By Susie Chiarenza
For mission week, the Sophomores took a trip with Messiah's Mansion. Sanctuary setup was in Killeen, Texas. Many of the Sophomores didn't know the tour, including me. It terrified me to try to learn it. It has a lot of information and an important message-I was afraid to mess up.
They gave me a stack of papers with outlines, verses to memorize, and oodles of information. Immediately a mental block appeared in my brain, giving me all the reasons I couldn't do it. But, someone on the trip believed otherwise. Mr. Sendelbach accepted the challenge to teach me the tour. The tedious work began. . .we used every spare minute to study. I organized thoughts, memoized Bible texts, and practiced, practiced, practiced.
The first two stations were a little rough at first, but with time they smoothed out. The Holy Place, however, was incredibly hard. Struggling with it for about five days, I could not get it. I was mentally exhausted and ready to give up, but guess what? Mr. Sendelbach wouldn't let me give up! It made me upset at first, but in the end, I appreciated all the hard work and effort he put into helping me learn the tour.
Once I understood the concept and prayed for God's help, it was a tremendous blessing! I'm so glad I didn't give up because I would have disappointed myself and God. To see the joy on peoples' faces when they are listening is an experience like none other. The sanctuary message is a powerful one, and everyone should know it.