We often pursue experiences with the intention of impacting others, but leave with lessons far beyond our deliberate impact. Here's my account of one such mission trip.

We all know at least one person, if not ourselves, who's gone on a mission trip and undergone a week of transformation. Whether it's a change of mind or spirit, what does it do and why is it so important?

Everyone has seen the Facebook posts. You know, the ones with a caption that consists of three to five sentences describing what an, "adventure and unforgettable experience" the week has been. Where a filtered Picstich serves as an overly edited representation of the lessons, challenges and community found on the trip. I'm knocking such posts -- that phrase is taken from my own Instagram. I'm here to praise the many lessons I took from the trip, rather than those I may or may not have contributed to it..

When I say a mission trip isn't an accomplishment, this in no way implies that it's not a worthwhile experience. It's beyond incredible; to say the country will steal your heart would be an understatement. I recently returned from a medical mission trip to El Salvador, which is one of the most breathtaking places I've ever been lucky enough to visit. But simply going there isn't a noble deed: a plane ticket isn't a life saved, just as a morning in church isn't an overnight transformation. It takes time, energy and courage to step outside your comfort zone to truly understand the kind of impact it leaves.

And let's face it -- come late August, our lives will revolve around our GPAs and resumes. A mission trip provides an extra vitality in the "work/volunteer experience" section, but a few lines of listed tasks hardly serves it justice. The phrase "shadowing at a hospital" seems to replace the stories of patients we encountered in the surgery wing and seven days seems far too short for everything you witnessed. But if that's what grad schools want, that's what they get. Nonetheless, this banal truth oversimplifies the purpose of such an opportunity: a deeply profound experience remembered long after grad school.

The adventure goes beyond what we as students seek to accomplish by ourselves. We go there to serve, impact, inspire. But we come home often feeling as though we were the ones truly blessed. Touched by a week of overwhelming love, community, exploration and confirmation, our eyes are opened and life is experienced in a culture completely different from our own, as we're pulled away from our typical context.

I came to Baylor knowing I wanted to be a doctor, but was soon overwhelmed by the balancing act involved in the pre-med curriculum. But, that upcoming dread for my new o-chem courses re-sparked motivation, after interacting with the El Salvadoran doctors and patients. They embodied a compassion for others, an inherent beauty so easily forgotten in the midst of grades and extracurriculars during the year. The week provided a reaffirmation of why we take the dreaded classes we take and abandon sleep to get the grade. It's a lesson we all need reminding of.

If you've been on a mission trip before, hopefully you can identify. If you haven't, I highly recommend it. Maybe it's not an accomplishment, but it sure is "an adventure and unforgettable experience." More than anything, you'll be inspired in ways you never expected. What's a week-long trip, endures as a life-long blessing.

Photo courtesy of Dr. Lauren Barron, MD; taken on the 2014 Baylor Medical Missions trip to El Salvador.