Why try a Mission trip.
Thirteen years ago, I joined a team
that came from Intervarsity USA to do a short-term mission trip to Kenya. I was
among the three Kenyans that joined 45 American students in a three-month
short trip mission. When I reflect, I can tell that this became part of
the journey that has defined who I am becoming.
They posted me to Kakuma refugee
camp with 2 other American girls and what I thought was a familiar mission
seized being one immediately we reached the land, and everything was
unfamiliar.
Over the last 10 years, I have had an opportunity of
leading many short-term mission trips.
Benefits of Short-term mission trips
1. Exposure to global issues affecting global missions: As a way of involvement in Global missions’ short-term
mission trips from the west to third world countries. These trips have been
very helpful in exposing many people to the realities of global issues and
missions, which thereafter enable people to make a consideration
to long-term involvement. It was my experience in the refugee camp and
with the Turkana community that my passion for cross-culture rose. Sometimes
the trips leave questions that take a lifetime to answer, and thus the
interest in digging deeper.
2. Exposure of the third world country Christians to Global
issues in their own countries. The
assumption by the west is that the third world Christians have engaged global issues and so some of them plan and come and not walk alongside the locals.
Most people in the third world countries are very ignorant of the issues that
surround them. It was through the project they involved me in that I got to see
and work in the largest slum for my first time; I had never been to a slum.
This exposed me to urban poverty that I hadn’t encountered. I also got exposed
to unreached people groups which I didn’t know existed, the realities of war
and refugees in the refugee camp and finally got to encounter other faiths and
see their impact on God’s mission then. If the third world partners cannot afford to raise resources for the trip each person should fundraise for one more person.
3. Stereotypes are broken; In Uganda, I have experienced students who had never gone to the Northern Ugandan (where there was war) and when we say to them, we are
going their parents' concern is that they will die. With over 52 tribes in
Uganda, we also get to have Christians from different cultures, and during
these missions’ stereotypes about other tribes dissolve. Through this mission,
you have unity established across boundaries. Some people that have never
exercised their Christianity outside their small world get a chance.
4. Exposure to other Christians. When we grow in a certain culture and become Christians,
our Christianity takes shape within our cultural background and makes one
distinctive African or American and it's until you interact with people whose
Christianity is shaped by another culture you know that we can be different.
Through my experiences, I learned that many elements of social structure and
some patterns of life must be the same for both of us, but some elements of their
social structures and may be of their pattern of life will differ a great deal.
Therefore, we must celebrate and build on what we share as God’s children.
That’s why I believe there must be a partnership between the west and south so
we can have an experience of partnership and creating bonds and friendships
that is global. If the mission trip involves people from different
denominations, it presents exposure to further involvement with people who
don’t look alike.
Do things with
people not for people, you don’t fly or travel to come to help the poor you fly to
Share the love of Jesus with people, don’t get lost in accomplishing projects.
5. Introduction to long-term mission commitment: out of Short-term mission trips we have;
a) World Christians who after the trip live their lives aimed
at Christ’s global purpose. The people that have gone through these mission
trips end up pursuing God’s purpose as the focal point in their entire lives.
Such have got involved in strategic ways of sharing the gospel through their
profession’s skills and talents.
b) Cross-cultural mission workers who go through the short term
get encouraged to long-term missions across cultures. “short term leads to
long-term commitment” (Maust 1991:18). This long-term involvement comes in two
forms (Hicks 1986:8): Most short-termers become informed senders, i.e., those
who return home and actively serve in the mission program of a local
congregation. Some short-termers become career missionaries who take part in a
wide variety of ministries throughout the world.
6. Specific special ministry: Through
short-term trips, there is a lot that can happen, because the people involved
have a short time, they can achieve a lot. Through these trips, I have seen
short-term projects enjoy digging boreholes, building missionary houses among
other projects accomplished. One wonders if it’s even important for people to
fly to dig a borehole. Through these projects, we get to share some social
structures that make us different. It’s always interesting putting a group of
Ugandans and Americans out on manual work and see how they respond and behave.
We have some places where we have local missionaries and this short-term groups
come to boost the local missionaries who supervise them, Example: door-to-door
evangelism or specific professions that come along in increasing the effectiveness
of our ministry on the ground.
