The primary audience of this series of posts are directed … to me and maybe this one is for youth workers too.

There was a moment during one of our mission trips when a couple of our high school students were debating whether or not they should see the new Harry Potter movie that was coming out when we returned.

When asked for my thoughts I said, “Well I personally have no problem with Harry Potter. Are people really concerned with the magic & sorcery? I grew up on Lucky Charms and Narnia books, I’m now in the ministry …”

They replied, “No, not like that. It’s just odd to be serving at this AIDS Camp and then planning what we’re going to do next week.”

It’s here when they had my attention. I’ve always been sensitive to whether or not short term mission trips were a good thing. I end up concluding that they are when given the appropriate framework. In this case, I was concerned that this mission experience was simply going to be “consumed” similar to how the new Harry Potter movie was going to be “consumed”. On the other hand, I was grateful that they were aware of this tension and so like any good youth pastor, I fueled it.

“Good point, maybe you shouldn’t then.”

To which one replied, “Yeah that’s ok, I don’t really feel up for it anyway.”

It was odd for at least three reasons. One, it was a sudden reactionary response that killed the conversation without resolve. Two was because we were sweating in the intense heat of the Bahamian sun and the prospect of air-conditioning, a comfortable chair and a refreshing cold Coke would be quite alluring (Who is the idiot that chooses these mission trips in July?? Oh ;). The third was it wasn’t my point at all. I simply didn’t believe that God was going to be any more glorified had they gone or not.

I’ve always been in the habit of saying something like “Don’t go on these mission trips, be moved by the experience and return home despising your suburban upbringing. Don’t disdain your family, destroy your material possessions and judge the life-style of others. If you are a suburbanite, you are one, until you move to the countryside or into to the city. Instead, share what you have gained from the experience and invite others to dissever it for themselves. The short term mission trip has many blessings, among them is that it encourages those who are being served to feel the care of countless complete strangers. Another set of blessings is extended to the one doing the serving.”

This is part of the framework that we try to create. This is deepened by the idea that we are to serve in the way of Jesus, which is concerned much more with the attitude and the relationship than with the metrics of the work (though how much work we do is part of stewardship). It’s this attitude that I hope we return with more than the desire to keep building cabins and sidewalks here in the ‘burbs.

I know all of us in ministry want to see tangible differences but having our students sell all their possessions, drop out of high school and become some type of suburban monastics may not be wise, sustainable or even Christ-like. The opposite of that would of course be, having students return home with no distinct differences aside from being tagged in a handful of pictures, a souvenir or two, maybe an encouraging note given by a youth leader and the thought, “I did my part, now where’s the remote?” The latter would certainly be Exhibit A of the poverty tourism argument.

Regular readers know that I like the gray areas and here is no exception. Similar to my first post in this series on “compassion fatigue”, we have to accept who we are and who we are changing into. Not everyone should return from a mission trip, sell all their possessions and return and serve. It’s profoundly beautiful when we see people receive this calling and similarly, we need to receive our own callings. More on that later in the series.

I cannot count the number of times when a student has returned home from serving in New Orleans or at the AIDS Camp and a friend says to them, “I cannot believe you were cleaning out one of those houses destroyed in Katrina – you don’t even clean your room.”

Or in the words of another female student, “My friend said to me, ‘I believe you, but I just can’t picture you helping like that with your church. It hurt at first but I totally got to explain it to her.’” It’s in these accusatory conversations that I believe God finds joy and the server discovers that they have been changed as they were trying to bring change.

That’s a very powerful moment and among the other moments and prayers, I hope God uses all types of lessons to help us with all sorts of virtues contextual to our lives. Maybe in this case, we end up consuming less, giving more, caring more, serving more, judging less and grow in the life that Jesus modeled for us.

This past Sunday, the students and leaders from my previous church shared about the week that we spent in Nassau serving at the All Saints AIDS Camp. Though I wished I could have been there to see and be a part of the presentation, I was confident that the MEFC community were going to have a great morning together.

Not too many days go by when I don’t think about the “All Saints AIDS Camp”. I think of the residents, I think of the missionaries Tim and Felicia, I think of the organizations that are serving there, namely Next Step Ministries (but I know there are more), I think of the various staff people and mission teams (Minnesotans!) that we got to connect with as well and a host of others. I remain unmoved by how important short-term missions are. While there are bugs to work out in these types of missions and while there are numerous bad stories out there, these experiences are extremely powerful and they do so much good on numerous sides.

