We're going on a trip. Not just to help people, but to build relationships and support those who live and work there. We need food and shelter to physically survive, but relationships make us live. I think this is the biggest hurdle for a mission trip, especially when the mission is working with people.
We bring supplies to people who don't have them, but if that is the extent of the help, after we leave and the supplies run out the impact is minimal as life goes back to what it was. Or, what we consider "help" may not actually address their needs. Knowing the people you are serving is critical to effectively helping them. The needs of someone living in a place with cold temperature, snow, wealth and comfort are significantly different than someone in a town with few roads, perpetual warmth (Guatemala is called "land of eternal spring") and an unstable government.
Each week the Bridge Builders team meets in order to prepare us each for effective work. This weekend we are teaching each other about the culture we are visiting. Each person is tasked with reading a book relating to working in a foreign culture to get us thinking about life beyond our Minnesota winter. We share our thoughts and experiences with each other so that when we interact with people in rural Guatemala we can be seen as someone who actually tries to understand the people where we are. Some people on the team are travelling to Guatemala for the first time, some have been on this trip several times, one family is from Guatemala. Each person has a unique perspective we can learn from.
We encourage you to look around you and pay attention to the vast diversity of people. By looking beyond ourselves we are being obedient to God who has made us more than just a physical being but blessed with the richness of relationships. Following this belief may be work, but we gain a reward far greater than we can imagine!
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