ADVICE FOR SENDING AND RECEIVING
TEAMS.
·
Partnership with the host from the
beginning.
Do not make a mistake of starting to plan a mission trip
without your partners. For the teams going overseas, you need to listen well to
the locals, so you know their needs. Do not always imagine that what you think
people need is what they need. This slows down the process, and this calls
for planning in time so to allow polychronic people to synchronize and walk
with you. None of the partners should feel superior because they have
economic or social power. This becomes the first test of our fruit of the
spirit before we even go to love other people out there. Plan finances together
and decide on the programming and outlay of the time together. It's very easy
to plan a mission trip without involving people from another culture, but then
you miss the beauty of diversity celebrated in our differences which make us
who we are “One in Christ”. We test the need to Submit to one another. In
cross-cultural communication, we must emulate Jesus.
Phil 2;1-11 In your relationships with one another have the same
mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very
nature[a] God,did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted
him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Everyone is important and if you either can raise money or
capacity to find places for most successful mission work, do not intimidate
your partner.
·
1:1 Ratio of involvement.
If it’s possible to ensure that you achieve a ratio of 1 local:
1 foreign missioner, this gives an opportunity for interactions between the
cultures involved in ways that are nowhere else. I have always ensured that the
people recruited come from different evangelical
(Belief in the conversion's centrality or “born-again“ experience in receiving salvation, in the authority of
the Bible as God‘s revelation to humanity, and in spreading the
Christian message) churches
thus further diversity that challenges the believer to go beyond their
religious boundaries. If you can bear with each other as a team you are ready to love the world. The test is right in sharing rooms and food.
·
Need for team formation and
cross-cultural training.
I have heard several teams who wonder why we need to ‘waste’
mission time and have an orientation before going for the trip, and they
usually suggest that we will learn on the ground. Well, my experience has taught me that if you are combining two cultures, you must be keen to first make a team
that accepts each other and can agree before walking together, then face.
They should be able to hit the road and face the
challenges as a team. Proper training of teams for short-term missions is
important for cultural intelligence and to avoid mistakes that bring trouble
for local missionaries and churches. Plan some days in advance to have the two
teams become one even in spirit and together share the strategy and vision.
This is part of the mission I always say.
·
Shared leadership
On arrival, combine the leadership of the two teams together
and have frequent meetings to decide and test the general performance and
atmosphere. Both the low and high-context cultures must humbly learn to
communicate across the table, and this makes partnerships. Delegate
responsibilities among the two sections of leaders and that way you have people
learning from each other.
·
Global issues and debrief and bible
reflections
It is sometimes tempting to run through the program and
people end up ‘doing’ missions and ‘charity’ and take pictures and go home and
continue as if nothing happened. Always help people connect what they are
experiencing to the bigger global issues in global missions and find ways in
which God responds to such and in obedience obey God in responding to some
issues in humility. It is also important to provide an outlet for people to
debrief some things they take in along the way. Provide small groups and big
groups times of reflections and community worship; which should be diverse as
it represents many cultures in the team? Do an overall
debrief for the team and since they have become one creatively seek ways of
separating them and ensuring, they can have continuity in fellowship. I am glad
I stay in touch with several Americans I did the mission trip with.
·
Treat each other with love:
1st
Cor 13 love
is patient, love is kind. It does not envy; it does
not boast; it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not
self-seeking; it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but
rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects,
always trusts, always hope, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails.
· Poverty;
You will see all manner of poverty and one
thing you must understand is that there is a different type of poverty and don’t only
limit it to material poverty. There is spiritual, emotional, social and systemic
poverty. Each of us has to acknowledge our own brokenness and a deep need for God
before we can expect to serve others.
· 
Must read for anyone who does short trip missions
‘Foreign to familiar” Sarah A Lanier.
Always have leaders evaluate the mission together and agree on adjustments.
CONCLUSION
For me, it's a 'YES' to short term mission trips if they are not an end in themselves but they are done as a way of exposure to the real mission needs and global issues affecting missions today globally. There is more good that comes out of mission trips than bad. Try them out.
By Gillian. G. Mwaura (Edube)
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