Short term missions vs. Christian tourism

The majority of those I have daily contact with are the short term visitors to Tenwek. They include volunteers who serve with Tenwek Community Health and Development, through World Medical Mission, a ministry of Samaritan's Purse, or even medical students and residents looking to take an international elective. At any point in time there could be between 5-20 visiting staffers serving at Tenwek which makes it a very dynamic and exciting place to be.

There have been some incredible people come through here that have encouraged and loved me and several others who were just looking to serve their time here and be on their way. But despite their relationship to me, each of them greatly impact those they interact with - whether they know it or not.

Physicians have it easy. They are trained, brilliant professionals who can come and practice medicine to their upmost abilities in a circumstance that requires their specialty. They arrive one day and then next they are rounding on patients and ordering labs, just in a different country with different patients and most likely different symptoms than before. Don't get me wrong, it's a difficult place to work, but they have the skills and training to do it.

But us lay people, we have a challenge on our hands. The non-medically trained short term missionaries have to find a place to fit in and create purpose for themselves. There are several ways to get involved but it's truly up to said person to figure it out. And that gets difficult when we're talking about a whole team of people who aren't medically trained professionals trying to volunteer their time and energy in a placed focused on medical care.

All of this to say, I'm working through the concept of short term missions right now and I can't say that I've come to an accurate and concise opinion. This evening I had the pleasure of meeting a short term group of pastors that are here volunteering with TCHD to help organizing and facilitate the next children's rally that will be in Nakruru this coming weekend. They are passionate about missions, one being a missions pastor, but are more interested in how the American church can be involved with the global church in a beneficial and effective way.

One thing that this missions pastor said really struck me. He stated, "We're not in the business of Christian tourism."

It's a truth I think every short term mission agency, church group, school group and or summer trip should abide by. Missions is not a way to see the world - well it is, but it's a way to see the people of the world and learn about them and learn to love them just as Christ does. They asked several really challenging questions like, "What does it mean to this community to have short term teams come?" and "If there is a more efficient way to use our resources, whether that be sending money or teams or nothing, what would that way be?" These are questions that need to be asked of ourselves.

One of the greatest books about short term missionary service that I've read to date is written by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert entitled "When Helping Hurts." It's a very real perspective on what it means to serve the poor as affluent Americans/Westerners. One of their main conclusions reminds us that we are not going to serve to change everything and to fix a community; rather we are to unite with the people of a different community in order to empower them to ignite self motivated change that will improve their circumstances and lead them towards Christ. But how do you do that?

I think everyone's still trying to figure that one out. But a really great place to start is by asking a community or a group of people what they need, as a opposed to what we can do to improve their situation. People are people no matter where you go and they have the capacity to develop, to grow and to lead with dignity even though it might look much different than we hoped it would.

Culture is a huge barrier sometimes - well, most of the time - so spending time with the people you're serving, even joining long term missionaries or service volunteers, is crucial to the development of your ministry. One of our long term missionaries said, "If short termers come in with a heart willing and motivated to change more than they're hoping to create change, then they're in the right place." I agree.

Those sitting around the dinner table tonight ended the conversation saying that one way to improve and sustain short term ministries is to build them up so that they are recurring annually, or bi-annually, or as often as possible, in the same place and in the same ministry. You hear it all the time but truthfully, ministry is all about relationship; building those deep and lasting friendships takes time and investment and love.

I know this is a huge topic amongst the American church, but I want to take it to a global perspective. Seeing as the last thing that Jesus said before he left this world was "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you," I think it's safe to say that going to the nations is crucial to the Gospel (Matthew 28:19-20).

So what do you think? Are short term missions the answer to this Great Commission? If so, how would you, or are you, responding? And if not, why?


Prayer requests:
- Please pray that the Children's Rally this weekend, expectant of 5,000 children, will work powerfully in the lives of those involved.
- Please pray that holiday plans to return home for a few weeks in December will be scheduled soon.
- Please continue to pray for the short term and long term missionaries that serve the Tenwek community diligently and passionately.


|| God, give me the grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. - Reinhold Niebuhr ||

Never Give Up, Never Surrender

What's the greatest film of this generation?

Some may say the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, or the Harry Potter series. Or what about "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" or even "Up." All would be wonderful examples of great movies based on their thematic overtones and visual effects.

But I'm not too sure if I would dub any of these the greatest film of the generation. There's only one movie that can hold this title and that movie is "Galaxy Quest."

Staring Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman (who also plays Severus Snape in Harry Potter), this film is a brilliant combination of thrill, romance, humor, and of course an alien race in need of assistance. What else could you need?

