Gabe
and I arrived in New York around noon on Thursday October 4th after
our short three-and-a-half-hour drive. We knew that we had a long trip ahead of
us and in many ways we were thankful to arrive at the airport early in the day.
After a small lunch, we spent some time together, studying and discussing some
passages of scripture.
One
thing we looked forward to on our travels was the time we would spend together.
Looking in scripture, we find the pattern of discipleship to be one of going
out together into the world. It was a time of teaching, training, and
experiencing the things of God as in the case of Paul and Timothy. This had an
even greater significance to us, knowing we would be coming so close to the
part of the world where these early saints had traveled on their early
missionary journeys.
After
hours of waiting, we boarded a nine-hour flight out of New York to Italy. The
hours ticked away as we tried to acclimate ourselves to the new time schedule
we were flying into, which was to be six hours ahead. We stayed awake when we
felt like sleeping and slept when it felt like the middle of the day.
We
arrived in Italy and spent our twelve- hour layover on Friday mostly in a
topical study of the spiritual gifts Christ gave to the church. After what
seemed an eternity, it was finally time to board the plane for Tirana, Albania.
Thank the Lord, this flight was a mere two-hour flight and we made it to Tirana
around midnight.
Praise
God that our luggage arrived as it should (because it rarely ever does). We
were at the Stephen Center, attempting to sleep within the hour. I stress “attempting
to sleep” as we were excited to finally arrive in Albania, and to our “internal
clocks” it seemed to be around 8:00pm.
The
Stephen Center is run by the ministry we partner with for our work in Albania
and Kosova. The founders, Chris and Laura Dakas, have been missionaries to the
Balkans for over fifteen years now.
Saturday,
we awoke, had breakfast and then began to arrange for our transportation to
Prishtina, Kosova. We changed money from US to Euro, bought plane tickets, and
spent some time brushing up on the language. After breakfast on Sunday, we were
on our way once again.
Pastor
Skender met us at the airport in Prishtina and had just an hour to the town of
Gjakova. We spent a precious four days with Skender and his family. We made
this trip to check on the progress of our school with the gypsy children in
Colony Gjakova (a romantic name given to a bunch of run-down buildings along
the city dump).
After
checking the bookkeeping, school attendance records and such, we had to begin
the more difficult work. Our school has been under attack from a radical
Islamist group that has rooted itself in the Colony.
Our
school director has been under constant threat from this group for continuing
our Christian school in the community.
They
have threatened to beat him if he continues to come, and they have already
placed glass on the road to pop the tires of the bicycle he rides to school
each day. However, with the strength of the Lord, he has persevered in teaching
these children.
Skender
and I scheduled a meeting with the new leader of this gypsy community, but he
did not show up. We met with the manager of the building we use for our school.
He is still very supportive of our program and gave us some strategies to gain
more political strength in the Colony. We know however that we “do not wrestle
against flesh and blood” and we continue to pray that the Lord will be
victorious in our effort to help these children.
During
our time on Kosova we had a chance to visit with a few local families,
participate in a few English classes (sharing some testimonies) and, most of
all, bring encouragement to Skender and Blendi (our school director).
Our
time seemed so fast in Gjakova and once again we were back on a plane to
Tirana. Gabe and I had a chance to do some writing and study for another couple
of days. It’s always difficult keeping up with the rest of our mission work
while traveling. So, with limited internet and phone communication, we did our
best to respond to people back home and to prepare for our upcoming trip to
Haiti.
I
can’t even begin to express how excited I was the day Tanya and Tia were to
join us. Gabe and I borrowed one of the vans from the guest house. We arrived
at the airport around 11:30am. They were to arrive around 1:30pm. I tend to be
“insanely” early to things. It’s probably all the overseas experiences of
flooding, vehicle problems, road blocks, etc.
Well,
1:30 came and the plane landed. Gabe and I waited for each and every passenger
to exit, for what became a nerve wracking hour and – no Tanya and no Tia!
Now,
I kicked into overdrive, knowing that they were most likely stuck somewhere in
Italy. We had no way to reach each other.
I
checked in at the airline desk of Alitalia, where the attendant spoke very few
words in English. I was able to discern that there had been a major delay
leaving New York (almost three hours) and that they had missed their connection
in Rome, Italy to come to Albania.
The
plan was for them to arrive in Rome, then be sent on another plane to Milan,
and finally to arrive in Albania just before midnight. Gabe and I prayed, and
then we went back to have lunch together at the Stephen Center. I must say that
I was very disappointed and quite concerned for how Tanya and Tia were doing. I
returned to the airport around 4:00pm and buckled down for the long wait.
