What are we to do?

Interesting conversation with our Church secretary this morning.
We began discussing why the United States is seen and expected to be the humanitarian organization for the world (you may or may not agree with this, but we can all agree that the US does play a large role in humanitarian efforts)
So the question is, why? Why has it become this way? Who were the original humanitarians and what happened? Where are they now?

Deuteronomy 15:11 says,

For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you,  You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.

Here is where it gets interesting. I don't question the churches role in humanitarian efforts or social justice, But, I do wonder at times about our approach to it. I know that none of this is new thinking, I just wanted to throw my 2 cents into the mix.

Recently, I read an article about a School in Africa that would scrape the paint off of the walls each year so that the Americans would have something to do when they came on their mission trip. 

When it comes to mission work, I think we have missed the point. We go about it as Americans, thinking that our needs and wants are the same as others around the world. WE cant argue the necessities, food, medical care, shelter, clothing and access to clean water, but large WI-fi equipped community centers, water filtration systems that rival NASA technology? 

Here is my thought. 

Humanitarian efforts are great, short term mission trips can do amazing things. But when we pull into these communities with our matching t shirts and iPods, make an impact. Don't do your two weeks and then pull out, leaving the community in the dust until you return in 50 weeks. When planning  short term mission, make it sustainable. What can you do that will better their lives for the long haul, not just while your there. If your water filtration system requires pats that can only be purchased at a specialty store in San Jose, its probably not the best system for a remote South American Village.

Most importantly, GOD is the center of any short term mission. If we arnt exposing people to Jesus Christ and his love, we are missing a huge part of our calling.

The other side of this is, prepare yourself for what God is going to do to you while you are serving as an appendage of the body of Christ.What is God trying to communicate to you?

Short story and then my ranting is over.

A number of years ago, I traveled to the outskirts of Ensenada, Mexico to work on a small church that was being built. This was an amazing project. Over summer a number of US congregations were sending teams down to work on this church. The church was built the same way any other church in Ensenada would be built. Granted, there were a few sustainable editions that were put into it (mind you, there is a Home Depot in Ensenada, so alot of these "upgrades"were relatively easy to come by and thus, sustainable.) So, at the end of the summer, the community had a beautiful church building that they could worship and fellowship in and more so, they could sustain on their own.

But anyway, I was a freshman in college at the time and had just purchased (well, financed) a brand new macbook pro. I was overjoyed with my first laptop and it was one of my most prized possessions.

So, one morning, I woke up pretty early, before the rest of the team was stiring and I took a walk into the community. I sat up on a hill overlooking a number of the shacks that comprised the community we were working in. I watched a s a father prepped and lit a cooking fire for breakfast. Soon after 2 children emerged from the tarp covered home and took down a 5 gallon bucket from a shelf. It was interesting to see how they treated it. It was like it was a prized possession. These 2 children played with that bucket for at least the next 45 minutes. It became a drum, a doll house, a hat and many other things. And then, it was placed back on the shelf to be played with another day.

It was a reality check for me. I had just purchased mt $2,200.00 laptop in hopes that it would bring me joy and happiness or at the very least, make my life a bit easier. These children had found a bucket that HAD brought them joy and happiness. I learned a big lesson that day.

The moral, missions work both ways, you arnt just traveling to bless others, they will bless you as well, if you are open and listening.