How You Can Help - Part 8

From my past seven posts, I think you could find that short-term trips are difficult. I didn't give many answers to the multitude of questions, and I know I don't have all the answers. However, there are some ways you can help.

First of all, before going on a short-term trip, pray about it! Make sure God wants you to go there, so it doesn't become just a self-serving trip. When preparing for the trip, make sure the missions organization wants you to come, and ask them what you can do to help. If you go with your own agenda, you may not be helping the indigenous people in the best way possible. Usually the missions organizations know best when it comes to "help" projects. It isn't wrong to request projects in your field, so you can best use your God-given gifts, but have patience and seek advice from the people who have more experience with missions and teams.

Sometimes, God doesn't call us to go on a trip. However, that doesn't mean we should just forget about the people serving abroad or the impoverished indigenous people in other countries. Every missions organization needs a wide donor base to continue with their ministry. Giving money can often be a huge help to an organization, even if it is to just keep their doors open.

They also need prayers! Pray for missionaries and organizations to seek God in all their decisions. Pray for wisdom for those in charge and those serving God in another country. Pray for energy, health, and safety, as the days become long and hard. Pray for them to have patience and grace with the people they are working with.

Finally, be a missionary wherever you go. When we go to India, or Haiti, or Guatemala, we call ourselves missionaries. But we need to be missionaries wherever we are. It doesn't matter if you're from the rural Midwest, an urban city, or another country. We are just as much of a missionary yesterday, as we are the next, regardless of location. So don't become a fake version of yourself on a missions trip, and then go back to another life when you go home. Be genuine, honest, and build strong, Christian relationships in every location.

To sum up my series, I'm not against short-term trips, but I'm not for all of them either. I hope my series helped people consider some of the problems with short-term trips. I'm not trying to discourage people from short-term missions, because they can do great work. However, if people open their eyes to these situations, I hope they will grow and learn how to face them in the correct way. I'm praying that we all become missionaries wherever we are, because we can share Christ's love anywhere and everywhere.