Thankfully,
they did arrive on the midnight flight and once again, to my delight, their
luggage made it! I was so happy not only to see them, but to hear that their
day had gone well. The Lord gave them peace as they traveled, and they knew
people had been praying.
We
spent a day together recouping from all the travel and catching up on the
affairs back home. Gabe had not been feeling well for about three or four days
by this time, so he needed a lot of extra sleep.
Sunday
morning, we took the seven-hour trip from Tirana to Saranda. The drive included
a breathtaking ride over some of the mountains in southern Albania. We arrived
about a half-hour before the evening church service started, so we were able to
attend.
I
shared a few words of encouragement with the congregation.
After
the church service, we were able to have a meeting with the church leaders to
discuss our plans for the week. We laid out a schedule of Bible studies,
children’s classes, film presentations, and our clothing distribution for our
school children. We unloaded the van and went to bed.
Finally,
some of the real fun began as Monday we started our work in the gypsy village
of Chuka. The local church in Saranda, which itself is still in the early
stages of growth, began an outreach to this small community about four years
ago. A young teenage girl from the church was the first to preach the Gospel to
these impoverished and outcast people.
Now,
one of the ladies from the church goes to this village every week and holds
church with these people. Two years ago, during our first visit to this
community, we put on some dramas with some of the teens from the Saranda
church. We were honored to lead one of the first gypsy men to the Lord during
this event.
Monday,
we heard testimonies from some of the children about their walk with the Lord
and how God had changed the ways their families dealt with each other. One boy,
Jorgo, told how, four years earlier, when the “church people” first came, they
all thought it was a game. After some time, he realized that this Jesus they
were speaking of was real. He became a “follower of Christ” and is quick to
share his faith with others.
Before
distributing the clothing to our school children, we showed the first part of
the “Jesus Film for Children.” The battery power on my laptop limited the
amount of time I could show the movie, so it had to be broken into two parts
for them. You could tell that the children (and the parents) were very
thoughtful after what they had seen.
We
returned on Tuesday to meet with a group of mothers from the Chuka community to
get some new ideas for our school. As we came down the road we were greeted by
the children jumping up and down and screaming with excitement. Any shyness
from the first day had disappeared. After having the meeting (with all the
children looking in the windows) we were able to invite everyone in to show the
second half of the movie.
The
children and mothers gathered around my laptop hanging on every word and every
image that rolled across the screen. They saw the death and resurrection of
Jesus come to life with new meaning and understanding. They listened as a group
of young people in the film invited them to start a personal relationship with
Jesus as their Lord.
As
soon as the film finished, I moved to the front with our translator Diti.
Together we asked if there was anyone that wanted to start their walk with the
Lord Jesus. Immediately, one the boys jumped up and came to the front. This was
the same boy I had talked to about the Lord on our last trip, and, at that time,
he did not feel ready. His name is Kristo.
After
a moment, with Kristo at the front alone, I asked if there were any others. A
woman came forward, the wife of the gypsy man we had led to the Lord two years
earlier. I had Diti and one of the other church leaders (Bedro) pray for these
two new disciples.
If
nothing else was accomplished on this mission trip, we can say with confidence
that we came for Kristo and this gypsy woman. To what extent will God move upon
our hearts to travel from one place to another for the sole purpose of reaching
one lost soul? We say this, but do we believe it?
Was
it worth the thousands of dollars we had to raise, the days of travel, the loss
of income from work, the sickness, and the uncomfortable conditions around us
for the sake of the eternal destiny of these two individuals?
What
if it was just Kristo? Would God really have the whole purpose of our trip be
about reaching Kristo? I believe He would. I believe that God would move heaven
and earth to reach any one of us. As a matter of fact, I believe that He would
have sent His Son Jesus to die upon the cross if it were just for Kristo.
“What
do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, will
he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that
wandered off?
And
if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than
about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your father in
heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.”
Matthew
18:12-14
Think of what Jesus left
behind to come on his “mission trip” to earth.
“Do
nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider
others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to his own
interest, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same
as that of Christ Jesus;
Who,
being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be
grasped, but made
himself
nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And
being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to
death – even death on a cross!”
Philippians
2:3-8
I
want to take this opportunity to share a few things with you about the
importance of short-term mission trips. Tanya and I have now led over 70 teams
overseas with more than 2000 people. We have probably heard every excuse for
people not to come on short- term mission trips. I want to deal with just a few
of these “reasons,” as well as share a myriad of benefits we have seen from
these experiences.
