Discover how the ocean’s two extremes, crashing waves and a perfectly calm marina, mirror the beautiful and peaceful love of God. From the Immanuel CRC IMPACT Team, read Brad’s uplifting reflection from a day of seeing how God’s love is always timed perfectly for exactly what we need.

Today we had a day of refreshing and relaxation. We were able to see God’s Creation up close and personal in a way we don’t get to see it back in Iowa. The ocean is a spectacular place to see all sorts of different life and creatures.

One thing that stood out today was the ocean itself. Where we were eating, you can walk a couple of hundred feet and see two extremes of the ocean.

On one side are the crashing waves of the sea into the seashore, fierce, strong, and magnificent. On the other side is a perfectly calm marina and beach, beautiful, calm, and peaceful. Both areas of water are part of the same body of water.

This is like our loving God and Father. At times His love is fierce, strong and magnificent, but at other moments His love is beautiful, calm, and peaceful. His love is always timed perfectly for each one of us. He knows exactly what we need when we need it. Sometimes we feel like waves of life are relentless and unbearable, but yet this may be exactly what God needs us to experience so that He can bring us into the calming and peaceful waters where we are ready to listen to Him.

– Brad Terpstra

This profile represents the collective voice of our Many Hands Impact teams. The reflections shared here are written by everyday individuals, from students and parents to local community members, who have traveled to Haiti and Abaco to experience the mission firsthand. They are not full-time staff. They are volunteers stepping out in faith to be love in action. In these posts, you will read raw, unpolished stories of personal transformation. Our guest writers document the shared humanity discovered while working alongside local leaders on safe structures, education initiatives, and community development. Impact trips are designed to change the participant as much as the community they serve. Through their words, you get a front row seat to the exact moments people discover their purpose and learn to live with intention.

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