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A great way to open yourself to the beautiful, broad Earth is to serve on a mission trip abroad. You get to serve others, learn a new culture and see how others around the world live and work. Every time I travel, I learn more about others but also find that I learn about myself. I overcome biases, open my mind to ways that others think, and find myself forever changed, wiser and stronger than when I left home.
Sometimes it can be challenging to find the right opportunity abroad, but Experience Mission has made the whole process much easier. You can search for mission trips by date, region and who is serving (such as a family looking for a mission trip as opposed to a group of young adults.) For example, when I search for opportunities to volunteer for my family this year, I find that there is hurricane clean-up work needed in Puerto Rico and opportunities to serve in Jamaica and the US.
It's important to note that doing a Christian mission trip to Puerto Rico is very different than doing a vacation trip to Puerto Rico. Both can be fun and fulfilling, but in different ways. The primary goal of the mission trip is to serve and evangelize to those you are serving. It means going with a servant's heart, ready to lift, clean, renew or whatever else is needed by others. For example, I remember doing local mission work one time where groups were assigned different tasks. I was asked to dig the garden outside (not my top pick) and others were asked to paint inside (I love painting!) While the child in me wanted to stomp my foot and say I wanted to paint, the serving Christian in me stopped that child's voice and picked up the garden shovel with a smile. Because that moment wasn't about me. It was about serving the elderly woman that was going to live in this house with her freshly painted walls and new garden.
The focus is on those being served rather than ourselves, recognizing them as equal brothers and sisters. It also means getting to meet others and form lasting relationships through the amazing common experience of serving others! I hope you enjoy this resource for giving abroad.
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