When the Missionary Leads Himself to Christ
Most of the people who go on Filter of Hope mission trips are already Christians, but there are some participants that are still trying to figure it out. 

Occasionally some aren’t Christians at all. They want to help give clean water to needy families for the next 10 years, but they’re unsure about their own relationship with Jesus, much less trying to tell others about Him.

So what happens? God still works. And some mission team members have been led to faith in Jesus on the mission trip. And at least one, even by their own words.

Jackson Mudd was a junior at the University of Auburn when he attended a Christian campus group and heard about a Filter of Hope mission trip to Dominican Republic.
A previous mission trip with a different group had been a great experience for Jackson, but his spiritual life to this point had been up and down and confusing. “I grew up going to church and had a foundational view of God. I had even led retreats and worked at a Christian camp. I believed in God, but I never considered how Christ really figured into my life.”
"I grew up going to church and had a foundational view of God, but I never considered how Christ really figured into my life."
Jackson Mudd on his Filter of Hope trip to Dominican Republic.
When Jackson got to Auburn, he spent his first two years drinking and getting high most weekends. "I didn't see any of these things as a problem. I thought I could buckle down later, but right now I could just have fun."
Still part of him held onto God. “For a whole year, I straddled that line between my old life and living for God.”

Still wavering between God and his other life, Jackson’s interest was piqued by the Filter of Hope trip. He reflected on his previous mission trip and longed to recapture that excitement. So he signed up and went.
"For a whole year, I straddled that line between my old life and living for God."
"The fire that I felt on my first mission trip was there again. I also started thinking about these deeper questions I hadn’t looked at before.”
Reid Patterson, a Filter of Hope staff member, remembers Jackson was different. “He stuck out because he was so open and had so many questions.
"He stuck out because he was so open."
Jackson and his team sharing clean water and Jesus with a Dominican family.
That week, the mission team went house to house installing filters and talking about how Jesus is like a filter who can make our sinful lives clean. Jackson was hooked. “I loved the connection of the story of Christ and the filter. I started believing it more and more.”
"It woke something up in my heart and the gospel made sense to me for the first time as I shared it with someone. That’s the point where I truly believed and received Christ."
In the middle of the week, this story became Jackson's story. “When it was my turn to share the gospel with a family, I felt that there was something going on in that home. It woke something up in my heart and the gospel made sense to me for the first time as I shared it with someone. That’s the point where I truly believed and received Christ.”
“I had heard it all my life, but for some reason I had never considered whether I believed in Christ. I think what hit me was his death, that he died for all our sins, and that we can never repay Him.”

That evening, while the Filter of Hope mission team was praying and worshiping on the beach, Jackson’s faith became very real. “I was weeping on my knees and I turned to a friend and said, ‘I think I’m a Christian.’”
"My family thought I was on a mission trip high, but the passion I have for Christ has brought them to have more trust in the Lord."
Since returning from the mission trip, Jackson continued growing in his faith and others have noticed. “My family thought I was on a mission trip high, but the passion I have for Christ has brought them to have more trust in the Lord. They’ve continued to see me stay with God and not just have the fire die out.”
Jackson Mudd and Reid Patterson
Reid has been encouraged by Jackson's faith. “Over the last year, his desire hasn’t faded any. I haven’t seen his excitement change at all and he’s always on track. He’s one of the most encouraging people I talk to.”
"I haven’t seen his excitement change at all and he’s always on track. He’s one of the most encouraging people to talk to.”
Not only was Jackson baptized, he continues to make Christ the center of everything he does. “God gave me a purpose to love others and spread the gospel. Everything makes sense—the dots are connected.”
P.S. World Water Day is March 22nd. Let’s make this World Water Day one they’ll never forget—the day they tasted clean, safe drinking water for the first time. Details coming soon.

Have a Filter of Hope story to tell? Just email us at stories@filterofhope.org and we’ll put you in the lineup.