Don't ask me, I just live here!

In missions you have different groups. There are the senders, investors, mission trips, short term, project focused, long term (those on the ground). I may have left some out.

Senders; churches, religious organizations, or nongovernmental organizations. Investors/Donors; those providing the resources to see the mission accomplished they can be churches, business’, governments, or individual people. Mission trips; individuals or teams of people spending between a week to a few months usually but not always, helping those on the ground. Short term; people that most often come to help in various aspects with ministries/projects that are already on the ground running, or to help launch off new projects. It is these people whom usually commit for 6months to 2 years. Project focused; can be religious or non religious activities such as developmental, health, or educational. These usually have a 2to4 year focus in specific areas or regions. Long term; has got different definitions depending on who you talk to. So I will just give my opinion. Some one who has dedicated their life to come live and work for 2 or more years. After 2 years one will usually go or stay for much longer.

I have personally spent a lot of time on the mission trip and short term side. I most recently have moved over to the long term side. My time doing mission trips and working short term had left me learning a great deal from my mentors and the long term people on the ground where I worked. I learned to be a disciple is to be a learner (that is the definition in the Greek). I have done or tried to do just that. Every where I have found my self, I have tried to be a learner in many aspects. A long termer once told me. “Some times I wonder why I ever take mission trip teams”. I asked him what he meant, I just happened to be a leader of a mission team that was there working with him at the time. He said that more often than not he had to clean up and I quote “The shit” after they leave. That statement has stuck with me for many years, always wondering what it must be like for some one who is living and working in a place or so long. That they have grown to love the people and culture, calling and even many times considering the place home. What is it that would make them not to desire the help? What “shit” is he speaking of? I have now been living and working in Rwanda for almost two years and as you may or may not know, Rwanda is a very small Nation. This means that is pretty easy to get to know people from various backgrounds. The International community is some what close here.

I have friends who are church planting, some are working with the existing churches, others with big or small mission organizations. Some people are Christian business men, others are in the diplomatic world (working with embassies).

Rwanda has become home to me (no longer the States nor Europe.) I have really fallen in love with the people and could say that at times I feel the Lord’s heart for them. I am often moved too tears when I think about their pain and the Lord’s desire to heal it. I find myself praying over and over again to use me.

After being here for a while and listening to many of the long term missionaries, many of them are saying the same thing about mission trips. “Wow what a blessing, glad they came but thank God they are gone”.
I have learned that hosting teams is a great deal of work, months of prep and planning go into just a few weeks. When the teams arrive, life as we (those on the ground) know it comes to a dead stop. Huge sacrifices are made in work and family. You are at the beckon call so to speak, and one can grow very weary. There can be little to no consideration of you, your life or work on the ground.
I say this with much experience as one who has led many mission trips in to many countries. By no means am I saying that this is the case all the time. But have seen it happen more often than I would have liked to.

Once again the following does not apply to all groups
As I think back to many of those mission trips I now can see how my team and I really could have done better. Most of the time we had our own plans, thoughts and agendas on how we wanted to see the mission trip go. We expected the people on the ground to facilitate those things so that we could see them happen.
Even in the cases of working under projects that those on the ground had running. We found our selves wanting to do more our own thing or would tweak their project to fit in more of our desires.
Not really a servants heart I guess you could say. We wanted the “mission experience” on our terms and expected those on the ground to serve our needs and wants, giving us the great mission experience. Not us coming to serve their ongoing ministry. Yet to them this is not an experience, this is their life.

I have done the above not only with teams I have led, but have now experienced this for my self and heard many weary missionary friends share similar stories.

Sadly enough; in the times where large amounts of money were involved, preconceived ideas, plans, desires and agendas ruled the implementation of the funds. Was the question ever raised where to put that money or how it would be best used? No, after all it is the donor’s money… All the while the long termer, whom has given their life to live and serve in such a place just sits there and says “don’t ask me I just live here”.