So here’s what I am thinking about today. My hope is that residents of the camp think of the couple hundred people that came through this summer and remember that many care about them. I love that they post our pictures in their cabins and I hope they remember the prayers, the laughs, the hugs, the awkward moments and the kind gestures – I know I do.

I hope we never forget what we experienced through our senses – the smell, the heat, the dirt, the sounds and the things that our eyes see that don’t come through our pictures.

I hope my young little family serves together on a mission trip (like our friends did from Minnesota). I am among those that could not care less if they make it to the “Big Leagues” and I don’t care to see their names in lights. I know Susan and I would be grateful to see them choosing to live a life that is faithful to the unique calling they received from the Lord (whatever that means, accounting, the NHL, non-profit work, whatever).  As we hope to get there I pray that we are always involved in the mission of the Kingdom of Jesus. I hope we are always loving and serving “the other”.

I hope our leaders lead their own trips. I’ve recently filled out recommendations for two people who will be serving in a leadership position with a missions organization next summer. I can’t tell you how excited that makes me feel. And while I know the Lord would have led them to this one way or another, it’s so good to be a part of it.

I hope our students never just see this as an “amazing trip” as if it were a sight-seeing adventure. I hope it continues to shape them. I hope they always wrestle with the superficialities of the world and the realness of what they encountered. I hope they struggle with that feeling of wondering if they are the only one who cares and I hope that moves them to action, sharing the message, and praying to the Lord for strength.  I hope their character grows, their humility deepens and their faith grows.  And I hope they are always willing to labor for those that God cherishes.

Monday morning, almost 60 of us (2 youth groups and Next Step Staff) crammed onto a bus and headed to the All Saints AIDS Camp. I sat on a cooler in the back wondering about a few things. One, this is going to be the coolest I’ll feel all day. Two, I wonder what is going on in the minds of our first-timers and lastly, I can’t wait to see how the camp is different since we left, how much work has been done since two years ago, and how much we’ll get done this week, and what about the feel of the camp since the missionaries arrived and … my mind kept racing (It’s been like that for months).

If I can be honest, upon surveying the camp, I was a little disappointed. Not the type of disappointment of “I can’t believe this is all that got done – they should have a Starbucks here by now!” But more the disappointment of, “Wow, none of the cabins are completed and none of the residents can move in yet.”

The reality started setting in and I realized that I was thinking like a typical Northeastern American with my unrealistic expectations and projecting my sense of suburban entitlement in the middle of a forgotten AIDS Camp. As I looked around, I realized a good amount of work had been done and heard about some of the developments
like how the “model house” that we first worked on was now going to be a Nurse’s Station. Three other houses could be completed by the end of this summer if electricity and plumbing can get figured out. The sidewalk is becoming safer (my crew helped was putting in a handrail. I’d say at least a third of it is completed). Another of our groups put in a small parking lot that can fit about 5 cars for deliveries, work crews and visitors. And more plans are in the works but of course it highlights the need for volunteer groups to keep coming and hustling.

There were some other developments that I was discouraged about. Like when I heard how one set of parents abandoned their 4 year old to what is believed to re-enter a life of drugs and prostitution. Last time we were here, we spent a good amount of time talking to this family and playing with their daughter. We also started to understand a little more about how the camp is organized (or unorganized). This led to a few other questions speculating about motives and such. It reminded us of how poverty is always punctuated by among other things, broken relationships and oppressive systems.

I was happy to hear of some of the other improvements. The new missionaries (Tim and Felicia who moved from Wisconsin and arrived just after our first trip in the summer of ’09), have arranged for clean water to be delivered throughout the week, organized hot meals, have advocated for better medical care, have connected the camp with more local organizations and have prayed/ministered at countless opportunities.

Then there were some things that haven’t changed. Like our friend Arthur still sings hymns to all who come to visit him on his porch (if you could hear this man with HIV sing “I Am the Lord Your Healer”, it would bring a tear to your eye). Miss Moxie still hugs everyone who comes in her door and asks for Psalms to be read and Brother Vincent is still listening to his Bible and preaching as often as he can. Wheelchair bound, malnourished and blind, they are still praising the Lord.

