One of my current pet peeves, just under selfies and chewing with your mouth open, is this new fad I can't seem to understand. Every time I get on Facebook or Pinterest I see loads and loads of lists, blogs and personal revelations just out there for everyone to read. "23 Things to Do Before You are 23" or "30 Things to Do Before You Get Married" or "Why you Should Stay Single and Travel" and 70 million reasons why I know something you don't and therefore should blog about it. It really perturbs me. Can you tell? And yes, I realize the irony, I am blogging about how I hate blogs but its different, really it is.
A theme I have noticed quite a bit in these recent blog rants is the "Dangers of Short Term Missions". Paragraphs and piles of why volunteers, missionaries, youth groups and Americans with fannypacks and a week off of work are hurting development work around the world. As a development worker in a third world country I can definitely see a side to what they are saying. It can be challenging to invest years and years into a project only to watch a group come in for 7 days and think they have all the answers, changed the world or can fix it with a lump of money. I will be honest, I even get territorial over my children sometimes...is that wrong? And up until 8 days ago I would have said that for the most part I completely supported the abolition of short term missions. 8 days ago I was wrong and I will tell you why, without a list.
Let me go ahead and preface my reasons with a disclaimer of sorts. Short term trips, just like anything in life, have the potential to be great or a total flop. The difference is always made in the will of God. Groups coming down willy nilly just to have a "world experience", because its the cool new thing to "have a heart for the nations" or to make themselves feel better are more than likely not helping. Yes, your money is helpful. But I can see the argument of this being a hurt more than a help when you come with the wrong mindset. Anything not done in love is done wrong. Plain and simple.
On the contrary, when a team comes, no matter how long or short, whatever their resources or experience, when God has ordained their trip, when they desire to love and please him, they will be a blessing.
The team we had last week is the quintessential example of this. I will be honest- I completely expected to be worn out and exhausted from a week of volunteers. Instead, they left me feeling refreshed, loved and honored. I sobbed as I watched them drive away, realizing I had friends leaving instead of volunteers. What they were able to do in such a short time frame amazed me. So often teams comes down, want to play with some little kids, take pictures of babies, lay some mulch, act like they were a huge blessing to us, and then leave, taking with them pictures and leaving with us only balloons and candy. This team didn't just focus on the cute easy activities and children but sought each day to love our staff, our teenagers, to teach, enrich and honor us. They didn't presume they were stronger Christians than the Haitians, that they were blessing us. They served. They brought us joy. A fresh zeal that you can easily lose when you are in a challenging environment every day with the same people who are in the same challenging boat as you. I cannot say enough about this team. I cannot explain well enough the seeds they sewed into the hearts of our children, the deposits they made of eternal value and impact.
Workers cant do everything. We imagine volunteers have a limited perspective from not really knowing the country, its people or its issues. But sometimes the limited perspectives come from the workers, blinded by the same situations and struggles they encounter every day. Sometimes it takes new eyes, fresh hearts and energy brought by volunteers to revive a ministry and its staff.
Relief work is life changing, for everyone involved. But I would never be here if it were not for the 10 short term trips I took before this. The Lord didn't just wake me up one day and say "hey move to this foreign country for a year". I would have said in the most respectful way- heck no Jesus, heck no. And thank God he didn't. He gracefully gave me years and years to grow in my love and experiences and calling for what I do now. And I am sure my time here is doing that even more for the future things to come. I would never want to take that opportunity away from someone else. There is a beauty to be found in the eyes of someone on their first mission trip, experiencing the love of God in such a new and intense way. Watching their hearts break for others, for the kingdom, is an honor and I have no right as a long term worker to devalue that.
I could go on and on but I think you get my point. We are all kingdom workers, all part of the master plan to bring people into salvation, to spread the good news, to be the light and the salt, the hands and feet. We CANNOT do it without each other.
There it is. My hypocritical self revelation rant on why an organization needs its volunteers. Why Jesus created us all differently with different purposes that all go towards the same purpose. Why I miss my team and how I have 8 new friends that feel like family.
