July is just around the corner, which means now is the time to sign up to join me in Ethiopia! You can find all the details about the trip here. Without further ado, here are some reasons you should and should not sign up for a mission trip.

3 Reasons You Should Not Go on a Mission Trip:

1. To Be a Hero

We are not saviors. We are broken people chasing after God’s heart. On every trip I’ve been on, I have gone home with so much more than I could ever offer. We are no better than the people we visit, and we are not there to rescue anyone. We are there to love.

2. To Get a Cute Profile Picture

Totally speaking to myself here  it is easy to get hung up on taking pictures of everything, but you miss so much behind the lens. We don’t go to be a tourist. Don’t get me wrong, pictures can be great! But they should never be our priority, and they should always be taken with respect.

3. To take a vacation

Mission work is not glamours. You may be sleeping with some creeping bugs in your room. You will get dirty and smelly. You may be taking cold showers. You may be asked to do something that is hard or gross. We don’t go to relax on the beach, but to serve!

3 Reasons You Should Go on a Mission Trip:

1. To Find Your Passion

We’re not all called to pack up and move across the world, but let’s agree that we are all called to do something. In a week or two, you may not change someone’s life, but it’s the stuff that happens when you come home that changes lives. People come home from a trip and adopt, start their own ministry, stepp out to lead mission trips, sponsor a child. A mission trip can be the spark that helps you find your passion.

2. To Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

Going on a mission trip can seem scary. You’ll meet people who may or may not speak the same language, stay in accommodations that may not be the most luxurious, travel to a place that you’ve only known from news stories, maybe trust God to provide what seems like a scary amount of money. But guess what happens when you step out of your comfort zone…you grow!

3. To Build Lasting Relationships

You will absolutely fall in love with people you meet in country, but I am convinced that nothing brings you close to someone faster than serving on a mission team together. Serving together, crying together, laughing together…there is something so beautiful about it.

So what are you waiting for? Go and be love with me in Ethiopia this summer!