What Happens When Fear Meets Obedience

“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” 

That’s how Michele Harris described her recent mission trip to Europe with Mt. Bethel Church’s mission partner, Kerygma180 (K180). At the end of April, Michele joined six other Mt. Bethel members in London, England, and Madrid, Spain, to support K180’s “Big 6” evangelism initiative. 

But long before she ever stood on a busy street sharing the gospel with strangers, Michele was wrestling with fear. 

“I was scared about leaving my family,” she said. “I was worried about the logistics of my family staying home. I was definitely scared of talking to strangers.” 

When she was first invited to consider the trip, she scoffed at the idea, assuming she wouldn’t be good at street evangelism. Her only prior mission experience had been serving alongside her husband and children at a children’s home in Honduras the summer before. 

“I knew it wouldn’t be like Honduras where we did specific projects like hosting a ballet camp,” Michele explained. 

At the same time, Michele and her husband Brent had been praying about how to teach their children, Wesley (10) and Reynolds (8), to trust God even when they felt anxious or afraid. 

“As I was praying, I felt like God was telling me, ‘You need to do this to show your children you trust Me in really challenging and hard things,’” she recalled. 

That decision to step out in faith would shape every part of the trip. 

Preaching on the Streets of London 

In London, the team spent their days on crowded city streets where they took turns standing on a box and publicly sharing the gospel through personal testimonies, visual illustrations, and conversations with strangers. 

“London is super busy,” Michele said. “There’s a lot of hustle and bustle, and it’s very culturally diverse. You would hear different languages everywhere you went. I’m still amazed at the amount of people who stopped to listen or take a flyer or even have a conversation with us.” 

Not every interaction was positive. 

“At one point, a group of teenage boys threatened to push one of our team members off the box,” Michele said. “We found Londoners were more likely to want to argue or tell us we were wrong.” 

Still, she watched meaningful conversations unfold around her. She recalled fellow team member Amelia Makowski engaging with people from different faith backgrounds who approached the team with questions and challenges about Christianity. 

“She went toe-to-toe with two Muslim men and an Orthodox Jew,” Michele said. “It was incredible to witness.” 

When it was Michele’s turn to stand on the box herself, she used epi-pens as a visual illustration during her gospel presentation to demonstrate the life-saving grace of Jesus. Unexpectedly, the moment reminded her of serving in KidCity at Mt. Bethel. 

“It was really cool and helpful for me,” she said. “It reminded me of teaching Bible lessons to kids.” 

The connection helped her realize God could use experiences and gifts she already had — even in an unfamiliar environment. 

Discovering Spiritual Hunger in Madrid 

After a couple of days training in London, the team traveled to Madrid, where the conversations looked different. 

Because of the strong Catholic influence in Spain, many people the team encountered were familiar with Christianity, but Michele found conversations about a personal relationship with Jesus were often more difficult. 

“They’re just like, ‘Because I’m Catholic, I guess I believe what you’re saying,’” she explained. 

Even so, the team experienced moments that reminded them how powerfully God can work across cultures and languages. 

One afternoon, Mt. Bethel team member Devon Lochner was playing worship songs on his guitar in a public square when a Chinese woman stopped to listen. Michele watched as Gaylyn Kelly, Mt. Bethel’s Lead Pastor of Discipleship and Missions and the team’s trip leader, began trying to communicate with her. 

“I think Gaylyn thought she spoke Spanish at first,” Michele recalled. “But we quickly realized she didn’t. Suddenly everybody had their phones out using Google Translate.” 

The conversation moved between Spanish, English, and Mandarin through translation apps. 

“But at the end, this woman accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior,” Michele said. “We learned she had only been living in Spain for a month, and she had never even heard the name of Jesus. It was incredible.” 

Madrid also became a deeply personal experience for Michele. 

Her family plans to return to Honduras to serve alongside the children’s home they worked with last summer, so she’s been studying Spanish with a tutor so she’ll be able to better communicate with the kids they work with there. Going on mission to Spain this spring gave her the opportunity to practice with native speakers. 

She was asked to give her testimony at the local Spanish church Mt. Bethel was partnered with for through K180 for this trip. She knew an interpreter would be available to translate for her, but after praying about it, she felt led to share her testimony in Spanish herself. 

“That evening, I wrote out my testimony in English, translated it into Spanish, and then gave it in Spanish to this congregation of like 200 people,” she said. 

The experience became one of the most emotional moments of the trip. 

“I think everyone gets emotional sharing their testimony, but it was incredibly emotional for me because I could see it in this congregation’s faces how much they appreciated that I took the time and put in the effort to honor them.” 

Learning to See People Differently 

Before the trip, Michele worried about whether she would even know how to start conversations with strangers. But one afternoon in Spain, she found herself laughing at how naturally God created opportunities. 

She met a woman from Germany who had recently completed El Camino de Santiago — the same pilgrimage route Michele’s brother and sister-in-law were preparing to walk. 

“As she’s telling me this, I’m chuckling to myself thinking, ‘God, You’re so clever,’” Michele said. 

The conversation eventually turned toward faith. 

“She didn’t have faith,” Michele explained. “She said her mom was Catholic but she didn’t attend church or anything like that. And then I asked if I could pray for her.” 

For Michele, moments like that reshaped the way she thinks about evangelism. 

“Evangelism isn’t as scary as we tend to think it is,” she said. “I think as Americans we tend to think evangelism is people holding signs telling people to repent or they’re going to hell. But what I learned in Europe is that it’s less out of condemnation and more out of Jesus’ grace and love.” 

 “This trip showed me I need to look for people around me who are willing to have conversations and remember that everyone around me is loved by Jesus. We’ve been called to share His love and truth with them.” 

Stepping Out in Faith 

If there’s one thing Michele hopes others take away from her experience, it’s not to let fear or pride hold them back from obedience. 

Before the trip, she worried constantly about leaving her family behind. But her absence gave her husband, Brent, the opportunity to step in and care for their children in new ways. 

“I think so often as moms (not to say our husbands can’t do it) we tend to be the primary organizers for our families,” Michele said. “Brent showed up in the biggest way possible for my family. I was so proud of him.” 

Michele also wrestled with doubts about whether God could really use her in street evangelism. But her experiences in London and Madrid reminded her that the power of the Great Commission doesn’t rest on human ability, but on Jesus Himself. 

“Throughout the trip, whenever I would be discouraged or feel like I wasn’t doing evangelism right, I would remind myself that we’ve been called to plant seeds and water seeds that already exist,” she shared. 

Looking back, Michele says the trip stretched her faith in ways she never expected. 

“This trip was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” she said. “But God showed up in ways I couldn’t have imagined, so whatever is holding you back from stepping out in faithful obedience, know that God will meet you there and help you overcome it.” 

Ready to take your next step on mission? Visit mtbethel.org/missions to learn about all upcoming trips and service opportunities or email missions@mtbethel.org!