Missions: With and Without
Background: Except for this summer, I've been on a mission trip every summer since my freshman year of high school. Here are some of my thoughts without that part of my life.
I miss the friendships and the team-building. I miss being shaken from my comfort zone. Maybe I miss it because I expect God to move in a tangible way, and I don't (usually) when I'm not in that context. I miss working with other people in community for a purpose. It's hard to relate that to a job or school or a church service. On mission trips, most everyone becomes closer as you go through the same type of Bible lessons or small groups. People are willing and sometimes coerced into being vulnerable.
I'm studying missions in school, and from what I've learned so far, trips are supposed to be about the people that we (mission teams) serve, not about us. But I've found that most trips I've been on have impacted me and the mission team the most. Is that bad? Yes and no. It's good to be introspective while you are serving, but best to also observe the people who you are serving.
It can be hard to see God work in the everyday without that specific context that a mission trip provides. It's been hard for me so far this summer. But take to heart that He's worked in your life these times before and is working now.
I miss the friendships and the team-building. I miss being shaken from my comfort zone. Maybe I miss it because I expect God to move in a tangible way, and I don't (usually) when I'm not in that context. I miss working with other people in community for a purpose. It's hard to relate that to a job or school or a church service. On mission trips, most everyone becomes closer as you go through the same type of Bible lessons or small groups. People are willing and sometimes coerced into being vulnerable.
I'm studying missions in school, and from what I've learned so far, trips are supposed to be about the people that we (mission teams) serve, not about us. But I've found that most trips I've been on have impacted me and the mission team the most. Is that bad? Yes and no. It's good to be introspective while you are serving, but best to also observe the people who you are serving.
It can be hard to see God work in the everyday without that specific context that a mission trip provides. It's been hard for me so far this summer. But take to heart that He's worked in your life these times before and is working now.
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