On June 1, 2014 seven young men and their principal flew to Tucson, Arizona. From there they drove two hours across the Mexican-American border into Agua Prieta. The experience they had there changed their lives. The first thing they did was visit the owner of the house built by a previous team. They met the single mom and her two kids; for many of the members on the team that first hour in Agua Prieta was a huge eye opener. Short-term mission trips are expensive; the prices vary depending on the size of the group and location but some go up to $30,000. That is a lot of money for a one to two week trip! Some people think that money could be spent in more stewardly ways. They are wrong. Short-term mission trips are worthwhile when humbly and intentionally designed to accomplish the three goals of spiritual formation, character development, and completion of a
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“Third-world people do not need more rich Christians coming to paint their church and make them feel inadequate. They do need more humble people willing to share in their lives and sacrifices” (Van Engen, “The Cost” 2). People on short-term mission trips are pressed for time; their trips last one to two weeks. That makes it harder for short-termers to take the time to sit and listen instead of doing something with their hands. It is not a bad thing to want to serve the communities by acting, but sometimes it is more helpful to learn from the community. Not only is it hard because that is the way most are taught from a young age, but it is also hard because it takes humility. It takes humility to sit down and listen to the problems of others and the best way to fix them. Allowing the local community to teach will build their self-respect and help them realize they are giving back as much as they are receiving. Without that humility, one would rather ignore the natives and paint, fix, or build (Van Engen, “Short Term”
“Third-world people do not need more rich Christians coming to paint their church and make them feel inadequate. They do need more humble people willing to share in their lives and sacrifices” (Van Engen, “The Cost” 2). People on short-term mission trips are pressed for time; their trips last one to two weeks. That makes it harder for short-termers to take the time to sit and listen instead of doing something with their hands. It is not a bad thing to want to serve the communities by acting, but sometimes it is more helpful to learn from the community. Not only is it hard because that is the way most are taught from a young age, but it is also hard because it takes humility. It takes humility to sit down and listen to the problems of others and the best way to fix them. Allowing the local community to teach will build their self-respect and help them realize they are giving back as much as they are receiving. Without that humility, one would rather ignore the natives and paint, fix, or build (Van Engen, “Short Term”