3 years to go 3,527 miles
Dear church,
Guatemala was amazing! As you know, I got back last Saturday night from a short-term mission trip to Guatemala to teach in a seminary in coordination with the Juntos Guatemala team. This mission trip has actually been in the works for about three years now. The April/May 2020 trip was canceled as COVID and the pandemic struck the world. So, in many respects, it took me three years to go 3,527 miles.
As I reflect on the trip and unpack some thoughts and memories I’d like to share five reasons why everyone should go on a short-term mission trip, if possible.
#1 Going a short-term mission trip will change your world perspective.
As a citizen of the global community, going on a mission trip will help you see people from a different perspective. It helps put us in a mindset that is God-focused as you see different people groups being changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These trips also give you the opportunity to serve people in unique circumstances, all while learning about various cultures.
#2 Worshiping Jesus in a different country gives us a preview of Heaven.
One of the great promises we have in Scripture (Revelation 7) is there will one day be ‘a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”’
While on this mission trip, I had the opportunity to worship with the seminary students and worship with songs and hymns that I knew but was able to hear them in Spanish. I’m looking forward to the day when we are all singing and praising our Savior in eternity and doing so with people and languages from every nation and every tribe. What a day that will be!
#3 There are relationships forged on a mission trip that will last a lifetime.
Going on a mission trip is such a beautiful way to meet and work with people you may not have met or worked with normally. On this trip, I was able to join a team from the Roseburg Alliance Church. In addition, one of the team member’s daughters (who grew up here in Roseburg and now serves as a missionary in Mexico) was also able to come. What made it a unique opportunity was there were also three pastors on this trip from three different churches. Isn’t that a beautiful display of unity in Douglas County? It was such an honor to work alongside these two other pastors but it was also so great to meet the team from Roseburg Alliance Church. The team was able to accomplish so much in building latrines and homes for the people in the jungles of Ixcan as well as in San Antonio (outside of Antigua, Guatemala). The stories we’ll share and the memories we created will last a lifetime.
#4 Going on a mission trip will give your faith an opportunity to grow.
To be in a position where your faith has no choice but to grow can be frightening and exhilarating simultaneously. To see God work, to see people come to Jesus, to see the difference your faith can make, provides an incredible opportunity for your faith. In addition, going on a mission trip also demonstrates to your loved ones your willingness to invest your time and resources in furthering God's kingdom! What great evidence of your faith! What a way to showcase all that God can do! Not to demonstrate your willingness to do so, but rather to demonstrate to them the value of God. We are called to sacrifice our life for Him. He is priceless, and anything is worth giving up for Him. Going on a mission trip demonstrates this to both the people you are helping and your loved ones back home. It gives our faith the opportunity to grow.
#5 Mission trips are incredibly fun!
It gives you the opportunity to visit interesting places in the world, to see how other people and cultures live, to try new and interesting foods, and to have beautiful experiences. And when you get back? Your life is changed. No doubt, the people we were able to visit with, teach, and help – will have their lives transformed. But your life will be transformed, too! I have memories of every single mission trip I've ever taken. Every one of them affected me and brought me nearer to Him. God works marvelous things in the lives of so many individuals throughout your time on a mission trip.
The reality is this…not everyone is able to go on a short-term mission trip. There are work and career considerations. Some may have health concerns that prevent them from traveling aboard. There are family dynamics that may prove to prevent some from going on a short-term mission trip. If you’re in one of those unique circumstances, know that those reasons are understandable. It may be that God uses your prayers and financial support to allow others to go on short-term mission trips. Know that those prayers and financial support are instrumental to these trips and your role is not minimized by any stretch of the imagination.
If you are someone who is thinking about what it might look like for you to join our next short-term mission trip, please reach out. Contact me or Pastor Darren for more information on what that might look like. We’d love to brainstorm with you and watch how God uses these trips to transform us.
This Sunday at church I’ll be sharing some details on the trip with pictures and videos and some amazing stories of what God did in Guatemala. If you are in the Douglas County area, we would love to have you join us in person or you can join us online and view the live stream through our Facebook page.
I love you, church.
Pastor Daniel
(In the next issue of ‘Dear church’ I’ll be sharing the five things I try to do every morning)
