September 25^th, 2015

Why would a group of thirty young people come 533 miles from Columbia MO to Grand Rapids MI to spend a week of their summer vacation working hard to help people they don't even know?

I asked them. Here's what they said.

Mike:  (sitting in our front hallway scraping paint from the floor) The powerful will of God overcame all the obstacles to let me be part of this awesome work--scraping paint from the floor, helping kids with math and… (dodging as another mission team member swings a bag of gently used clothing too close to him) getting my head banged with a bag. (Big grin.)

Jake: It’s just something we are supposed to do like going to church or praying. It’s a responsibility that just happens to feel good. (Jake was on the planning committee after 3 previous mission trips. A high school rising senior, Jake helped to discern which one of several groups met the criteria to be selected for this trip.)

When we asked the whole group, assembled for dinner the last day of their adventure, here’s what we heard.

• Helping other people is a great feeling.
• Being surrounded by friends while helping others together is the greatest feeling….
• Helping others in their time of need brings more meaning to my own life.
• Helping others helps us to grow together as a group.
• This kind of service gives me a chance to be a Christian in deed, not just in name.
• We are strengthening our relationship through shared service.
• I like being able to give 100% of myself.
• This allows me to be humble and walk with God.
• It is rejuvenating to work with my hands and stretch my muscles, knowing that someone is getting good from my work.
• It is gratifying to see the work that we have accomplished.
• I love the spiritual connection from giving of myself.
• I am able to bring this mindset of giving home, and make it more a part of my everyday life.

Are mission trips important? I’ll say they are. They are important to the volunteers, to the organization and the community where they volunteer, and to the people to whom the volunteers return home. These are growing times that can have a life-long impact.

Where did you go and what did you do this year? To plan a stay at UCOM, just email or call us. Lots of information is on our website at UCOMgr.org. From the menu bar at the top choose “Get Involved”, and from the drop-down menu, choose “Mission Groups”.

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