Throughout the years, mission has been one of the key aspects of Church and the individual. It is an expression of selfless love; with the church serving others in the way Jesus demonstrated. Being part of the Salvation Army (which was formerly known as 'The Christian Mission'), I was given the great opportunity to join in a week especially aimed to be missionaries in a different community. I, alongside three of my friends from Northampton, went up to Nottingham and stayed with the Church Leader of the Salvation Army there. The area we were staying in was Nottingham Aspley, and is considered an area of poverty in Nottingham. As we prayer walked the area on our first day, we could see the cycle of unemployment that has trapped so many people in that area. The two main events we decided to run was a parent's and tots group in the morning, and some gardening at a sheltered housing area in the afternoon. Both of these were hard work, but both were visible demonstrations of our faith. We were given many opportunities to have great conversations with parents and residents, as our acts of selfless love made people question why! This linked very strongly to what Brian McLaren suggested, that when dealing with mission, we should be counting 'conversations instead of conversions'. Although being shattered at the end of every day, our week was filled with laughter as well as work, and everyone involved grew really close to each other. In some cases it was a little to close, as the room we were sleeping in had only two beds for four lads... it was a real test of friendship! However, looking back over the week, the main landmark was the wide spectrum of people that our 'Mission' had impacted. Firstly, in our own lives, it really helped us to see the community through God's eyes, helping us to break the social barriers associated with our age and generation. Secondly it greatly benefited the community, physically transforming a garden area, and giving emotional support for the parents and tots group. Through all this, it also greatly affected the Church we were linked with. Our gardening has opened many doors, as now the area would like monthly services, and the work we started with the parents and tots group will be continued. I think this just displays the wonderful ‘domino’ effect felt from mission, with every action and conversation having a knock-on effect. Through Jesus our strength was gained to complete the week, and in Jesus we place everything that has happened. Our mission wasn't to try and set up different things, it was simply a task of finding what God was already doing, and joining in.        Gary Pitt