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A reminder to serve those in need

Last week 24 youth and four leaders embarked on a mission’s trip to Vancouver to serve in soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and various organizations in the downtown eastside.

Last week 24 youth and four leaders embarked on a mission’s trip to Vancouver to serve in soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and various organizations in the downtown eastside. This area is known as one of the most dangerous areas in the world, and its reputation held strong as we partnered with existing organizations to serve the homeless, the hungry, the drug addicts and the lost. We advocated for the homeless by painting pictures of what we saw as we sat amongst the devastation. One organization in the downtown east side is hoping to auction off the pictures to raise money and awareness for the homeless. We distributed over 1,000 pairs of socks and many bags of clothes. The demand for socks was overwhelming and we handed out all of the socks to a desperate crowd in less than 10 minutes. We partnered with two street churches by leading the services and helping to hand out food at the end of the service.

There were many other projects that we were involved with, but in spite of all the good we were doing I found that I was struggling to justify the value of short term mission’s trips. I have debated with myself on this issue many times, and truly I have seen the value of these trips and others through the changed lives of youth - their perspectives shift as they realize that they are no different than the homeless - only a few bad decisions apart. They also realize that they can be doing so much more to make an impact in their world and their communities. These youth arrive back home with an urgency to serve locally, but still I question the value of short term mission’s trips; which made this particular trip especially valuable as I had one discussion with a leader from a group called Lifeteams. As I shared my mental dilemma he pointed me to a passage of Scripture that speaks powerfully to this concept. I found the following verses in Psalm 82:3-5: “Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.” These verses resonate with me as I reflect on what we witnessed last week. I have been asking whether it is worth it to do short-term mission’s trips, when I should be considering our responsibility to care for the fatherless, feed the hungry and defend the weak. We should go to those who are hurting - to those who are in need - because when we do, we are obeying the will of our Heavenly Father.

Consider these verses in Matthew 25: “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me (Matthew 25:34-40).’”

Just as our students on this trip come home aware of the needs in their community and the desire to serve, we also must consider how we can serve those around us who are in need. Remember, it is in caring for those around us that we are truly caring for our King.