Short-term mission work: my thoughts

Full disclosure: I have been on many short-term mission trips, both locally, within the U.S. and internationally.  Because of my experiences, I know firsthand that many short-term mission trips can have only short-term effects.  I define short-term mission trips any volunteer trip shorter than 6 months.

For example, in high school, I went on mission trips to Georgia, Mississippi, within Texas and Costa Rica. I think the closer to home the mission trip was, the more effective it was. (Soon, I'll write a blog about how local is better).

My most effective short-term experience:
It was a week after I graduated from high school in Texas.  I found myself on a bus with my classmates headed to Georgia on a mission trip.

Georgia was beautifully different from North Texas, with lots of greenery, trees and humidity.  Our volunteer work in Georgia was extensive.

Watering the gardens we built and planted
in Georgia in summer 2009. Notice the paint
 all over my arms from painting the fence.

In Georgia, we also cleared a lot of
land.  Manual labor is the most
rewarding because you can see tangible
changes that have long-term value.

We cleaned out ponds, salvaged gardens and painted fence posts.  LOTS OF FENCE POSTS.

In one week, the work the 40 student volunteers put in that week would have taken the residents months to finish.  

Did I mention we painted a lot of fence posts?  The work was short and simple, but it had positive long-term effects.

My least effective short-term experience:
Let me just say: I'm against most international mission trips, but that's for a whole 'nother blog.  For now, I'm discussing length, not location of volunteer work.

My trip to Costa Rica came only a few weeks after the previously mentioned Georgia mission trip.  I worked at a local coffee shop for 8 months, sent out dozens of support letters and saved thousands of dollars for that mission trip.  As it turns out, international airfare is no joke.

The trip itself was wonderful.  Don't get me wrong.  However, my team's work there for one week was not relevant to communities or long-term in many ways.

Our team traveled to some neighborhoods of shacks in Puntarenas,
Costa Rica to deliver a week's worth of foods and necessities.

We handed out food and necessities to people living in very low-income neighborhoods.  Although this work was "good," it was also easy and routine.  The local church members in Costa Rica are quite capable of handing out food and supplies to their needy people.  Imagine if a bunch of Costa Rican teenagers came knocking on your door to give you a week's worth of food.  Strange, right?




We visited schools and talked to children.  Who knows, maybe a Costa Rican child's life was forever changed by our week-long work.  That would be worth it.  However, I think these sort of short-term international mission trips are more for the "helpers" than those being "helped." (I will write another blog about "Humanitarian Guilt").

These beautiful Costa Rican girls lived on the Isla de Caballo (Horse Island)
off of the coast of Costa Rica.  We spent one day with them.

I had the amazing opportunity to travel to the enchanting, mysterious country of Costa Rica, live in a resort for a week and experience new cultures and people.  I gained a lot from the experience, but I just don't think our work was lasting.