There's quite the heated debate going in the world of missions right now. Do short term missionaries (STM) cause more harm than good? Books like "When Helping Hurts" and others weigh in on the matter. Some argue that without the history and relationships, STMs can sometimes unwittingly undermine the work of the long term missionaries (LTM), not to mention the effort and time it takes an LTM to host STMs. But this is not a blog post on the pros and cons of STMs. (FYI, I am pro STM when it's done right.)
From a purely selfish standpoint, this IS a blog on the perks of having a short term missionary. Lori came in late January and stayed with me for 4 months: four months of hilarity, late nights, an unending pile of data entry, popcorn, lots (and I mean LOTS) of Coke Zero, and so much more.
Part of any STM's stay should be a chance to see the beauty of the country they are visiting. We can't just lambast them with the poverty and difficulties of the culture, even if that's where we spend 99.9% of our time. An LTM should take the opportunity to take the STM to see some positive aspects that are present in each and every culture and country.
Here's how you make sure your STM has fun:
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| You go jumping off a waterfall (Bunga Falls) |
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| You go canoeing up a river through a jungle for an hour and a half... |
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| ...to see another waterfall (Pagsanjan Falls) |
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| You see the Guiness Book of World Records qualifying spin of the world's largest top |
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| You take them to see the world's smallest active volcano. Incidentally, it's an island within a lake, within a volcano, within a lake, within a (extinct) volcano, with an ocean |
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| If you have a staff team-building day, bring the STM with! |
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| And every STM needs a debriefing retreat...and if you're in a country consisting of 7,100+ islands, the beach is a must |
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| If parasailing costs the same as a meal at TGI Fridays, then by all means... (first for me, too!) |
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| And view as many gorgeous sunsets as possible while at said beach debriefing retreat |
For the record, we DID do work...and lots of it. Lori single-handedly entered and scanned over 3,500 medical records, accounting for over 7,000 deliveries at our birthing home. That's nothing to sneeze at! Data entry, folks. Tedious, mind-numbing, cross-eye causing data entry.
Thanks so much for all your hard work, Lori! We miss you already. And thanks for giving me the excuse to put down the stethoscope and fetal doppler to get out and see some of the gorgeous country I live in.
I do not wish to suggest that the book, When Helping Hurts, has no wisdom for us to consider, but I find it far more problematic on several levels than anyone else I know who has read it. I sense that it winds up excusing us from sacrificial giving rather than listening to Jesus' own words and living by them.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to find someone on the web who takes somekind of issue with that book. It seems almost universally accepted without any serious critique that I have found.
In fact it is possible, though certainly not established as fact, that St. Paul might have stayed in Thessalonica as little at 15 or 16 days when he established the first church there. He could have been there significantly longer, but it almost certainly was a short stay. His letter to Galatians suggests that he only stopped to work among them when his ailments did not permit him to go on. Therefore, he might have stayed there long enough to heal and then moved on.
I am certain that he did not stay anywhere for a life time. Nor did he tell other missionaries, as far as we know, that they should stay somewhere a long time, give guidelines for length of stay, nor criticize anyone for staying too short a time.
I am not aware of any Bible story of anyone giving money that harmed the recipiants. In fact, Jesus told at least one rich man to sell everything, give it to the poor and come follow...! That would not be acceptable behavior for the WHH authors.
I know I sound like a crank, picking on this book. But since its publication, I have found my ministry under fire, and I keep answering these critics with scripture all to no seeming avail. Disheartening.
So, glad to see your post. I hope you find your mission empowered by Jesus. That is all that really matters.
Many blessings...
Very interesting comment to read. Thanks for your thoughts.
DeleteI actually have not read WHH, but it is a book I want to read because I've heard so much about it.
One thought I have for you: Jesus came as a pauper. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, yet He chose not flood the poor with the free gift of material possessions, but rather the free gift of eternal life. When He did lavish upon the poor, it was with love.
I have seen instances when helping does, in fact, hurt (as I'm sure you have). Most gifts of material possessions are temporary band-aids. Unless we can figure out a way to give them gifts that can have longer value, like a sewing machine with which they can sustain themselves, hand-outs may actually cause damage. I'm reminded of a short termer who saw a little boy walking to and from school every day. He thought it would be nice to give the boy a bicycle to help him shorten his commute. Without asking the long term missionary, he was given a brand new bike. Of course the little boy was thrilled and the short term missionary left with lots of warm fuzzies. They weren't around to see the boy the following week with tears running down his black and blue cheeks...his bicycle had been stolen and he was beaten in the process. This is a true story.
I am a huge fan of short term missions when it is done well and respecting the local church and those who have been around to learn the nuances of the culture. I am not a fan of STM where the "Gospel bomb" is dropped but there is no one to stay behind to disciple and follow up. Yes, "thousands of people were saved!" is nice to hear, but who is staying behind to disciple mature believers?
Thanks for your comment and I'm sorry you feel like your ministry is under attack. Keep staying true to Jesus and living His Word. Hold Him as your plumbline, stay the course, and you cannot be defeated.
Pami
Work hard play hard, we miss you here Pami, glad you are happy and answering your calling. :)
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