Have You Ever Been On A Mission Trip

My first mission trip was five years ago when I was in eighth grade. Both my sisters and brother had gone on various mission trips and the one to Detroit was my first opportunity. On that trip we worked on fixing up a couple churches that held youth group events. My team and I weeded, painted, planted flowers, organized and cleaned the churches different offices and activity rooms during the first couple days of the week long trip, the second half of the week, my team and I consisting of middle schoolers, put on a day camp for the kids around the area to play games, do crafts, eat lunch, listen to worship music and a message. It was a great experience because the adults gave the responsibility of leading the camp to us kids. As far as cultural differences, they were mild as Detroit is only a few hours away. The housing many families were living in was not to the standard

Before hearing about the need in different parts of our world, I never considered going on a mission trip. Last summer during show choir camp, our choreographer told us about a charity called Thirst Project. Thirst Project is an organization that builds wells in Africa so the citizens can have clean drinking water. Knowing that there are people out there drinking brown, gunky water filled with animal feces breaks my heart, because there are steps that we can all take to help solve that problem. For me, one of those steps is going on a mission trip. If I could help even one person live a higher quality life, I will be satisfied, knowing that I have made a purpose to my life. Another time that my eyes were opened was this summer. One of my friends went on a mission trip to Haiti with her church, and seeing pictures from their trip moved me to have an even stronger desire to go on one myself. Both the children in Haiti and the people serving them were both so joyful,

I found this chance to help people a way to get to know the people in my youth group, but I learned so much more than I thought I would. What amazed me the most out of everything on this trip was the willingness of kids my age to help those around them. During that week in Denver, I also had the chance to meet some of the other youth from other cities in Missouri. A lot of them whom had remarkable stories. Their reasons for helping out during this mission trip were much greater than my own, I was astounded. They had told me about their past, the struggles and valleys that they had gone through that lead them to help those who are going through the same situations or worse. One story struck me the most. One about a boy and a past fight with drug abuse. He said that one day he felt this indescribable jolt and he just lost it. He broke down and asked himself what he was doing with his life. After asking around and seeking help, he went to the local church one Sunday. That was when he met the youth leader that helped him through his

Much to my surprise, it had not taken a lot to convince my dad to let me tag along on a mission trip to Guatemala with him. The company my dad worked for, Family Christian Stores, held multiple mission trips each year to various locations. My dad had already been to Mexico, and was assigned to a group going to Guatemala next. Upon learning that I wanted to go, he assured me that it would not be a trip full of sightseeing or activities, but rather a time to give back to a community in need. After promising that I understood the hard work that would be involved, my dad agreed to let me

I was fortunate enough to participate on a mission trip to New Orleans, just a year after Hurricane Katrina occurred. It was a horrific sight, all those people in such grief, and fear in their eyes. A desire was instilled in my heart to help those affected by such tragedies. I will never forget one of the nights there, my church group visited a small church that had just finished being rebuilt. They had lost everything in the storm, some even lost family members. I noticed an elderly woman sitting alone in the back pew, I walked up to her and asked if I could pray about anything for her. But she told me to sit down and listen. “I lost everything in this horrific storm, my house, car and all of my family. But I have my church back and that is enough for me. I thank God for allowing me to be alive, I am one of the lucky ones.

After middle school, I attended Eureka High School. In my early high school years my family, including myself, became disconnected from the church because we got busier with academics and sports, which left less time for Church. However, I did go on mission trips with the church, one to Virginia Beach in Virginia and the other to Joplin in Missouri. In Virginia Beach, we helped fix up a nursing home and interacted with less fortunate children. In Joplin, we helped to rebuild homes due to the devastating

Nicaragua Mission Trip My trip to a third world country opened my eyes to see that everyone is not as blessed as we are here in America. Nicaragua is a very poor country. People in Nicaragua are robbed of the luxuries we Americans have. Such as, simply, having three meals a day. Most people have to travel far just to find food to bring home to their families. I felt like God had called me to go to these people not so I can bless them, yet so they can bless me and my eyes would be opened.

The internship program includes leadership training, camp ministry, and a mission trip to Nicaragua. There are two camps this year in Toccoa, GA from June 20-24 and June 25-29. We will be in Nicaragua July 10-17. The experience I had in Nicaragua last year was by far the most outstanding part of the ministry. We stay with The Mustard Seed

For this mission trip I will be traveling to Puerto Nuevo, Mexico with nine other people to help fill a small orphanage with the necessary supplies they will need. While doing this we want to spread the Word of God to the children and workers of the orphanage. We will

One grand adventure that I went on this summer was a missions trip to the Dominican Republic. It was probably the best two weeks of my life and not a day goes by that I don’t think about it and want so badly to go back. I didn’t always have those feelings though… The first couple days were pretty rough from lack of sleep, being in a totally new environment in a country I have never been before, being way out of comfort zone and being slightly home sick. The first full day at our site I nearly had a panic attack because I just couldn't get over the language barrier and that was the first time I have ever worked with kids. I just felt so helpless and that I was’t showing these kids God’s love. But I was because just being there for them showed them God’s love.

We know several people who have been on short-term mission trips. Perhaps you’ve even been on one yourself and proclaimed to others that you gained more from that trip than the people you went to serve. Maybe you’re a full-time missionary living in another nation (at least for the majority of the year). Most likely, you’re an average church member who knows the Great Commission but doesn’t feel called to long-term overseas ministry. Regardless of where you stand, “Missions” by Andy Johnson is an excellent introduction to missions. Johnson provides readers with ways to be mission-minded, live missional lifestyles, and serve those who are on mission at home and abroad.

My most impactful service experience happened this last summer. I have been lucky to have been a part of various youth groups throughout my adolescence. With Memorial Baptist Church, I was happy to attend PASSPORT Camps. Like other camps I have participated in, PASSPORT is a camp where youth spend a week in the summer to enthusiastically worship and serve the community surrounding their site. PASSPORT sent us to Danville, Virginia, and despite being on Averett University’s cozy campus, we were surrounded by a dying, deprived community. Social exposure is exponentially increased when your mission groups are melting pot assignments from various churches. PASSPORT did not hold back in showing us the poorest of the community, and the sheer lack

When I went to South Dakota the group I was with consisted of many differences which led to several challenges, but the reward at the end of the trip made all of the struggles worth it. We all loved interacting with the people of Pine Ridge which led to many residents committing their lives to God and putting their trust in Him for a better life. During this mission trip not only were the residents’ lives changed, but mine was as well. Even though we each had our own differences, we learned from each other and brought it back home to live by every day from then

In 2012, my church traveled 765 miles from our little suburb to one of the poorest cities in the United States. We stayed in Cary, Mississippi for almost a week, leaving very early Monday morning and arriving back home midday on Saturday. During the journey, it was somewhat agonizing, although I did occupy myself with my music and a book that I brought along for the ride. The coordinators tried to make this experience fun, so we stopped by places in Nashville and ate at the Cracker Barrel.

Think about the poverty and problems that all countries around the world are facing today and every day. As Americans we have an urge to go into these countries to help as much as possible because of that we have begun a revolution. Americans began going on mission trips around the 1960s but did not really pick up until the 1990s. The trend grew after multiple natural disasters, Americans saw and need and went, since then short term mission trips show no sign stopping anytime soon. As the popularity of leaving our comfort zones, many people have found issues with the way the trips are led to the extent of questioning whether or not these trips are really worth the amount of money and time that they consume. Through periodicals, interviews, narratives, and articles, I will show the issues and improvements that could be made to the living situations, attitude of the Americans, and relationships that are acquired during the short term mission trips.