Tag Archive - Amextra

Short Term Missions: Coupling Education and Service

July 16, 2008 in Ministry-Theology with 3 Comments

This last March I led a team of 7 of us to Mexico City where we served with two of our partners Amextra and Partners in Hope. This was the second time that I took a team on this trip, and in all of my experiences in mission trips this has stood out as the most impactful for those who went. You can read about my previous post on this type of trip at A Different Kind of Mission Trip.

Here’s a blurb about these two partners that work together:

Partners in Hope

We facilitate transformation through an intense immersion experience in Mexico, called the PiH Seminar. The PiH Seminar includes 5-10 days of living in Mexico City, one of the largest cities in the world, a city, where chaos, poverty and injustice abound. Through the Seminar, participants experience first-hand the lives of people, the work of Christ- centered organizations who serve among the poor, and the hope that God brings through transformation.

Amextra

The Mexican Association for Rural and Urban Transformation, has offered continuous service to marginalized communities in Mexico throughout the last 21 years. We have been present in 11 of 32 states, in 300 different communities. We have accompanied more than 75,000 people in holistic transformation processes, with the support of more than 800 promoters.

There are a couple of unique things that have made this trip different than other ones:

  1. We live in a Quaker hostel in Mexico City.
  2. The trip is designed around seminars.
  3. The trip is part service, part education.
  4. The students are exposed to a variety of views (theological, political, economical, etc.)

I have been on no other mission trip that has been so disorienting in such an amazing way for students. They come back to their homes with a completely different outlook on the world, God, etc.

This is just an example of how trips can be different. We based this trip heavily on education, coupled with service. The goal is that the educational piece will really give great depth to the service, therefore causing a deeper transformation of their thought and practice.

What are the key components of a great, transformational mission trip? Give an example of what you have done?

A Different Kind of Mission Trip

April 2, 2008 in Ministry-Theology with 2 Comments

I have been on a lot of mission trips and I have always learned a lot from them. But one of the nagging questions I have is regarding their effectiveness in encouraging and sustaining long term transformation. A lot of mission trips are about going into a place and performing a service project with little thought to how that project will transform not only those who serve, but how the service can be taken home and help transform the community. It’s not that I think that people don’t think about this issue, but it’s sometimes just easier to go into a place, put up a wall and go home. Almost to where that has become a joke in many circles. You have probably heard the story about the village that knocks down the wall everytime a mission team constructs one and leaves town, therefore allowing the new team to construct a new wall.

Keeping these things in mind, we have been experimenting over the last few years with different kinds of trips that would really challenge our core beliefs, stretch our thinking, and keep us wrestling with the issues when we get home so that we can be passionate about transforming those we serve among.

Continue Reading…

Back in town…

March 30, 2008 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

I just got back in town after 8 amazing days in Mexico City with some college students from UCLA. We served with two of our partenrs, Amextra and Partners in Hope. That was my second trip with these partners and it has continued to be life changing, especially this one. So I will be posting about the trip, my experiences, the partners we serve with, and some of the challenging theological insights from the trip. So stay tuned.

And I just posted a few minutes ago at Leadership Network book blog, so check it out.

Not that you were waiting, but sorry I haven’t had anything new. I don’t like to ever announce via Facebook, my blog, etc. when I will be out of town for an extensive period of time since I have a wife and baby daughter at home. So it probably just looked like I was lazy.

Talk with you soon…