Mission Trips
September 20th, 2009
Mission trips. The thought of them strikes fear into the hearts of some, and joy into the hearts of others. Some love them for the immersion experience, others hate them for…the immersion experience. It’s been my personal experience that mission trips pull groups together and make them more unified. I didn’t really get to be good friends with the Hampson boys until after the Mexico trip, come to think of it. So they also build new relationships and strengthen old ones.
As you probably know, Emily Greenplate and Esther Hampson are going away on separate mission trips soon (not sure of the exact dates). As they fly away on their respective planes, our prayers go with them. Remember to pray for these two! It’s kinda important.
Mission trips have been really good experiences for me; I’ve been to two so far: one to Mexico, and one to Belize. But I know that not everyone had the same great experiences as me. I have a couple different questions depending on your “status as a missionary”.
1. If you’ve been more than one, answer this: Which one did you learn the most on, and why?
2. If you’ve only been on one mission trip, what was the most important thing you learned?
3. If you’ve never been on a mission trip before in your life, why not? Would you if you got the chance?
EVERYONE gets to answer these questions: What are you most scared of about mission trips? What’s your least favorite part?
September 21st, 2009 at 10:19 am
I’ve only ever been on one “leaving our country” mission trip… when I went to Togo.
I guess the most important thing(s) i learned was that God truly is faithful no matter where I am and it taught/reminded me that there is a larger world out there and that I need to remember that my life is not the most important thing. I definately was taught humbleness on my mission trip.
there you go… I commented.
September 21st, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Yay Renee (hey, that rhymed)!
During the mission trip in Belize I learned that God is a wonderful refuge. When I got irritated at people and just needed to get away, I was able to go to God and He’d let me rest. I also learned that it’s okay to trust Him and step out and do something amazing. I can’t wait for the next mission trip!
I’m most scared of getting sick while I’m away from home on a missions trip. Or not being able to hear God while I’m there. My least favorite part is probably starting or keeping a small-talk conversation going with new people (yeah, that’s a BIG part!). I’ve never been good with the “keep the small-talk going” sort of thing. I think I’m most worried about it being awkward for the other person.
September 21st, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Lol good job Renee!
I probably learned the most in Mexico, just because it was my first mission trip. I learned that people in other countries are MUCH more willing to have a conversation with a random stranger than we are in the US.
I’m most scared of getting sick on a mission trip. Thanks to the prayers of those at home, I’ve avoided that so far. But it would be horrible to have to miss a couple days of outreach because I was sick.
All in all, though, mission trips have really been good learning experiences for me.
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Us Kurylaks, afraid of getting sick. Woo! -high five-
September 23rd, 2009 at 10:00 am
I did two trips to Mexico as a teenager and they truly changed my life. As an adult I have not been a trip…something I should probably do at some point
September 27th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
I’ve only ever been on one missions trip and that was to Belize. It definitely opened my eyes so that I could see God moving in the little things, like when we got to do a VBS for all the awesome kids there. I also agree with Renee, it also taught me humbleness because a lot of people have so much less than I have.
I have to say I’m mostly scared of not making it through airport security or something and watching my group fly away without me…just because some guy told me a story about how he got left behind in China for 6 months. I was sick for about 5 days in Belize (it was awful!) so that doesn’t scare me anymore.
Wow…long post
September 29th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
i’ve never been outside of the country. I’ve been to Appalachia twice, and that taught me stuff about doing dirty work for other people and the satisfaction it brings (after it’s all done
).
Definitely brings you closer to those who u work with, i always love things like that that take u beyond the regular conversational encounters. I’d like to go outside of the country someday tho. sounds awesome.
October 10th, 2009 at 7:15 am
I love going on Mission Trips! I’ve only been to Togo, and the Dominican Republic but every time I go I learn something new about God and something new about who I am in God. It’s always powerful to see how happy people are when they have barely nothing.
I definitely learned the more on my DR trip. I went with no one else I knew b/c I wanted go to challenge me away from friends where I might not of stepped up in certain areas. I stayed for about a month (which I think is an excellent amount of time to go b/c you truly build life-long relationships).
The scariest thing for me would be the possibility of losing my passport
or being pickpocketed. Other than that I know God’s got my back and he’ll protect me!
I can’t wait to go on one next year. Isn’t it youth group mission trip year???