The following expresses the views of one team member, and is not intended to express the views of the team in general.
Good afternoon. We hope that everyone is having a great week, and has some amazing plans for the weekend. With the rain, so many of us have remained busy with yard work, but it has led to a beautiful, green end of summer.
Time is racing forward. And with it, there is much to look forward to. The kids back to school for some, the turning of the calendar to another month, another season, and another year. Won't be long before the nights turn brisk and that white stuff will be falling yet again. Time to recharge and regroup, and prepare for the turning to yet another January and another year, with its bright hopes and rosy outlooks. And for our team, the return to the place that owns our hearts.
We are working on fundraising for this trip, but it is slow. Seems that it is always this way, but maybe a bit more so this year. I read an article the other day, about short-term mission trips. And have you ever read something that instantly seemed like a road-block to you? Well, this is what it was like with this article. See, the comment regarding short term medical missions is that it is like applying a bandaid to a problem. And I guess it wouldn't have been such a statement if I hadn't heard those words from a person very close to me not that long ago. And it got me thinking..is this the truth?
We don't go on our trip with the thought of saving hundreds of lives, or turning a culture around in a few short days. Each trip is building on the past one, learning from it and working to make the next one better. Better with more staff, more supplies, more education, more medicines, and a greater understanding of the culture that these people live in daily. But are we actually doing any good long-term? Are we making a difference? Are we reflecting our Heavenly Father in our actions? Does anyone really even care?
I have spent the last few days rereading the blogs that we have posted. And the single theme that rings through them is...doing what we feel we are called to do, and what we are able to do within our limits. We don't have hundreds of thousands of dollars to build schools, clinics, or hospitals. And if we did, we wouldn't have the staff to work in them. We are such a small team, with such limited resources, that we struggle just to pay for a trip. We go with such good intentions, and return feeling a strong connection to the people we have just left behind. But are we just a bandaid to the problem? And are we really doing any good with these trips?
We work hard at fundraising. Sometimes the event is a success, sometimes it is a failure, but we keep working at it. But are we being fair to our families and friends? Do we spend too much time struggling to raise this money, that we leave other important things out of our lives. And how do we address those that totally do not agree with what we are trying to do, even though it is so dear to our hearts. When a friend won't support you in this task, how do you resolve that in your own life. This is helping someone who has nothing, who has little chance of ever having something, and often little chance of surviving in general. I know for me, it causes those heels to dig in, and really stop and think about it all. The battle inside wages over how to setting the fight, and live with whatever the decision is. That is one I am still dealing with.
Every time I log onto social media, there is yet another person or team asking for donations. Many to go to another third-world country to try to help those less fortunate. If a person tried to donate to them all, one would be broke! Yet, without donations, many of these people or teams would not be able to make the trip. So what makes our team different? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. We have goals set, and plans for into the future with our team, yet they probably do too. They have a passion for what they are trying to accomplish, just as we do. They look forward to making an attempt to help others, just as our team does. So how do you stand out from all the others? Well, if I had that answer, we probably wouldn't have so much trouble making our funds. And than wouldn't have to spend so much time away from family and friends. And maybe some of our friends wouldn't be so negative where our team is concerned. The only thing we can do different is to show people what we see while we are down there, what we do while we are down there, how hard we work to fundraise, and what we plan to do in the future. The rest is up to everyone else.
So does it really do any good? I guess that is still to be determined. I don't want to be a bandaid to a problem, I want to be a solution to it. And not one that will happen in 1 trip, or even 10. But one that will eventually make a difference to this country. All I can do is to continue to lean on our Heavenly Father, and try to follow where He directs me. Sometimes that is so very hard, but it really is all that there is. And hopefully others will see and understand, and decide to get involved. And that some day, everyone will stop looking only inside, will look up and will see what is out there, and how they can help to make a change, to make a difference, to make the world a better place to be. And that maybe someday, that bandaid will really be something larger that will circle us all and unite us back into the family that God has always wanted us to be.
