Serving or Sightseeing?

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It’s just about Valentine’s day again, and for most people this is a reminder to show care to those they love. February 14, also means that my mailbox will once again be filled with letters asking for funds to support teens or young adults who are ready to embark on a short term mission trip in the summer. Their trips will take them to a remote area in which they will be given a chance to show love and care to the local people of that area. Do short term mission trips really embody the command of loving others as we love ourselves? Or could the resources be used in a more effective ways? Perhaps it is time to take a fresh look at short term service trips.

I grew up in a small town in Minnesota and attended a Methodist church in Minneapolis called Emmanuel Methodist Church. It was there that I first understood what a missionary was. I remember reading the true-life Paul White series. Paul White spent his life as a medical missionary in Tanzania, Africa. The books inspired me and gave a picture of a full time commitment to serving those in need. Missionaries were wonderfully mysterious people who spent time in our home telling us their extraordinary stories of faraway lands during their “furloughs,” (a word I was forced to look up after hearing it time and time again.) When I think of a missionary I think of people like Mother Teresa or my elder sister, both who gave up lives of comfort to live full time with people who need love and care.

Today’s contemporary American church seems to be almost obsessed with the idea of short term missions. Every summer thousands of churches send their teenagers and adults to lands outside of the United States. When I was living in Chicago my curiosity got the better of me and I went on one such trip as an adult leader. I, along with other seven other adults chaperoned a group of about 20 teens as we spent about ten days in Tijuana, Mexico. We arrived in Mexico and we settled into tents that were set on land owned by larger missionary operation, whose entire function was to provide opportunities for Americans and other Westerners to experience a short term mission trip! That was one of the most outrageous facts I uncovered. The living was by no means luxurious but it was almost as though it was purposely made crude so the attendees would have the feel of a “real” mission field. Nonetheless, our living standards were much superior to the Mexicans all around us. Our goal was to play soccer with the kids, help build better living quarters and basically understand the struggles of the community in Tijuana. There were only three interpreters available and most of the teens and adults (including myself) had no more than a rudimentary understanding of Spanish. Two of the leaders had chosen to bring along their preteen children who had to be taken back over the border to a hospital in California for bacterial infections. Most of the communication was done with smiles, gestures and gift giving. Before returning to Chicago we enjoyed two days in California. One day was spent at the ocean, (since most of the teens had never seen the coast) and one day in Disneyland. I had paid for the trip with my own personal funds, but it troubled me that we had spent time and money on frivolous pastimes such as the beach and Disneyland. I had many other concerns regarding the money and effort spent to make us comfortable.

I began to read and research about short term service trips. Most of them are fairly similar. These trips are designed to provide the attendee with “a broader perspective of the world and increase cross cultural understanding, taste of culture other than their own, a transformed view of the world and its needs”(Anderson). Some trips are evangelical in nature while some are working trips. They involve fixing or building schools, homes, churches or handing out medical supplies, or providing some kind of emergency relief. Most of the people who attend will not be required to have any particular skill and even a basic foreign language skill is not required. While the mentioned goals are worthy, are short term mission trips to a far away land the best way to acquire them? Is the money that is given put to the best use possible?

On one of my visits to India, my sister and her surgeon husband who had spent over 30 years on the mission field, told me about their experiences with the short term mission groups that would occasionally visit them. I found their comments fascinating and asked them for their insight about the subject.

First, short term missionaries while good intentioned, often can be a burden to the community which is hosting them. This is particularly true for countries which are not English speaking or those that have extreme climates. Most of the time special living arrangements must be made as well as special food and toilet facilities. While those organizing the trips emphasize tolerance of cultural differences and encourage the attendees to acclimate to their surroundings, in practice this most often does not take place. While I was in Mexico, the food we ate was provided for us by an outside source and we used specially built toilet and shower facilities. We were warned not to eat the food or drink the water provided by the community we were serving. My sister relayed the difficulty in providing food and housing for the short term visitors. Most people cannot tolerate the local spicy foods, toilet and living facilities, so special preparations have to be made. These additional arrangements cost the community time, money and labor.

Second, the work that is done on site is often not as effective as perceived by the those who are sponsoring the trip. My own experience in Mexico was eye opening. I was baffled by the “building” we did. Most of the work we did was slipshod. I wouldn’t have put my dog inside and I knew it was substandard, even by Mexican standards. In countries like India where the cultural divide is so vast, the methods to accomplish a particular task are so different, that often the local hosts must make time just to serve those that have come to serve. Could not the work be done better and much more efficiently if those who understood the language and the local customs were given the resources they need?

