Loose ends
There are two important things about our trip which we feel still need to be said and I'll do it in two posts so as not to overwhelm with 1 extra long one!
Forget the packing lists, the reminders about bringing medication and tool belts: the MOST important thing to bring on Mission trip is a servant heart.
We have spent a good part of this week re-doing work done by a previous group.
It was reported to us that they had their own agenda and their own sense of how things should be done and they wanted the 'glamorous' BIG jobs that were clearly visible,although they were not particularly open to how staff wanted it executed.
Don't get me wrong, all groups love to have projects that are camera ready, where huge differences can be seen - for themselves to experience a sense of accomplishment and for the folks back home.
The problem is that here, as in most of our lives, it's the little things which support and help the bigger things get done that frequently need the most attention.(They had been asked to help organize the tool shed - and they refused, saying it wasn't important enough)
I won't tell you that there weren't times when I was scraping off drywall texturing that I didn't think to myself "Just rent a sander; this would be a whole lot easier and quicker". Being a member of the dominant culture and thinking we've cornered the market on how things should be done, how finite resources (such as money)should be spent and what other peoples priorities should be is a very difficult habit to break!
Prayer time and intentionality about service kept bringing us back throughout the week to being present, being flexible and honoring the requests of a community that is embracing us and allowing us the privilege of being even a small part of their lives.
Forget the packing lists, the reminders about bringing medication and tool belts: the MOST important thing to bring on Mission trip is a servant heart.
We have spent a good part of this week re-doing work done by a previous group.
It was reported to us that they had their own agenda and their own sense of how things should be done and they wanted the 'glamorous' BIG jobs that were clearly visible,although they were not particularly open to how staff wanted it executed.
Don't get me wrong, all groups love to have projects that are camera ready, where huge differences can be seen - for themselves to experience a sense of accomplishment and for the folks back home.
The problem is that here, as in most of our lives, it's the little things which support and help the bigger things get done that frequently need the most attention.(They had been asked to help organize the tool shed - and they refused, saying it wasn't important enough)
I won't tell you that there weren't times when I was scraping off drywall texturing that I didn't think to myself "Just rent a sander; this would be a whole lot easier and quicker". Being a member of the dominant culture and thinking we've cornered the market on how things should be done, how finite resources (such as money)should be spent and what other peoples priorities should be is a very difficult habit to break!
Prayer time and intentionality about service kept bringing us back throughout the week to being present, being flexible and honoring the requests of a community that is embracing us and allowing us the privilege of being even a small part of their lives.
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