Many people in today's society say that "volunteer trips" are considered pointless because there isn't anything significant you can do in that short of a time period. They also say that people just go on these trips for vacation or to boost their ego. Sometimes, this is true because people go on missions trips for the wrong reasons. These people are missing the biggest part of the equation which makes the trip meaningful, Jesus.
It's true that many people go on missions trips just to say that they've been. People are also sometimes not spiritually mature enough to go on these trips but they do anyways. Often times, we think that we can't do much in the short amount of time we are there. Just because you can't do much, doesn't mean that you can't make an impact. I was always taught when I was little that it's not about making a huge impact; it's about planting the seeds. Most of the time, we aren't the ones who water the spiritual seeds that have been planted but we get to help plant the seeds.
In 2011, our youth group went on a missions trip to the Chicagoland area. At first, I was pretty nervous about going on the trip. We had a group of 15 to go up and help at the church of Jacob's Well. That many people in a cramped van for 12 hours was pretty draining, but thankfully we all made it. That year, we helped to go set up the church which had to meet in a school since they had no church building. It gave me a new respect for having a building that we could always know that it was ours to meet in. We did a lot of cleaning in one of the nearby parks which was a huge help to the community.
Ever since then, our church has gone back every summer to help them with VBS and other things that the church needs done. This past week, I went up for the 6th year. Getting to see the new faces in the church and the old faces I've known just made my heart melt. Our youth pastor told us that these trips aren't just about helping the church, but also about building relationships with them. I didn't really understand this at first but then it hit me, if we don't have relationships with them, we will be seen as a group who just comes up to help for a week then forgets about them. Building these relationships has actually been some of the best relationships I've made. Two of the girls who attended the church ended up going to the same college as me, which has strengthened our relationships.
Missions trips aren't just about giving your time, they're about giving your heart. Our college choir went on Choir Tour this April and our main stop of the tour was Chicago. Guess what church we got to sing at? Jacob's Well, of course. Seeing the folks up there again outside of me being on a missions trip just made my week. Those people are some of the most encouraging people I've ever meet. I still talk to them through social media and texting.
God uses these trips to build others up and encourage them. Sometimes, I just think about how much we take for granted when those people are thrilled to have church in a movie theater. I never expected to have the people I'm pouring into, pour into me. Missions trips definitely change us for the better, whether we expect it to or not.
