Thoughts on our mission trip

This post is submitted by Amanda:

 

The work is done, and we have begun our long, slow trek towards home.  I think every person in our group has said "When I get home, I'm gonna…" usually involving long, hot showers or air conditioning.

 

I've been thinking, and discussing, a lot about just what makes an effective mission trip.  It is hard in my mind to justify spending such a large amount of money on something that is sometimes little more than a working vacation.

 

First, while every trip has a goal, reaching that goal is not always the most important thing.  If, say, you build a beautiful church, but don't have love or show love to the people you are building it for, how have you really served God?  And if building that church is your only goal, you could have just sent money for local workers to build it.

 

Mission trips should be about relationships.  I think the most important relationship is with the local pastor, because they will be doing the follow-up after you have left.  It's great to have people come to the Lord, but if they don't have a way (or know of a way) to grow from there, the opportunity may be lost.

 

As a veterinarian, I have been trying to determine what the follow-up to my seminars should be.  The two pastors are not farmers, and veterinarians are rare. (There is one veterinarian on Mfangano Island, and there are no cars.)  I have decided that the best method of follow-up is to provide a library on livestock rearing to the two pastors, as well as regular updates that they can pass on to their members and other pastors.

 

Third, I think mission trips should strive to have an impact long after we have left.  I am conflicted on the effectiveness of our medical clinics.  On the one hand, you have to meet peoples' physical needs before you can meet their spiritual ones.  On the other hand, there will be sick people on Mfangano Island tomorrow, and we won't be there to help.  So the clinic itself is a temporary impact.

 

Where the clinics are most effective, however, is that we can do Bible, life skills, and even veterinary training in our "waiting room."  I could have brought a bunch of veterinary supplies and said, "I'm a vet, show me your sick animals."  But without a teaching component, what lasting impact would I have?  Plus, how would I know what drugs or supplies to bring without knowing what their issues are?  So, I chose to stick to teaching.  I taught about calvings at each seminar, but the most valuable part to me, and hopefully to them, is when I just asked for questions.  I learned so much about their needs and concerns, and I hope I taught them a few things.

 

So, with my rules above, was this an effective mission trip for me?  Well, my goal was to simply learn their needs and resources, so that I knew what role I could play.  I never ended up using the few veterinary supplies I brought (except for turning my latex gloves into balloons for the children that were crying).  I can't say that I built my relationship that well with the local pastors, mostly because they are not farmers.  But, I think that by providing them with a library, and building relationships with their members and other local pastors, I can have a lasting impact.  I see that Pastor Solomon has a projector, and I'm hoping to provide short animal health training videos that they can show.  This will allow him to take this information to the many communities that he helps minister to.

 

Please pray for safe travels home for our group and the Kenyans that assisted us, continuing relationships with the people here, and that our presence and teachings here have a lasting impact.  Pray for the Church in Kenya and the educational system to lift up the Kenyans so that they can meet these needs themselves.