Project 2 Revision
As a person who has seen the church as a second family, spending time with the people in my specific mission team has never been out of the ordinary. With that being said, spending a whole summer without them and not going on a mission trip is the strangest concept I could possibly fathom. The mission trips I have had the opportunity to embark upon have consisted of two weeks at the most in a variety of areas in need. I have loved being on a mission team for years, but I have never taken the leap and gone on a long term mission trip. However, some members of my usual mission team will be leaving this year on long term missions. This was the perfect opportunity to see the work that legitimately goes into training and embarking on a long term mission trip. Through working with the organization Mission of Hope, I have seen the love long term missionaries have put into others they meet while working. Their website even states that "life transformation for every man, woman, and child is the heart at what we do." Their text provides a message for short term missionaries looking into long term mission work, and assuring long term missionaries in what they will do on their mission.
Whether it be local, national, or international, making connections in such a short amount of time can prove to have some difficulties. The popularization of long term mission trips occurred because of this reason, among others. I have never even fathomed the idea of going on a long term mission trip until I grew to love meeting people from all over the world. Then again, there was once a point in my life where I didn't ever see myself going on a mission trip in general. The concept of mission trips as a whole are relatively similar: work with a community in need doing any requests at hand. This may include building or painting a home, spreading the gospel to families that have never seen a bible, or making sure every person in the area has seen a doctor recently. It may also mean simply playing a game of soccer with the kids in a village, or letting a little girl braid your hair. A great amount of hard work and dedication goes into short term mission work. However, the effort that goes into a short term mission trip and a long term mission trip has some differences to it.
The hard work and dedication that is required for a mission trip is incredibly (and often surprisingly) demanding. Traveling and being active for more hours than usual is one small aspect most people consider, but many overlooked small details are extremely important. Some of these details may include needing to have the knowledge of different languages, as having a barrier of language can be extremely difficult to communicate simple instructions or requests. Another may be the ability to comfort those in pain or in need. Men, women, and children in an area may not always need a house built for them, but more of a mere shoulder to cry on. One other out of many "requirements" could also be the physical strength sometimes required for common work projects. This is most definitely crucial in a short term mission trip. But what about long term mission trips? Countless hours are needed to be put in before even leaving for a country in many cases.
In an academic journal, well renowned author Herbert Kane states that “Thousands of youth desiring to serve the Lord have waited and waited for some mysterious ‘missionary call’ that never came.” This article focuses on Australian missionaries that have decided to take the leap from going on short term mission trips, to long term mission trips. Many Christians feel as though they must be an "all knowing believer" in order to go on mission trips (Kane). Although it is important to be able to share the gospel with people in other areas, it is not the only part of mission work. The mere building of a relationship and breaking down barriers between classes, races, or even languages does wonders to a person's spiritual growth. My own mission team always focuses on the emotional well being of every person or villager in any place we come across, whether it be down the street at a soup kitchen, or in the worst parts of Haiti. It is more of a priority (in our own minds) to spend our time getting to know a person as opposed to building a house that may not even be used.
I had the opportunity to interview Jake Uttich and Jacob Garrett, two members of my mission team. Both men have worked through an organization with me by the name of Mission of Hope. They will both be going on long term mission trips in the near future. Jake brought up that, contrary to popular belief, long term mission trips are not only about evangelizing communities. Mission of Hope is a Haitian mission organization that does services for people on the whole island. The organization focuses on meeting the needs villagers have, as well as developing strong relationships. The goal to guide people to Christianity is most definitely important to them, but it is not merely about forcing someone to go to church and leaving the village immediately after. On the Mission of Hope website, it states that "Our goal is to impact the lives of Haiti's population spiritually, physically, and emotionally." In order to meet the physical needs of building a latrine or home, work projects are completed. Strategic Village Time is used in order to speak to people in the village and get to know what any troubles they may be facing are. Lastly, prayers are made for villagers, but only after asking for permission to pray over anyone. A long term mission trip is not about trying to convert as many people as possible. The concept of "quality over quantity" is vital. Getting to know villagers personally is much more impactful than simply painting houses for one week on a short term mission trip.