Third, the money that is used to send short term workers to foreign countries can be much more effectively used by the local community or missionary. One person going to India will spend at least $1,500.00 for just the airfare. The current exchange rate in India is 43 rupees to one American dollar. One plane fare translates to roughly 65,000 rupees! In a country where labor is still fairly cheap, this would be enough money to pay a teacher’s salary for a year, equip a classroom in a school, or buy two laptops! Which option is the best use of charitable funds?

Granted, a service trip inside the USA, would not allow the team to experience a foreign country, but the benefits would greatly outweigh this one drawback. If we use the definition of a short term mission trip mentioned earlier in this essay, a trip to any American region would still offer a broad perspective of the world and increase cross cultural understanding. One only has to travel from Texas to the New York/New Jersey area to realize that these two regions are as different from one another in terms of culture and varied perspectives as Alabama and Argentina.

There are many ways to provide care and concern to people in need right here in the USA. I am privileged to volunteer at a free health clinic in New Jersey called Zarephath Health Clinic. Since my area of expertise is pediatrics, during the pediatric nights, I work with a volunteer pediatrician, a secretary and my son—who works at the reception desk and does office work. Together we tend to the healthcare needs of many children who have very little insurance or no insurance at all. Zarephath Health Clinic does not ask for payment of any kind and many times even the medications are free due to the generosity of pharmaceutical companies. The clinic was founded by Drs. John and Alieta Eck. The clinic is an amazing place where adults and children can find unconditional, non judgmental care.  You can donate to this worthy cause by visiting their website at: http://www.zhcenter.org/index.php

My hope is that those who have so much, think before going to Haiti or Bosnia. Instead of using charity dollars to fund a trip to a foreign country where so much of the money and effort is spent on travel, amenities or accommodations, perhaps these trips should be funded with personal funds, rather than asking others for charitable contributions to support a trip that is more about a personal experience than a trip about serving and caring for those in need.

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“Creating a World Vision,” Christian AnswersNetwork, ed. Beth Andersen, 8 June 2005,.

Real Hope for Haiti

AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, March, 2005

When I watch the devastation in Haiti, I am amazed by not only the amount of destruction but also by the expressions of human care and love.  While most of us do not have a personal connection to Haiti, the impact of the earthquake has made its impression.  Many everyday citizens have donated money and supplies.  They have traveled to offer their hands in service.  I am in awe and so encouraged to see the countless ways everyday hardworking people are helping the people hurting in Haiti—without press, media coverage or acknowledgement of their work.

In the midst of this swell of human compassion we have the celebrities, behaving as they usually do in these disaster situations, deciding to band together to raise money—from us.  Tonight, a number of major networks will carry the “Hope for Haiti” telethon hosted by George Clooney and Wyclef Jean.  Stevie Wonder, Beyoncé, Madonna, Bono, Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Keith Urban, Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Coldplay and Bruce Springsteen are all scheduled to perform.  In addition, Brad Pitt, Clint Eastwood, Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Will Smith, Robert Pattison, Matt Damon, Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman and Bill Clinton will also make an appearance and ask us to give generously.

I have a better idea.  Why not charge every celebrity and performer 3 million dollars to appear on this telethon?  This would raise 72 million dollars from just the celebrities slated to appear!  In a year filled with bank foreclosures, soaring unemployment rates and a depressed economy, the celebrity’s earning potential has not waned.  Angelina Jolie replaced Oprah Winfrey as the number one wage earner—Winfrey made 275 million.  Madonna banked 110 million and Beyoncé? A cool 87 million.  Twenty year old Taylor Swift earned 18 million! And let’s not forget, this is their annual income.  Even five million dollars wouldn’t create a hardship for almost any working celebrity.

In contrast, Americans are experiencing an unemployment rate which is over 10%.  The average American makes $18.80 an hour and the cost of basic necessities are on the rise.  Even then Americans are giving generously to the people of Haiti.  So why the big telethon?

George Clooney could just as easily host a party at his huge LA home or perhaps at his six building compound in Lake Como, Italy and ask his celebrity buddies to give 1 million for the evening.  Remember the Haiti people only get the proceeds of this telethon.  It still costs an astronomical amount to put something like this on the air!  Why not host a private party and donate the cost of putting this telethon on the air as well?

Ahh!  But then Madonna, Bono, Julia Roberts and all the rest would miss the publicity that comes with coming on the air and begging all of us to “do our part.”  They wouldn’t get to parade around in their designer clothing, perfectly made up and hair coiffed within an inch of their lives, proving for once and for all that no, they are not shallow.  Of course it goes without saying, that those performing during the telethon will garner yet another opportunity to sell a CD, movie ticket or concert appearance.  Is this about the need of the people of Haiti or just more publicity?  If this is to raise the most money to help Haiti, then perhaps they should just dig into their own pockets.

I am grateful to be one of the hardworking every day citizens who do not reach out to soothe the human spirit only when they know they will benefit—but just because they care.