I’m writing from Sumpango, Guatemala, in the middle of a two-week mission trip. A team from our church has left for home now, and I am here for a second week of ministry. We came to show the love of Christ by humbly serving the people here. 

Our team members worked with hoes and machetes, with children in Vacation Bible School, prayed with people in their homes, worshiped with them in church, and enjoyed some authentic Guatemalan food. I think that not only those who came on the trip, but those who supported them, experienced what Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35, NASB). 

Those who had been here before said they found it harder to leave for home than last year. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.” (1 Thessalonians 2:8). 

We wrestled with how to reap lasting value from our experience, and how we might translate it to life back home. Many supported us in prayer and finances, so we knew we wanted to maximize this experience. We realized that there are always people in need of physical help at home too. We realized that children’s ministries at home also need volunteers. We realized that there are people in their homes who are also struggling with sickness, loneliness, grief, and fear, and who also need an encouraging word or visit that we can give. 

If the same needs and opportunities are present here at home, why go to a foreign country? Why spend so much money for this kind of trip? These are fair questions, and questions we wrestle with before committing to a trip. We answer them, if you can, with other questions. How do you place a dollar value on the life-changing impact in the life of a participant? How do you measure in dollars the value of encouragement Christians in a different country receive from such a visit? What would the money given to support the trip be used for if it weren’t given to the trip; would it be used to minster to those in need at home? 

All of this makes me think of how Jesus was well-pleased to impart His life for us, and that we have become dear to Him. He said, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3: 16). 

For those who’ve freely received His forgiveness at such a great cost to Him, it only seems right that we would be willing to generously give to others in His name. 

I tend to think that what God desires is that we would minister to the needs of people here at home, and minister to the needs of those in other countries. Don’t you think we receive more than we give in both cases? 

— Reflections appears regularly on the religion page. The column features a variety of local writers, coordinated through the Monroe Area Clergy Group. Dan Krahenbuhl is pastor of Monroe Bible Church.