Mission Trip Collision!

You would think the title of this post would freak out any youth pastor taking a group of students on a mission trip. It’s July and for most of us we are fixing to head out into the wild blue yonder! (or getting back from) I’m leaving this weekend, headed to Dominican Republic and I’m really excited about it. I LOVE taking students out of the country! Why? Because, I have seen my share of collisions! Collisions of faith!

When a students steps foot on the soil of a foreign country… everything changes! All bets are off! It’s an instant collision. Their perspectives change and their small bubble of reality explodes. Their hearts become so moldable! When faced with the reality that God works outside their bubble of Church and in a world filled with people who have never heard the gospel, or even the name of “Jesus,” everything changes! 

The conversations I have with students sitting outside a mud-filled hut in the middle of a tropical rain storm is so FUN!! The wheels are turning and their hearts are bending with humility. God is at work wrecking their reality. What a beautiful collision.

Several years ago, we were prayer walking a remote village in the middle of Dominican Republic. We came upon a house with an elderly couple. Through a translator we learn that the husband was blind. As we sat and talked with them on their front porch (3ftx 8ft porch), we discovered that he was an amazing domino player! Yeah, WHAT?! Dominos! So, one of my students spontaneously challenged him to a game of dominos. His wife set the table, and I’m not kidding, within the first 8 moves, he won! He would use his hands to count the dots on  each piece on the board, then count the dots on his dominos and place them on the board. After the first three dominos, he started smiling knowing he was going to win! After an hour long visit with them, they allowed us to pray for them and sharing a very simple encouragement. “God is with you.” It was an amazing moment… an amazing collision of faith for the students walking with us that day! They will remember that moment for the rest of their lives! 

Some of the greatest questions to ask students on a mission trip to help them process this “collision” of faith…

• Out of all the things you’ve experienced on this trip, what was your favorite? Why?
• What is the point of coming here? Why would God bring you to this remote place?
• Why is it so shocking to you to be here and to experience a new culture?
• Whats the difference between this culture and your school? 
• What do you think God is teaching you while on this trip?
• What is going to be the first thing out of your mouth when your friends back home ask you about this trip? (“awesome” doesn’t count!) 

I love the conversations, the looks on faces and some times, the tears. There is a separation that happens in the heart of a student… their reality of life, and what they are experiencing. When I journey with students on trips like these, I try my best to listen more than talk. Many times I get “busy” managing the safety of the students on the trip (although that is very important), and forget to have intentional moments with students asking some of these questions. I believe every high school students needs to spend at least one-week on the soil of another country (not the bahamas laying on a beach). 

I’m really looking forward to spending the next 7 days in a tropical rain forest with no cell phone coverage, cold showers, and exotic meals with 43 students & adults! Let the collisions begin.