In his self-help book "When Helping Hurts," James Corbett explains this incredibly well by saying "Until we embrace our mutual brokenness, our work with low-income people is likely to do more harm than good." Even though a person may be low income, or in any situation "worse off" than another person, this does not mean one person is better than the other. Every person is damaged in one way or another, whether that be emotionally, physically, socially, etc. As a long term mission worker, this idea is the root of all actions. There are so many people a long term mission worker comes across with needs. If this is overlooked, nearly no (meaningful) work will get accomplished.
Jake Uttich, a twenty year old with a great deal of passion in his heart, will be leaving for a nine month mission trip to several different countries. These countries are impoverished, developing areas such as Colombia, Ecuador, Thailand, Cambodia, and Albania. Before leaving to go on this mission, every member is prepared by going through extensive training. Some of this training may include how to interact with host families in a village, what to do if someone is injured or causing danger to yourself or someone around you, and the act of guiding another person and educating him or her through Christianity and the gospel. One other key part of training that is not common in short term mission work is learning how to improve one's community. Not necessarily the community of the third world country being visited, but the community the team member is a part of back home in the United States.(Uttich) The best way to explain this is with a quote from Jake, saying "mission trips don't end when you come home." What this means is serving the Lord and being a humble person is outstanding while on a mission trip. It assists people in need and builds character in oneself. But more often than not, the actions and feelings prominent in mission trips tend to dissipate after coming back home to the states. Why is this done? While unfortunately common, people tend to believe that their home does not need the "improvement" associated with third world countries. However, this assumption is far from the truth. It is important to take what a person has learned during mission work and apply it to everyone he or she sees. This is exactly the reason one should have a mentality that every person is mutually broken. With this idea in mind, nobody is truly "superior" to getting help.
So what is the difference between going on a long term mission trip as opposed to a week long trip? "It's easy to 'fake it' on a short term mission trip," says former Youth Director and current Missions Coordinator Jacob Garrett. He says, "I can be uncomfortable or miserable for a week and cover it up perfectly." After one week, an individual can go back to the comfort of their own bed, and forget about the heat or the dirt. They can remove whatever other complications they may have faced from their minds, and go on with their first-world lifestyle. On a long term mission trip, however, there is no escaping this discomfort. It truly comes down to the men and women that have a real passion for being missionaries, wanting to go all in with no regrets. (Garrett) This ties back to my mission team. Going for one to two weeks may be fun, but it is incredibly exhausting. Having no escape for several months has never been a difficulty in my experience, simply because I have not had to "grin and bear it" like the many diligent and passionate long term mission workers I know have.
In addition to this, Jacob Garrett feels as though the best parts about mission work in a long term sense is building relationships and being able to broaden horizons. Max Müller, famous for his studies on India and comparative religion, once said "He who knows one, knows none." By only knowing one's own culture or religion, there is no room to grow. This is why long term mission work is so crucial to personal growth. It heightens a person's ability to understand other cultures and ways of living. It also humbles people and forces them to realize the infinite opportunities and possibilities at their finger tips while living in a developed country. (Garrett)
Long term missionaries may receive a lot of rolled eyes or brushed off remarks, but a great amount of hard work and dedication goes in to what these men and women do. It can be proven with photos on Mission of Hope's website of kids attending a new school in Minoterie, or men and women in caps and gowns, graduating college. It takes whole hearted passion, as well as emotional and physical strength, to leave the comfort of one's own home for several months at a time, and for that reason, I have nothing but respect for the men and women that decide to drop everything just to help strangers. The line of long term mission work is not something to take lightly. Mission of Hope is a well rounded organization that puts the needs of people living in Haiti before themselves, through constant love and genuine care for everyone's needs. Because of this, any mission trips through Mission of Hope are very successful and impactful for everyone involved, regardless of time spent there. Their mission statement resonates with my own mission team's in the way that we agree wholeheartedly with their movement. They not only focus on people's spiritual needs, but their emotional and physical needs as well. (Mission of Hope) As a long time lover of mission work, I am excited to see where the world of being a missionary takes me in the next several years. Through this research, I highly expect myself taking part in a long term mission of my own in the future.
