I shall be veering from my regular format for the next few weeks.

Why?

I said YES to a short-term mission trip!  Saturday the 12^th I leave for Guatemala.  I will be traveling with another nurse, a dentist, a doctor, and a pastor.  Both this week and next my blog will address 6 ways that mission trips are supposed to change lives.  (gulp)  Okay – I went into this thing with eyes wide open and with no expectations.  But I really think it’s gonna surprise me.  I am writing next week’s blogs THIS week and will have to show Ted how to post these for you to read while I’m gone.  And then, I plan to go over these 6 reasons again when I return – to see how things changed for me.

According to Beth Barnes*, the first way short-term missions change lives is by changing your worldview.  She stated that Americans are “notoriously provincial.”  Hmm.  Alright, I will confess that I’ve heard the word ‘provincial’ before but I was not certain of its meaning.  There were several definitions, but I believe this is the one that fits here:  “not knowing or caring about people and events in other places; having narrow or limited concerns or interests.”

Well I think that is most certainly true, don’t you?  I understand Guatemala is very poor.  I don’t know what life is like in that hot, poor little country.  Why should I care?  I think I may be shocked at the lifestyle.  Now, with it being “Tell me more about SB Mondays” – I really wonder what I may see in Guatemala.  They do not have the medical care available there like we do in the states.  Babies born with spina bifida probably have very little hope down there.  I heard from someone who has gone to Guatemala before that he saw some disturbing sights – crippled people scooting around on small wheeled boards.  Oh my.

I think I will see different people dealing with some of the same tough things we deal with in America, but in different ways.

I don’t know.

But I do know that I believe in the common bonds and love of family – where parents want the best for their children including the best medical care possible.  The best care down there will probably be quite minimal from what we are used to up here.

It’s gonna be a real eye-opener I’m sure.

If you could keep me and my whole team in your prayers for the week we are gone – that would be awesome!

I’ll let you know when I get back if the trip has changed my worldview.

Just Laurel

Acts 10:35 But in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.

*Posted in Short-term Missions by Seth Barnes on 10/19/2010