July 3, 2008
When planning your next mission trip
Dear Friends,
Ted and Sue Wright are PC(USA) regional liaisons for
east and central Africa, with special attention to Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Angola. Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ from Lusaka! We hope this finds you well in body and soul. This is the season—American summer, Zambian winter—when we welcome our greatest number of short-term missioners to the region.
They come with school supplies, soccer balls, and Bibles to distribute. They wear sun hats, safari hats, and sometimes baseball caps. (We practice special forbearance toward those with the satanic logo, “NY.”) They pack insect repellent, anti-bacterials, anti-malarials, and anti-diarrheals. They spend a small fortune before the plane even lands. Then they come for orientation, and we talk about getting beyond the “stuff.”
Preparation means more than simply filling up a suitcase. The main work is emptying: as in emptying out your heart. Make a plan to go slower. Turn off the TV and computer. Go to bed an hour early. Do more walking instead of riding. Pray for patience, flexibility, and a teachable spirit. You are now on your way toward something valuable.
And if you think that the primary purpose of your trip is to build, fix, teach or give—we invite you to think more deeply.
What Africans wish that Americans knew about short-term missions would be this: Fellowship counts. You make a difference just by coming. Your presence is more important than all the presents. Here's what Africans might say if you asked them what they'd like from you:
Spend time getting to know us. Don’t just work and tour and shop. Eat with us; play with us; sing and pray with us. Sleep overnight in our houses. Don’t just huddle with your group.
Africans know how to build already. They plant churches every day. They can use a cell phone, too. It’s not so much that they need your stuff, though poverty is never far away. What they need more than anything is to know you care. Simply by showing up, your can strengthen their hand. And they can strengthen yours as well.
If you could hear their African language you would know what disappoints them: well-meaning visitors who never engage. They come and do their projects, shoot some photos, buy some trinkets. They preach and they teach, but they don’t show much respect. To listen and to learn is to honor one’s partner in Christ. Americans, unfortunately, are famous for “Love ‘em and leave ‘em.”
So when planning your next trip, try a little advice:
- Bring photos of your family. Africans love talking about family!
- Be ready to share a personal story regarding your relationship with Christ.
- Don’t plan to rely on a credit card. It’s mainly cash over here.
- Do plan to sleep under a mosquito net.
- Women, wear (long) skirts, especially in church.
- Take extra rest and exercise. Wean yourself from junk food.
- If you’re old or physically impaired, ask about the rigors of your program.
- You can usually save on airfare from November through March.
- Leave yourself a day or two free when coming home. Your work of readjustment and reflection will not be easy.
- Consider how you and your group will sustain those good intentions and relationships that will have been formed.
The two of us are willing to help in any way we can, so please do not hesitate to write.
Short-term missions are as old as Mark 6 and as new as God’s call upon your heart.
In Christ,
Ted and Sue
The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 22 |
