on the Chicago bus trip in February. Ministering to different people groups intrigues me, but I don't really know how to go about it. Here's Life is a chance to minister WITH my kids. I liked this opportunity to develop their hearts for service and their understanding others outside of our daily walk.

    How did you decide to go on this trip?

    The thing that excited me most about joining Village was the mission trip opportunities. All my life I have wanted to take my kids on a mission trip. So far it hasn't happened yet! This trip was during a free week, it is affordable, and it involves ministering to kids in English! We have been hoping to go to Uganda ever since February 2011, but so far God has said "no."  My daughter believes God has called her to be a missionary in Africa some day.  I hope this mission trip will be a training step along the way. I will be joining the team with both Melody and my son Brandon.

    What aspects of the trip are you and your family excited about?

    Serving together. Drama. Learning to cope better outside my comfort zone!

    What would you say to others to encourage them to step out in faith and be a part of one of our Short Term Action Teams?

    I went to Bolivia when I was in my early twenties. Seeing people with no legs begging in the street changed my life's perspective. A missions trip is a chance to serve others, but it is even a bigger chance to change our focus from temporal things (that seem to matter a lot until you're around people who live without them!) to eternal things. I think my kids will have a much bigger vision for life and hopefully a sense of community with Christians from different cultures by participating in missions.

    Read more Action News Stories