Kexin Z
A mission trip is probably one of the scariest things we get called to do in our modern-day Christian lives. When we hear the words ‘mission trip’ we immediately associate it with uncertainty and discomfort. There is a guarantee that we will be called to do things outside of our comfort zones. Some of us (or rather our friends and family) may even think it may put us down a path that is so radically different from what society considers as ‘normal’. The truth is, it sometimes can.
Back in 2017, I had the opportunity to go on a mission trip and I did. The decision to go was not an easy one. I had many fears about going and came up with countless excuses not to go. Questions like: Am I ready? Do I feel the ‘calling’? Do I have enough money to go? What if I mess up really badly? What do I even do? I was even trying to convince myself to attend another Christian summer camp around the same time as well! It was one targeted more towards my demographic at the time (young working adults).
By that time, I had attended many Christian camps since my youth. While they were all beneficial in guiding my faith to where it is today, a question I often found myself asking was: Am I only attending because it felt safe and I wanted more of the same experiences as past camps? Unbeknownst to me at the time, the mission trip was what my heart was yearning for. Or rather, a yearning for the unknown and the unfamiliar. A place where God can speak and show me new things outside of my comfort zone. An opportunity to test my faith.
God came through with his providence fast before we had set off. Raising funds for the trip was one of the first hurdles. While it might be easy for some of us to say they can self-fund, it doesn’t leave room for God to show you how He can provide. For me, this process taught me the generosity of not just my home church community, but to be humbled by all the support and faith that so many people have placed in God through me. It changed my perspective on what a mission trip was. Gone are the thoughts that this was just another self-funded ‘christian camp’ abroad, but rather a serious ministry where others have invested in you to be where they cannot in order to do the things they want but are unable to.
The mission trip was a life changing experience. Did it change my career trajectory? No, but it did change my life and how I looked at the world. Many of us feel that going on a mission trip requires a specific calling. I beg to differ. God is always calling us to missions in one form or another. Whether by being on the frontlines serving, by being the generous giver, or by teaching and equipping the next batch of Christians to prepare for missions (be they short-term or long-term). And in the midst of all the work, perhaps, it is there that you find God calling. Dare greatly and step out in faith.
