It is a question we circled around in our devotions about
half way through the trip. Our
group of 61 responded with a wide variety of thoughts:
To help others
To bring Christ
To build a house
To give back from what the West has taken
That every tribe tongue and nation would know God
To go home and show people the good stuff I did
To add this to my resume
Everyone has different motives for going on a mission
trip. And while on the trip,
everyone gets value from different activities. For some, they saw value in pouring and mixing concrete to
lay a foundation in a home. They
needed to see something tangible, visible goal come to fruition. Others preferred to play with the
children. They wanted to exchange
smiles, laughs, and memories because it was relationships that counted most to
them. Some wanted to pray with
each person they met and pray over the village people before they
departed. Their gift was
interceding on behalf of the people.
Others tried to talk to the ICM directors or community members to find
out all the details. What are the
problems? What are the needs? Who is helping them? How are they doing this? They wanted to understand the behind
the scenes to see how they fit into the big picture of what was taking place.
When our motives, expectations, and giftedness come
together, it is what Paul referred to as the body of Christ. It is a fully functional operating
system. It is Christ expressing
himself in full. And so the end
goal of the trip will be seen differently by each member in the group from how
they contribute as the body.
The reality is that there is not one single end goal to the
trip. In fact, the reason KIVU has
taken students on mission trips the last 5 years is because the outcomes are
endless. These trips teach us so
many new things:
To be an ambassador to those back home of what we have
seen.
To expand our global worldview.
To spur us on to love others around us.
To find poverty and injustice to address in our own
hometown.
To see a model of a ministry that effectively reaches the
spiritual and physical needs of the community.
To be blessed by the faithfulness of Christians serving in
drastically different circumstances from ours.
To see that the world is not America.
To apply our time, talent, and treasure to the things that
really matter in life.
To spread the love of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
And the list goes on…
For me it was one step closer to understanding the grip of
poverty and what it really takes to engage in Christ centered poverty
alleviation efforts.
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