The
first thing is what I spent time sharing above. We all know the “Great
Commission” from Matthew 28:19-20, to go into all the world and make disciples.
Yet, we find it within our capacity to reason this command away as it pertains
to us personally. We may say, “Yes, some of us are called to go into ‘all the
world’, but I am called to stay,” or we may not feel qualified. We could also
say, “There are lost people all around us in our own country that need to be
reached.”
I
will answer the second question by asking a one; “When was the last time that
you shared the Gospel with a lost person from your community?” Some of you may
be able to look at times you have shared during the past few days, while others
may just have to look at me sheepishly and answer, “Well, I guess I haven’t got
around to it here, either.”
In
answer to the first, I am not going to say that everyone is called to the
“foreign mission field.” However, it seems odd to me that only a few Christians
feel called to go abroad, covering vast amounts of territory, while at home I
attend a church with hundreds of believers together in one place. Are there
that many “called” to stay and so few “called” to go? Or are there not enough
of us earnestly seeking God as to His will for our lives?
In
Saranda, Albania, there was a missionary woman for many, many years by herself.
She led many to the Lord. The church is still young. She was called by the Lord
to move on and there is no one yet at a point to pastor this church. The number
of Christians in this community is so small it probably does not reach 1%.
One
of the benefits to short-term missions is to make Christians aware of the needs
in the Body of Christ around the world. These trips instill in many a passion
for long-term missions. I know this sounds scary – it is! It is scary to humbly
come before the Lord and tell Him that you will go wherever He asks, because He
may ask you to pick up, leave your home and go somewhere. But, there is no
better place than for you to find the center of God’s will for your life. Can
you imagine standing before the throne of God and finding out that you missed His
plan for your life?
Even
if the Lord does call you to stay at home, our experience has shown us that
those who come on short-term mission trips are more likely to evangelize in
their own communities.
Another
popular reason not to go on trips is that the money spent on a mission trip
could be better used meeting the needs of the people in that country. There are
a number of problems with this one:
1)
Most
people with this philosophy don’t send in to missions what a trip would have
cost them. We don’t receive too many $1500 “in lieu of our mission trip”
donations. I won’t say this never happens. In most cases when we have received
this type of donation, it is from someone who has been on a trip. However, we
have found that people that have come on mission trips with us, or have heard
directly from someone that has come, typically become the largest donors. They
have seen things with their own eyes and their heart is broken for the people
of that land.
2)
There
can also be arrogance to this statement, in thinking that a mission trip is
just about what “we” have to bring to “them”. This is one of the biggest
misunderstandings for those that have never been on one of these trips. Our
brothers and sisters overseas have a great number of things that they teach us.
Our relationship with some of these individuals challenges us and continues to
increase our faith and obedience to the Lord.
3)
What
we have to offer with the gifts the Lord has given us goes well beyond the
financial. We should not elevate the dollar above the spiritual or even the
emotional. Our brothers and sisters overseas long to be connected with the body
of Christ. Our visits bring them encouragement to persevere through difficult
times. What is money going to do for the teenagers we work with in Kosova, some
of which get beat by their parents for believing in Christ?
To Recap: What is the
importance of Short Term Mission Trips?
1)
They
open the believer’s world view and perspective and they allow for a more
knowledgeable and earnest seeking of the Lord’s will in regards to missions.
2)
They
allow the “visitor” to truly become a spokesperson for the people of this
country. They will have seen with their eyes and touched with their hands.
3)
These
trips instill a passion for the lost in the foreign and domestic field.
4)
These
trips take the believer away from the busyness of everyday life and allow them
to experience God in a deeper way.
5)
There
is intensive practical training in evangelism and discipleship.
6)
An
opportunity is provided to learn from believers in other countries.
7)
These
trips strengthen the faith of the individuals participating.
8)
They
provide opportunities to give of one’s finances and talents in a very personal
way.
9)
We
are able to help with large projects with our visiting teams such as the
construction of schools, churches, homes, wells, and orphanages. Many times,
our teams become a mobilizing force that gets the entire community involved in
these projects.
10) You may be a part of bringing someone
like Kristo to Jesus.
I received a letter once
from a Pastor in Alabama. In it, he made this comment to me:
“Scott,
I love sending my people with you on mission trips because they always come
back as better Christians.”
We
certainly cannot promise to make everyone that comes on a mission trip with us
into a “better Christian,” but we promise that you will be challenged in all
aspects of your life as a follower of Christ. Our prayer is that all Christians
will come away from a short-term mission trip seeing themselves as missionaries
wherever they are.
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