This may offend you depending on your stance for mission trips. This could possibly irritate you. Mission trips are sometimes looked down upon. Specifically, short-term mission trips. Short-term mission trips get a load of disgust. Receiving questions such as, "You're only going for a week? What could you possibly get done in a week?" or "Short-term trips don't do anything. It's a waste of time."

Here's the thing, mission trips don't simply end when you leave.

The work that was done in said location goes further than one or two weeks. The people you encountered during that time are no longer simply people. They impacted your life. The people of another city, another country, another continent, are no longer people who you prayed for without a name. They are now people who have a name in those prayers. And maybe you weren't there for a month, but maybe you'll go back for a longer amount of time.

There are numerous articles out there which preach how short-term missions do nothing. It is possible that the "something" people always expect doesn't happen right then and there. You don't change lives on every mission trip, but you canimpact lives.

Mission trips aren't meant to glorify the person who decided to go. Missions are meant to glorify God. You can't expect that to happen in a week or two. So, I beg you, please stop saying my short-term mission trips mean nothing. Please stop saying they cause more harm than good. If that was true, The Church wouldn't be going on them.

Furthermore, mission trips are not always holding babies and being in direct contact with people. Sometimes, mission trips are like a "behind the scenes." Mission trips are an act of serving. Painting a school, cleaning up a yard, cleaning mold off of walls, and more are forms of serving people. Simply doing that helps someone out. And they are beyond thankful for it.

To add on, a short-term mission trip is just as important as a long-term mission trip. The time of a mission trip should not matter. The people on the trip are not changing the lives of those they encounter. That may be hard to hear, but it is the truth.

If you want to shame short-term mission trips, think about this - some people don't have the money to take a year to serve.

That sounds terrible, I know. Some people don't have the ability to go somewhere outside of the country, so stop shaming them as well. Not everyone has the choice for a long-term mission trip. Short-term mission trips have an impact. Short-term mission trips can lead to someone receiving a home. Short-term mission trips can lead to helping an organization, church, city, and more.

Please, stop shaming short-term mission trips.

Please, stop saying they do nothing. Please, stop saying they only hurt people. It isn't true. Speaking from experience, short-term mission trips help more than you may think.