Earlier this post, I mentioned the need for volunteer groups to continue to come to help with the construction, but that’s only half the story. They are also needed to help with relationship-building. They are needed to help bring a sense of justice to this camp and they are needed to share the hope of Jesus to these souls. We’re glad that we have discovered the virtue of returning to the same places on our short-term mission trips. Because although we’ve been here before, it was a different experience this time and I am sure it will be different the next time too.

We just got back from our student mission trip to the All Saints AIDS Camp located in Nassau, Bahamas and I have to say it was fantastic. We had a great experience the last time we went as well and deep down inside, a few of us feared that it wouldn’t be as special as last time. But we also knew that we don’t go on mission trips to simply “get special feelings” and I think that’s why we ended up with one. That makes sense right?

If this is your first time reading about this here’s a bit of context. About 15 miles from the beautiful beach resorts sits this camp for about 30 people who have HIV/AIDS and/or have no other place to turn. Their conditions are deplorable and a couple of organizations like Next Step Ministries and missionaries (like Tim and Felicia who arrived a couple years ago) are committed to improving their living standards while serving in the name of Jesus. (You can check out my other posts for more starting here).

As I have been thinking about the trip these last few days, I find myself grateful that a number of concerns that I had been praying for worked out as well as they did. As mentioned, our group was here two years ago and it was such an incredible experience that I know I was not the only one who was afraid that the glory of old would potentially become a stumbling block for us. I am grateful that it wasn’t. It seemed to me that the returning students were intent on letting this year’s trip be this year’s trip.

Another concern was our first-timers.   They’re usually young, idealistic, and I still like them.  It’s exciting to have them but there is always concern if they believe the trip is going to be something that it isn’t. I am grateful to say they came ready to work and build relationships.

Then there was my concern/hope that all would work out with our leaders. Because of the way things went, we ended up bringing 7 leaders. Each of them are wonderful and have great hearts. Each of them different, each of them opinionated like most Northeasterners (yeah we definitely lack that friggin’ Midwest charm), and then add me to the mix :). All I know is that we have the best leaders a youth pastor and his students (and a church family) could ask for. Amazing and wonderful people and I continue to be so grateful for their sacrifices and hearts.

I get very sensitive regarding short-term missions. I was not always a believer of them and I understand the concerns/objections some have towards them, especially if the trip is reduced to a form of “poverty tourism” and the theme becomes, “We don’t have it so bad where we are from – aren’t you glad you’re not them.” (But if you are not careful, you might be even worse off – more on that in a future post that might morph into next week’s sermon). But that didn’t happen either, instead I felt that we were truly broken for the hurt we saw as we asked God to help us see everyone the way He saw them (and may we have the courage to see ourselves as He sees us).

We absolutely loved the Next Step Staff. The recruiting they do is pretty impressive. A bad staff could potentially hurt a trip but between their talents and their hearts, they really were an incredible blessing to all of us. I hope they have a great rest of the summer and find ways for God to continue to use them so powerfully. What was also great about it was there was 8 of them this year (as opposed to 4 the last time. And for the record, the 4 last time were amazing and I know the Lord multiplied their efforts. But a bigger staff was really helpful, especially since there more than 50 us this time as opposed to 17). So fellow youth pastors, please consider this a strong endorsement for Next Step Ministries – check them out here.

Then there was the “other youth group”. Raise your hand if you have ever served with another church and that be …. hmm … looking for the right word … “interesting” experience (I have a few of my hands raised ;) and I am sure we can be that group for others too).  That said, a very special aspect of our trip was sharing this week with the youth group from Minnesota. They were a great bunch of students and they had a wonderful leaders as well. We were broken up into crews and our projects included roof work on two cabins, demolishing an old one, cement mixing for a parking lot, painting, and construction of a handrail to make the new sidewalks safer (I was on the handrail crew). All of us felt a great connection serving and talking with each other. The only lamentable thing about them was that they are Twins fans – Oh well :)

There were a few other things to highlight and I’ll begin there tomorrow as I can not wait to write a good bit about the residents, the missionaries, and the video series Next Step created and showed us this week. Thanks for reading!