Lately I've been thinking about short-term missions trips, mostly the impact they have on the individual participating and the local people he or she comes in contact with.
Get ready for a few questions:
Who benefits most?
The individual short-term missions participant or the local people receiving the individual?
How does that answer change according to who is being asked?
What would various individuals vs. local people say?
In what ways have short-term missions trips hurt the people they were intending to help?
How have short-term missions trips hurt local economies?
How often do individuals go into a short-term mission trip with a swelling god-complex, thinking they will rescue people from dire circumstances? How has this god-complex hurt local people?
How does a lack of understanding of cultural differences negatively impact various forms of communication?
What about the money spent toward travel, housing, and other expenses that could have been used in some other way?
How have various individuals been forever changed because of a short-term missions trip?
What if I never went on those short-term missions trips to Brasil during high school? Would I have experienced a shift in perspective, developed gratefulness and compassion, and foster a desire to potentially pursue long-term missions?
What kind of experience will this summer hold? How will I approach this trip?
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