Short term missions are controversial, and not without reason. Our generation seems to be infatuated with short-term volunteer trips, most that end up actually leaving more harm than good. Humanitarian aid has, somehow, almost become “trendy,” and with that, in my opinion, has lost its authenticity.
When I started this trip, seven months ago, I seriously doubted the validity and relevance of my presence in each location. I’d struggled to identify purpose in the work we were given; questioning what worth I could be in each country. I wondered what difference I could truly bring, in just one month? Sadly, it took me the first two and a half months of the trip to unveil the significant purpose of our seemingly trivial presence in the communities we were serving.
In a month, I can see, learn, experience, and share.
I’d like to share what I learned, all those months ago, in relation to our most recent month in Nsoko, Swaziland-
It’s home to the highest HIV/AIDS and TB rates in the world.
The life expectancy is just 48 years old.
And, because of this, many children are orphaned; left to be raised in child-headed households.
What can I do in one month?
Distended bellies and exposed ribs clothe each body, young and old.
Exposed, non healing sores and rotting teeth erode the beauty of the people.
Minor, preventable, and treatable birth defects freckle the community.
What can I do in one month?
Livestock and crops are all nearly dead from the most severe drought on the land in nearly 100 years.
Red dust swirls in storms around the open plains.
Each day, the people walk miles to pump water to wheel back to their homesteads.
What can I do in one month?
Many students walk three to seven kilometers to attend overpriced, inadequate schools.
Others, hike for hours, in the morning dusk, over the rough terrain of a mountain, to cross into South Africa for free education.
Teachers are tired and without recourses.
What can I do in one month?
Clothes are tattered and filthy, hanging off the frail bodies they try, in vain, to cover.
Underwear are not considered a necessity.
Shoes are too small, too big, or worn clear through the sole.
What can I do in one month?
Families of seven live together inside one room huts.
Running water and electricity are uncommon.
Scorpions, livestock, and poisonous snakes roam freely in and out of curtains that act as the home’s’ front entries.
What can I do in one month?
In this community, lay sleeping artists, engineers, professeurs, doctors, and musicians.
Uninspired, undiscovered, and unloved.
Never will they know their potential, their worth.
But, what can I do in one month?
Honestly, in a month, I can’t change much.
But I can have the faith and humility to accept that, as much as I wish I did, I didn’t come halfway around the world to cure disease, feed the starving, end the drought, fight the corruption, provide clothing, rebuild homes, or discover the next Steve Jobs… I came to bring the love, and peace, of Christ to a place that desperately needs it.
I came to let babies fall asleep on my chest, providing the first sound sleep they’ve had in weeks.
I came to lay a brick path for hours on end so dust won’t be tracked into the already less than steril local clinic.
I came to help carry tubs of water for the tired women who prepare food for the children of the community each day.
I came to make hand-made curriculum for a one room pre-school run by a local mother.
I came to run, every morning, with giggling second graders trailing behind me, the only time they’ll ever have a chaperoned three mile walk to school.
I came to knock on the neighbor’s door to surprise her with a pasta dish; a refreshing change from the daily rice and beans.
I came to do overnight prayer shifts with my team; praying prayers that I never would have known to pray, from halfway across the world…
In a month, I can trust that Yahweh is fierce enough to use, even the smallest exchanges, to do the greatest things.
In a month, I can put my arrogance aside, and choose to place value in the effects of these acts of simplicity.
I might not save the world in a month, or even this community, but maybe, God will use one of these tiny little differences to save one soul, I’ll never even know about. And to me, that’s enough reason, for all eleven months.
