Summer is prime time for trips, and the church is no exception. Teams from all around the world travel all around the world to help people in need. Short-term mission trips are a great way to spend some time during your vacation; and even if service is not your calling, here are a few reasons why it's good to try at least once.
1. It pushes you out of your comfort zone
When you volunteer to go somewhere new and do something you don't do very often, it can be really scary. However, you may discover that you really enjoy it. After all, the best way to learn something new is to try it for yourself. And even if you don't enjoy it or aren't very goo at whatever you did, it's better to say you tried than to always wonder if you could
2. New relationships
Mission trips are proof that love can cross all kinds of crazy boundaries. Be it language, distance, culture, or some other barrier; you'll definitely be able to make new friends that you can't find back home. And those friendships will have meaning that you may never have expected.
3. New cultures
Even if you're doing domestic missions, you often get to see a new side of wherever you go. Everybody lives a little differently, and it's good to get to learn about the lifestyles of others. It gets you out of your own bubble and let's you walk in someone else's shoes for a change. New cultures offer all kinds of new experiences we can learn a lot from.
4. Your team has an inseparable bond
You make plenty of new relationships at the job site, but the relationships that form before you go are equally (if not more) important. These are the people you don't have to leave behind, the ones who can help keep the memories strong even after the trip is long over. Even if you don't see each other for years after the trip, those memories live on forever. Having people to reminisce with makes it all the more special.
5. It's not a life commitment
Even if you go and find out that missions aren't for you, it's ok. You tried it, and you don't have to go back. God calls everyone to go to the ends of the earth, but he doesn't call everyone to stay there.
6. You'll come back changed
There's no way to be thrust into an entirely new environment and not come back impacted. After all the experiences you have and the people you meet, an imprint is certainly made. Mission trips are just as much for the sent as for the receivers. God uses you to change the lives of others and uses others to change your life in the process.
7. You get to do a lot of good
Mission trips aren't like normal vacations. They can definitely be a lot of fun, but a lot of work happens too. You walk away from these trips knowing that God has used you to further his kingdom - and that's an incredible honor!
Somebody asked me what the point of mission trips is. If God is all powerful and can do anything, why send humans to do his work? God has a habit of using the small, fragile, unqualified, and unassuming to do big and incomparable things. Humans are imperfect, and our instinct is often to take care of ourselves before others. When we allow God to use us in a way that's contrary to our nature it magnifies his love tenfold. It proves that he can overcome anything and can create unity and joy wherever he is. I guarantee if we didn't go, God's work would still get done; but he gives us the opportunity to be a part of his magnificent plan for this world. Why wouldn't you want to go?
