Reflections After a Foreign Mission Trip

As I look through a week’s worth of pictures, I’m reminded of all the ways God worked in and through our mission trip team while serving in Guatemala. What a memorable week of trusting God to accomplish all that He desired while we were in Guatemala. Here are some reflections on the past several months of prepping for the mission trip and our time in Guatemala.

·         While I believe there is a strong case to be made that every church should be involved in foreign missions, not every church will. Whether it is a lack of vision or finances, not every church sees the need to invest in foreign missions. I’m grateful that SRBC has always been a church to support missions, and specifically mission trips geared towards our youth.  

·         Foreign mission trips are costly. At roughly $2,300 per person and some team expenses on top of that, it will always be a debate as to what is the best use of our church finances. I do know that the area we served in Guatemala is extremely poor. The church building that we worked on will rely heavily on donations outside of their local church to complete their building. We were able to present them $2,500 to use on their church building, which was a huge blessing to them.

·         Getting youth involved in foreign missions is always a great idea. Our time in Guatemala confirms once again the power of bringing youth on a mission trip. Our youth have a remarkable, innocent way of connecting with locals that builds bridges into ministry possibilities. Whether that was coloring, putting in hair tinsel or making balloon animals (for kids and adults), it all goes a long way to our effectiveness of ministry throughout the week. 

·         Team unity trumps about everything on a mission trip. We worked hard in our youth group times and team meetings to have our team familiar with each other. If a team lacks unity, it becomes very evident to the people we are ministering to. Thankfully, our Guatemala team did a great job of loving on each other and making sure everyone felt included. This made for a really great week as a team.  

·         Hard work is important. It is not easy to be away from the comforts of home for a week. Students and leaders alike gave up a week with their families and jobs to serve. Whether it was in construction, medical, or kids’ ministry, our team worked hard every day. It was neat to see both adults and students preparing their parts for the upcoming day of ministry and giving all their energy to serve wholeheartedly.

·         Flexibility is hugely important. I often times joke that adults have the hardest time being flexible on mission trips. But our adults in Guatemala were unbelievable. They invested heavily into the team, trusted our students to do important ministry work, and helped build team unity all week long. This trip wouldn’t have been possible without each adult serving in huge ways. A big thank you to Evelyn Hahn, Jay Stanish, Matt Kuecker, Dave Van Gorp, Kienzle Hoodjer, Carrie Simon, and Greg Michaelson!

·         It’s refreshing to work with an organization that does what they say they are doing. Global CHE works with a local committee in each village where they serve. The local committee in Calel was very evident in all 3 aspects of our mission. We weren’t doing the work ourselves – we were partnering with locals from the church and community. This is important because the work we did continues after our departure.   

·         There’s something different about foreign mission trips. Our youth ministry has been active in U.S. mission trips to places like Nashville, Chicago, Colorado, and Southern California. They have all been incredible trips of serving, but there is something to be said about a plethora of PB&J sandwiches, Ramen noodles, loud uncomfortable cots, transportation in the back of pick-up trucks, and a language barrier to trust God all the more. I know that this foreign mission trip will never be forgotten by the students and leaders!

·         Supportive churches make youth mission trips possible. Taking a team of 24 students and leaders to Guatemala was a huge undertaking. I definitely know you didn’t need to give generously at Easter Brunch, buy pizza kits or attend the Auction Supper Fundraiser, but you did. And our team is extremely grateful! Our students got to see and experience first-hand a church investing in the next generation- not just talking about it or reading it in a vision statement, but truly living it out. Many of our team will head off to college next year and I know they will take this experience with them for the rest of their lives.

If you didn’t get a chance to hear our mission trip sharing report, please check out the June 30th worship services online to see all the ways God showed up in Guatemala. Thanks again for all of your prayers and support over the past 6 months!

Blessings,

Bryce