Why Short Term Missions?

Wow, this last month in Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa, has flown by & I’ve had minimal time to create a blog entry. Being that my main focus as leadership was the team, this mission and what I learned from it were wildly different from what I anticipated. When I applied for the World Race back in 2019, I never would have foreseen coming off the field eight months earlier than projected due to a pandemic or completing my last two months on the Race nearly two years later as a leader for a college-aged, semester team. God knew from the beginning and all I can say is that I’m extremely thankful for the opportunity I was given. I’ve never officially led anything quite like this trip before and it challenged me to grow in ways I never foresaw. If you’re currently leading in any capacity, I want to say thank you. Thank you for the sacrifice and the effort you put forth to serve those around you.

While asking one of the team members his perception of our first month of ministry, he responded by telling me that he didn’t see the point in a short term trip. From his perspective, it would be of more value to donate financially to the various nonprofit organizations and missionaries rather than volunteering ourselves. We were making little to no impact, in his opinion. I sat there hoping that a well worded response would just seamlessly float out of my mouth. Instead, like numerous other instances on this trip, I had no idea how to approach the subject. I sat there in the discomfort of my lack of an answer and silently asked the Lord to please reveal the significance of the trip to us both. 

Our ministry in Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa included partnering with two nonprofits. The first was Timion, an organization advocating for families with children suffering cerebral palsy (CP). Essentially, Timion comes alongside the mothers of these children by providing education and extinguishing any myths that they may believe in regards to the condition. They have also developed a particular way of sustainable farming/gardening that these mothers can learn and recreate in their own communities. If the said mother learns to grow produce of her own, she is less likely to neglect the needs of her disabled child by going out into the workforce. To partner with Timion, our team worked in the garden for a week, uprooting weeds, turning the soil, mixing and distributing compost and planting vegetable seeds. Despite the fact that our team won’t be there to witness the end result of our labor, we found the work incredibly valuable. Upon reflection, Sarah (one of our team members) wrote, “Our God is patient. We are never finished, we are and will never be perfect. He will continue to prune us, pulling away the weeds that we contain that don’t reflect Him or that suffocate the gifts He has given us ([email protected]).” What a word?! Thanks for sharing, Sarah! The second nonprofit we partnered with was an organization called Beats & Books. The ultimate goal of this organization is to facilitate community transformation by creating environments where children thrive musically, intellectually, and spiritually. Instruments and books that the students wouldn’t have access to otherwise are donated to the organization. The organization is led by two missionary families, one of them originating from Chile. Teams of missionaries come in periodically and offer their musical and educational skill set by way of tutoring. The Chilean family is undergoing a lot of transition as South Africa has essentially refused to renew their visa. To read more about their family and financially assist them as they relocate to America, please see the link https://donorbox.org/sending-help-to-america. 

During our time in South Africa, two of my team members expressed their newfound interest in incorporating what they learned at this ministry into their future careers. They want their careers to reach beyond typical western society and serve those living in third world countries. An additional two of the team members are considering participating in the eleven month World Race trip! Please consider following Ben’s blog as he begins this journey in January ‘23 (https://bentap.theworldrace.org/). His story of transformation is no short of incredible. See his blog to find out more. 

So, if you are still reading this blog and anticipating the answer to the formerly asked question about the impact of a short term mission, here’s where the Lord directed me. In Mark 8:30-32 Jesus says, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all of the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all of the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” Isn’t it crazy to think that something as small and unremarkable as a mustard seed could have such a profound impact? Upon researching it, the mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds, can produce a bush as large as 3 by 12 feet. Short term mission trips, just like anything else kingdom related, may appear as insignificant as a mustard seed at surface level but truly have the potential to make a life-time worth of difference. It certainly has in my life and that of so many others. That being said, thank you to everyone who sowed into the last several years of this journey, whether that be prayers, finances or friendship. I’ve experienced freedom and vision for my life in ways that I didn’t know possible and I’ve seen Jesus show up a countless number of times. As this chapter closes and a new one begins, I hope to leave you with some of my final takeaways and encouragement. This will be done in one last following blog that I will eventually post. May the Lord continue revealing Himself to you and encountering you in all your circumstances!

-Steph