I recently went on a mission trip. We (two of my sons and members of their youth groups, including two of my grandchildren) traveled from Pennsylvania to Maine, which took about 12 hours with a couple of stops along the way. My husband commented that there are so many people in need much closer to home and asked why we travel so far. That's a very good question.
The only kind of mission trip that I had ever heard of, growing up, was when someone actually went to live in a different country to tell people about Jesus. Later in my life I heard about people going on mission trips; usually to help build a church or to put a roof on a church or some sort of kind, generous building project.
The kind of mission trip that I just returned from is all about teaching our youth; teaching them to serve others/give of their time, teaching them to put others first, teaching them to work hard, and teaching them about Jesus.
These mission trips that are specifically for our youth focus on a lot of different areas, but the major factor is teaching them about Jesus. The focus is Jesus and getting closer to God. Everyone sleeps on an air mattress or cot in a classroom in a school. There is a wake up call at 6:45 AM, with lights out at 11 PM. Each youth member works with a crew to make repairs on a home, which the owners are unable to handle on their own, for a variety of reasons. Breakfast and dinner are served at the school and lunch is eaten on the worksite with their work crew. So many lessons are learned as they meet the home owners and learn work skills they had not known and as they make friends with the peers on their crews who have traveled from other states in the U.S. The most important parts of the days, however, are the four times a day they have devotions; reading scripture, singing praise songs, praying, writing in their journals and sharing past experiences; hurts and praises.
I watched as members of our youth group shared so many sad times and I relished the times they shared their hearts with their same-aged peers. They were vulnerable and trusting and there were tears and there was deep understanding. There was growth; that deep kind of growth we long to see in our children.
So, to answer my husband's question, I said, "Oh, honey, we talked about that on our trip, but there is so much more to going away; traveling together, being tired and uncomfortable together, having devotions four times a day; building trust. There is immense growth that happens that would not happen if we just went to someone's house, painted it and went home to our own comfy beds. We know caring for those in our neighborhoods is important too, though, and we did talk about going on some "day mission trips.""
I hope this blog gives you hope in our youth. I hope if you get a chance to help support youth who are going on this type of mission trip, you will support them with your prayers and with your finances.
What a blessing it was for me to be there with two of my sons and two of my grandchildren. I know, without a doubt, that I am very blessed.
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