The Cost of Short Term Missions

1. 1. Summarize what Jo Ann Van Engen is articulating in her article, “The Cost of Short Term Missions.”

I think what Jo Ann Van Engen is trying to say not that short term missions are bad but that they can be if they are not done the right way and with the right spirit. She talks about how missions used to be something that people would commit their whole lives to but now it seems like they have turned into nothing more than a reason to travel to a different country and come back feeling good about yourself. She explains that much of the work done by the groups that come over on short term missions could be done easily by the people of the country themselves, and better, for that matter . In most cases the amount of money groups spend on travel surpass the worth of the service they actually give. It would be much more beneficial to communities if this money were to go towards employment of the local people to do the jobs they came over to do. When I think about it this way it makes a lot of sense, I mean although I am sure the people are grateful for the service done for them, wouldn’t it be a lot more help to them if they were able to do the work themselves and get paid for it? Then they could have a freshly painted church AND money to provide for their families. It is much better to serve with the people then it is to serve for them.

Like I mentioned before short term missions are not always a bad thing. When they are done with the intention of creating long term relationships and actually making a connection with the community and the people they can be very good and successful both for the service groups and the people of the community.

2. 2. What is your reaction to the statement, “Everybody knows that short term missions benefit the people who come, not the people here.”

I can see how this statement could be true. I think it is sort of unavoidable for people that go on short term missions to gain something valuable but if they were the only ones to gain something then it sort of defeats the whole purpose and something must have gone wrong. I think maybe what goes wrong is that people do not go into these sort of things with humility. I have had experiences with people who live in poverty and they are some of the most humble people I know. When people in service groups go into different countries to serve and they do not already know humility they end up getting taught it by the local people. The tables are turned and the local people end up helping the visitors more then the visitors help them, but if the visitors were already humble or willing to be humble then the two peoples could then be able to learn from each other.

3. 3. What is your reaction to the authors commentary on visitor’s coming to the United States and serving?

I think that the author makes a very good point when she asked how we would feel if visitors came here to serve in the United States but they made no effort to find out about our culture and stuck with their on group, eating their own food, and staying in a nice hotel. I think this would make me very frustrated. I would probably feel like they thought they were better then me and ask why they even bother. I don’t want anybody’s help if they aren’t going to do it with an open heart. I also wouldn’t want anybody to make me feel like I am useless, like the man in the article who went to help the American service group build houses and they made him feel like he was simply in the way. It makes me irritated that people act like that. Service should never make a person feel like they are less then they are; Service is the action form of love. I think it serves the people more to let them know we truly care about them then it would if we painted all the churches in the country. When I am in Guatemala I want to experience it as it really is. I want to make connections with the people and learn about their culture and eat their food.

4. 4. What is the author suggesting that we do? Why is this important?

The author suggests that if we are planning to go on a short term mission that we should learn as much about the country we are visiting as possible. We should learn the culture, it’s history, the language, and customs. Ask yourself questions about the country and why you want to go there. She says that while we are there we should spend as much time with the local people as possible; even let them teach us a thing or two. Look for long lasting relationships. We should not leave our mission in Guatemala, when we return home we should continue to spread awareness and help the people there. This is the only way that a short term mission will actually be worth while for both the visitors and the local people.

5. 5. After reading this article, why do you want to go on this trip?

I want to go on this trip to learn more about what it really means to serve people. I want to make friends while I am there. I want to experience a different culture; a different way of life. I want to help people. I know that I will only be there for a short time so realistically I probably will not making any drastic changes in anybody life, but this is only the start of something good. I don’t want this experience to end when I come back home.