| Shenandoah
Presbytery |
the NEWs |
April
2008 |
Answering the Call: Are You Really Prepared? A missionary once said: "You are either a missionary or a mission field." This catchy, yet, powerful statement offers a wonderful insight about who we are called to be as disciples of Christ. Bill, who serves as a missionary in Vicente Guerrero, Baja, Mexico, some 200 miles south of San Diego, has a clear view of what he and his fellow mission workers are called to do. They embody this statement which is often shared with the short-term "missionaries" who come for a week-long experience. There in that desert setting life is often a day-to-day challenge not only for the native people who live there, but also for the mission workers who live and work with them. Over 300 people have now had the "Baja experience" and most all can attest to the non-western, "developing country" view that is needed to be the hands and feet of Christ in a place where 2 inches of rain falls in a YEAR, and where there is limited access to electricity or water. But this experience is similar to that within developing countries all over the world. So how do you prepare yourself and your group for going into another culture in another country? That question may be the one asked most frequently by church groups planning an international mission trip. It is very important to ask this question, and it is even more important to know the answers before you leave. In the March 2008 issue of the denominational magazine "Presbyterians Today," the story is told of a group of well intentioned Presbyterian doctors who did not answer this question adequately before they spent two weeks offering free medical care in a temporary clinic set up next to a Presbyterian hospital. They were there doing what they thought was just what the people in this African village needed. But after they left, people came to the hospital expecting the same free care that was given their neighbors and were very angry to learn there was a fee for the care. "The problem - which took the hospital years to overcome - could have been avoided if the doctors had arranged with the hospital to conduct the clinic inside the hospital itself," says Doug Welch, PCUSA Area Coordinator for Africa. "They could have charged fees, but also contributed to the hospital's charity fund so that more indigent patients could be seen." |
Good, thorough advance
planning is important for short-term mission trips. Here are some Tips for
a Successful Mission Trip. Consider Stewardship Implications: What is the end goal of your group's proposed trip? Is an international visit the best way to accomplish it? Focus on Partnership. Listen carefully to the wisdom and needs of your international hosts. Consult with Mission Personnel in the area where your team will be traveling. Develop an Orientation Process that helps team members identify cultural baggage (racial stereotypes, assumptions about the superiority of U.S. culture, etc.) Emphasize Team Building that begins at orientation and continues after the team returns home. Seek to be Informed about and sensitive to the socioeconomic context, including an awareness that North Americans sometimes prosper at the expense of people in the developing world. Engage in one-on-one activities that pair a North American with a person from the host country. This could include recreational activities and games. Set aside special times for team members to process what they are experiencing and to pray together. Maintain an ongoing Relationship with your international hosts and pray for them. Follow up your Mission trip experience by reaching out to economically poor people in your community, particularly new immigrants. What makes for a positive short-term mission experience? Motivation to build long-term relationships can play a key role, says David Wiseman, a PCUSA mission worker in Guatemala. A good plan is to "cultivate ongoing partnerships and not sweep in for a week and then disappear." The complete article and more good help is available online at www.pcusa.org/today/pastissues.htm. |
|
|
|