The plot revolves around the main character Jason Nesmith, played by Tim Allen, who is an ex-actor of a sci-fi show called "Galaxy Quest." He, along with the rest of his crew from the fictional show, are asked by an alien race to help save them from destruction of a rivaling enemy race. You know, the usual plot turns occur in the midst of some struggle and laughs here and there, all the while the good guys win in the end.

You may be asking your self, "Is this girl absolutely off her rocker?" The answer is yes, but let me explain why.

One of the greatest lines in the movie occurs when the show's cast is in space trying to solve the problem of the broken beryllium sphere that gives power to the whole ship. Gwen, played by Sigourney Weaver, was hired to be the beauty in the show of all men and her job is to make sure that communication is up and running. So while they are deliberating about what to do about this power source, she's repeating everything the computer says despite everyone's ability to hear it and communicate back to it on their own. One of the crew members yells, "You know, that's really getting annoying!" And Gwen replied, "I have ONE job on this lousy ship. It's stupid, but I'm gonna do it, okay?"

I was on the volleyball team while at Wheaton and last year's season was a tough one for me. As a senior, I expected to play and to play well, to lead and to lead well, to do all of things that I had aspired to do throughout my years there. But that was not the case. I ended up on the bench the majority of the season. The players on the bench are responsible for keeping stats and that's exactly what I did - me and that clipboard became really close. So when someone would try and take it from me in a gesture of kindness, all I was thinking in my head was, "I have ONE job on this lousy team. It's stupid, but I'm gonna do it, okay?" Probably not the best response to a 10 year journey with volleyball, or with grace, but it was all that I had to hold on to at the moment and although I despised every minute of holding that stupid clipboard, it was the only role I could fill well. So I did it. And "Galaxy Quest" gave me a humorous way to look at it, which was exactly what I needed.

Another amazing line spoken by the Jason Nesmith, the Captain of the show, says this, "Never give up, never surrender." Jason's character is disliked among the majority of the other characters based on his selfishness and inability to take things seriously. So when he says this they all roll their eyes and grumble knowing that he's a fraud. But this changes when the leader of the alien race is being tortured but speaks these words in full assurance that they will help him survive.

A few weeks ago, a few of the girls from Tenwek wanted to take a trip to Naivasha and Nakuru to get away for a few days of rest and relaxation. Turns out rest and relaxation looks a lot like biking through a national park, Hell's Gate, with zebras, warthogs and giraffes running along side of the road with you. You might be saying, "Wow! Amazing!" But hold the phone, have you ever tried to bike on a dirt path for an hour and a half on a bike that was probably made 20 years ago with no gears and a seat that made your back side scream? I didn't think so.

About 15 minutes into the ride, I had another "Galaxy Quest" quotable moment. All I could think about was that these girls were doing the same thing and keeping it together, so all I kept saying to myself was, "Hannah, never give up, never surrender!" How lame am I? Pretty lame, but it worked. I had a few low moments of near tear experiences but I must say that it was absolutely worth it. Despite my bruised behind, it was unbelievably beautiful.

Okay, okay.. so I may be delusional when it comes to choosing high quality films, but you have to agree that the quotable lines from this movie are pretty applicable. And how often do we feel like that? Feeling like we have one job, it's hard, it's verging on ridiculous, but it's what we have to do. Or feeling like all we can do trust and believe that it'll be okay, never giving up and never surrendering to the challenging circumstances set before us.

I'm reading through Oswald Chambers' My Upmost for His Highest and from today's devotion is reads, "If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a multitude of experiences that are not meant for you at all, they are meant to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what transpires in others souls that you will never be surprised at what you come across." This observation is based on 1 Peter 4:13, "But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed."

Suffering can look different to everyone, and the enemy proves that to be true, but when we are sharing in the sufferings of Christ, in the will of God (v. 19), than rejoicing and doing good should be the fruits of that pain. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit infuse those who believe with outstanding grace and absolute forgiveness that when we suffer according to His will, we are experiencing God and being taught how to become more Christ-like. It's not easy, I don't think it's meant to be, because we are to trust and obey that what He puts in our path is to encourage us to soak deeper into His love.

I know the example of "Galaxy Quest" was a stretch, and surely you must know that I'm kidding about the greatest film of all time thing (sort of), but in these small and almost insignificant circumstances I was challenged to view them in light of 1 Peter 4.  On the volleyball team, I found hope in the girls. They encouraged and pushed me to be the best woman of God I could be, not the best volleyball player. And on this outing to Hell's Gate, the natural scenery was enough to make all of us stop in awe of the creation that He has made for us to admire and worship Him through. God is good, all the time.

Lastly, shout-out to my family. You guys might be only ones who think this post is funny in the slightest. Miss and love you.

|| Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good - 1 Peter 4:19 ||