This past winter I ventured into unchartered and mysterious territory in my tenure with World Missions – I went overseas with a short term missions team!
In joining a group from my church (Faith CRC in Burlington, ON), the experience as a “team participant” instead of “a staffer” was significantly different. First of all, most of the participants only knew a few other team members. Getting to know one another and pray for each other has been a blessing that continues well beyond the plane ride home. Usually I head to the field for a specific purpose – meetings or training that keep me indoors a good part of the day. In Nicaragua we spent most of the day outdoors, working alongside Nicaraguan tradesmen, painting a village church, building latrines, and learning about the culture. When I led a small college / university group for a summer ministry in Kazakshtan (central Asia), I was responsible for our group’s health, welfare, and ministry activities. In Nicaragua I was just another team member. I must say it was strange, but refreshing!
From the get go, our team’s name spoke loudly about our purpose and posture. We were a Service & Learning Team to Nicaragua’s Nehemiah Centre. Not a Work Team. Through our team’s orientation and preparation, we began to understand that our role in Nicaragua was not only to do, but also to learn - to join life’s journey with our Nicaraguan brothers and sisters. I found it fascinating to delve into Nicaraguan politics, and geography; to hear the country’s story and then pile into bus for downtown Managua to see the sites where it all happened. I gained a deeper appreciation of the complexities of missions and what it means to wholistic, transformational ministry.
Our team’s view of the role of missionaries and their typical day also shifted significantly. No longer were Kim & Steve Holtrop just magnets on our refrigerators. They became real people to us: raising a young family, trying to keep a healthy balance between work and family, and living out God’s call to strengthen and transform communities in Nicaragua and North American church teams.
Our team experienced the blessing of team devotions every night, of naming and discussing some difficult things we saw and experienced, of sharing the highs and lows of our day, and laughing till our sides hurt as we traveled for an hour down an 11 kilometer road.
Our team also served as a tangible expression of our church’s ongoing commitment to the Nehemiah Centre. Now there are 24 people in our church, including council members and ministry leaders, who have had a first hand look into the ministry that is happening on our behalf. Next year our youth will be making the trek, Lord willing. In the future we hope to receive a team from the Nehemiah Centre to our own local community.
Through this experience, our team grasped that it’s not so much the “doing” but the “being together” that builds up who we are as the Body of Christ. This doesn’t come easy to our cultural heritage. But in taking intentional time to listen, to work alongside, to break bread with, and just “be”, our team has grown closer to the Lord, our missionaries, each other, and our Family in Nicaragua.
What a blessing!
Trish DeJong - Missions Resource Consultant for CRWM
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