Back in February I went on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. I posted here
about the trip and some of the things we did. But I also wanted to
share with you all some of the lessons I learned on this trip about
ministry and about people. You can check out Lesson #1 here.
Lesson #2 -- Humility.
There may be no faster way to learn humility than to go on a missions trip. That's probably not the best way to start a post that I hope will encourage people to go on mission trips, but it's true. In just about every way, mission trips teach us humility. There are a bunch of reasons for this.
First, mission trips force you out of your culture and comfort zone. This is especially true if you go on an international trip. In the D.R. you loose many of the little comforts that we get used to, like being able to drink the water or simply being able to talk to people without a translator. When this happens our first, most basic reaction is usually to look down on the place and people that we're there to serve. After all, we're Americans and we like to remind ourselves that we live in the greatest country in the history of the world! This, unsurprisingly, doesn't create much humility. So the first thing that happens is that our pride swells up. And then, after a day or two, we start to realize how prideful we are, which is no fun. But then we notice all of the people around us, living their normal lives, just as happy and content as we are (actually more), even without the little comforts and luxuries that we miss so much.
Boom, humility. Well, it's a start, anyway.
But that's only half the humility equation. The other half comes down to what you actually do on a missions trip. In the D.R. I spent two days carrying around concrete blocks. This is not exactly what I expected, or even wanted, to spend my time doing. I really wanted to spend my time in the Bateyes, talking with people and sharing the Gospel whenever possible. I mean, I'm the pastor, right? Do I really need to carry concrete blocks around?
Apparently the answer was yes. And this is a good thing. A big part of a successful missions trip is being forced to abandon our ways of doing things and doing things the way the people we're serving want us to do them. This can be really hard. We think our time is really important. Sometimes we think we have things figured out and know the best way to get things done. So we expect to go to other countries and tell them how to do things our way. But that's rarely how mission trips work out. And, again, this is a good thing.
There's a story in the Gospels that illustrates this perfectly. In Luke 10 we read about two sisters who both loved Jesus and wanted to serve him. So Martha worked hard at doing the right things the right way. Meanwhile, Mary sat at Jesus' feet and spent time with him. When Martha became angry that Mary wasn't helping her with her work Jesus told her that Mary had actually made a better use of her time. And that's the point. We leave for mission trips ready to do stuff, to get things done, to accomplish some task. But the point of missions is people, not projects or getting stuff done. And learning to love people the way Jesus wants us to often involves learning to shut up, pick up your cinder-block and carry it to the guy that needs it.
When you learn that lesson, then you can count yourself among the truly blessed.
For the LORD takes delight in his people;
he crowns the humble with victory.
Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor
and sing for joy on their beds.
Psalm 149:4-5
Boom, humility. Well, it's a start, anyway.
But that's only half the humility equation. The other half comes down to what you actually do on a missions trip. In the D.R. I spent two days carrying around concrete blocks. This is not exactly what I expected, or even wanted, to spend my time doing. I really wanted to spend my time in the Bateyes, talking with people and sharing the Gospel whenever possible. I mean, I'm the pastor, right? Do I really need to carry concrete blocks around?
Apparently the answer was yes. And this is a good thing. A big part of a successful missions trip is being forced to abandon our ways of doing things and doing things the way the people we're serving want us to do them. This can be really hard. We think our time is really important. Sometimes we think we have things figured out and know the best way to get things done. So we expect to go to other countries and tell them how to do things our way. But that's rarely how mission trips work out. And, again, this is a good thing.
There's a story in the Gospels that illustrates this perfectly. In Luke 10 we read about two sisters who both loved Jesus and wanted to serve him. So Martha worked hard at doing the right things the right way. Meanwhile, Mary sat at Jesus' feet and spent time with him. When Martha became angry that Mary wasn't helping her with her work Jesus told her that Mary had actually made a better use of her time. And that's the point. We leave for mission trips ready to do stuff, to get things done, to accomplish some task. But the point of missions is people, not projects or getting stuff done. And learning to love people the way Jesus wants us to often involves learning to shut up, pick up your cinder-block and carry it to the guy that needs it.
When you learn that lesson, then you can count yourself among the truly blessed.
For the LORD takes delight in his people;
he crowns the humble with victory.
Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor
and sing for joy on their beds.
Psalm 149:4-5
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