{"id":14610,"date":"2023-03-28T07:30:28","date_gmt":"2023-03-28T12:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/?p=14610"},"modified":"2023-03-08T17:31:56","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T22:31:56","slug":"mission-trips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/mission-trips\/","title":{"rendered":"Mission Trips Require Focus and Flexibility"},"content":{"rendered":"

If I was to name the two most important things to remember for a mission trip, it would be focus <\/em>and flexibility<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What I have learned over my many trips is that logistics matter. It matters that you plan and then make contingency plans (yes, multiple!) for all the things that might go wrong, because they always do! You forgot something, which you can\u2019t buy in the place you are serving. Someone gets overwhelmed and can\u2019t do the work. You run into complications on the job. Someone doesn’t drink enough water. Or something totally new happens related to a specific person. Even logistics need to be focused and flexible. But in the end, the logistics only matter so that the important work can get done of living out the gospel.<\/p>\n

I always start my mission trip meetings off with a two-word devotion about how we must be focused and flexible. I often talk about how every time God calls people to go, they need these two things. Whether it is Moses being called to get the Israelites out of Egypt or the disciples being called to be fishers of people, they all need to be focused and flexible.<\/p>\n

Focus<\/h2>\n

The words are practical: focused on the work we are doing as God\u2019s hands and feet in the world. We can never do it all. We are only there to do a little part of the work.<\/p>\n

Some of the most meaningful times my teams have had include teaching a teenage boy\u2014whose family lost their home in a tornado\u2014how to use a drill; listening to the life stories from translators in Haiti; and making beaded bracelets with moms on the U.S.\/Mexico Border.<\/p>\n

When we lose our focus we get frustrated that we don\u2019t get more done. The devastation overwhelms us. We are called to be God\u2019s hands, feet, and listening ears. And we have to hold on to that focus all the time.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But these are more than just practical words to focus on before a mission trip. They are also theological. We have to focus on our purpose. It’s never about the hammer and nails, the floor that needs to be cleaned, the wall that needs\u00a0 paint, or crafts that we brought to do. We have to focus on what God is doing here and now.<\/p>\n

On the trips I lead, in order to be focused we begin every day in prayer. We take time at night to name the good and the hard of each day. And we end every day with Scripture and devotions. Usually my devotions have a theme that goes along with the work that we are doing or a Scripture theme that I feel God is calling this group to hear. A favorite is the parables of the kingdom of God.<\/p>\n

Flexibility<\/h2>\n

But we can\u2019t just be focused<\/em> on a mission trip. Different cultures and communities work different than we do. So we must also be flexible<\/em> because everything you thought you could do will change. I can\u2019t tell you the number of times we have taken down a wall only to realize the problem is way bigger than we have the skills or time to do work on it. Or the vehicles we thought we would drive into the mountains were just given to someone else. Now we will walk.<\/p>\n

We must also be flexible because people who spend a week together often get on each other\u2019s last nerves and we have to show each other grace. We get overwhelmed by the stories we keep hearing and we wonder what we are going to do about it.<\/p>\n

Just think about all the ways God’s people had to be flexible in Scripture. Jesus promises the disciples that he will feed 5,000 people without the funds to do so. Elijah is asked to prophecy to a community who doesn\u2019t want to hear his message. Jonah is sent to Nineveh even though he doesn\u2019t think they deserve God\u2019s grace.<\/p>\n

Which is why flexibility in how we relate to others is essential. Everyone has their own background and history with God. Sometimes we enter communities where faith isn\u2019t a part of their lives or their faith is different than ours. But that doesn\u2019t change our Gumby-like opportunities to stretch; to love them as God does with open and welcoming arms. It is only then that we realize how deep and wide our God is, with love and grace for others and for ourselves.<\/p>\n

Next time you are sent into the world by God to serve as hands, feet, and listening ears, do so with focus<\/em> and flexibility<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The Rev. Kelsy N. Brown \u201910 is the pastor of\u00a0Mission del Sol Presbyterian Church<\/a>\u00a0in Tempe, Ariz., and serves on the PTS\u00a0Board of Directors<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Next week on the PTS Blog: Student Stories from the January 2023 Intercultural Learning Trips<\/h4>\n

Learn more about the World Mission Initiative at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and how you can earn a Graduate Certificate in Missional Leadership, at www.pts.edu\/WMI<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If I was to name the two most important things to remember for a mission trip, it would be focus and flexibility. What I have learned over my many trips is that logistics matter. 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