Why Mission Trips ?

               This past week I have been giving a lot of thought to mission trips in general, there effectiveness, the motivation behind them and the questions we/I who go on these trips, need to ask ourselves.
       1. Who am I going on this trip for?
               Most, if not all folks, who go on mission trips, would say, they were going to help those  less   fortunate. If the truth be told, many go for the warm fuzzy feeling of helping, the key is to be aware of the warm  fuzzy becoming the primary motivation. Its OK to feel good about helping, but that needs to be secondary.
       2. Am I leaving something of value?
               Are you bringing a skill and knowledge, that is not available and are you passing on that skill an  knowledge.
       3. Are there persons in country, that have the same skills and             knowledge?
               By being there am I stealing work that could be performed by locals,could the huge costs involved  in traveling to far off locations, be used to employ locals to do the same tasks?
       4. When is it time to move on?
               Multiple trips to the same location, to perform the same tasks, can sometimes have more of a negative impact than positive, if by being there you are stopping them from becoming self-sufficient.

       These points are more of a personnel confession, than a criticism of  mission trips in general, On our last trip to Uganda, Linda and I realized it was to be our last trip, unless prompted by God to return. We both had a feeling of disconnection from King's Daughters by Linda and Mengo Dental clinic by me. I had been training a technician to perform maintenance, but they were not using him for routine maintenance, only for emergencys and waiting for me to return. I was stealing a job from him by returning every year. Although on that trip, I made my first trip to Rwanda to start a new project with Drew Cahoon, one door closing and another opening.

        I would recommend to those considering going on a mission trip, to ask your self these questions and answer them truthfully. If your going for the wrong reasons, don't go, make a donation of the money you would have spent, to a worthy cause in your intended destination.

       Two weeks to go till I leave, please keep me in your prayers and I would be interested to hear how others feel about this entry, positive or negative, please e-mail me at    pryer@telus.net   or leave a comment. 

                             Blessings   Jeremy