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Many think of mission trips as something for adults, but these potentially influential experiences are becoming more available to the adolescent crowd. Younger people, like teens, are getting a taste of what it's like to have next to nothing while doing their share in lending a hand to those who need it most. These trips are specially designed to give teenagers a look at how fortunate they are and how much they, even as youths, can do to help. They provide help to the various organizations that work diligently every day to accommodate the sick, the poor and the needy.
Teens from the youth program at the Hempfield United Methodist Church recently returned from a much-anticipated mission trip to the hustle and bustle of New York City. Each person had to raise more than $300 for the trip, but participants say it was a small price to pay compared to all the wonderful experiences they got and the many in need which they helped so greatly.
"Sure, it was a lot of work, but it was easily worth it just to see the looks on those people's faces," said Marissa Greiner, a 15-year-old from Columbia. "It's awesome to go on these trips because you get a taste of the city, get closer to your friends and, most importantly, reach out to a community that needs it. Whether you're working in a soup kitchen, caring for local children, or simply performing a random act of kindness, you can easily see how much these people appreciate it."
As much fun as these trips provide, they also involve the teens stepping out of their comfort zones and serving in ways they may not be used to. The students are encouraged to talk to the city folks just as they would talk to somebody at home.
"This mission trip I learned that everyone has a story and not to judge people by how they appear," said Madeline Troutman, another 15-year-old from Lancaster. "When we saw the homeless people, it made me more open to share my own personal stories with them and to hear theirs. We were encouraged to step out of our comfort zone and talk to people we normally wouldn't, and to spread the word of God through our actions."
"These trips are a way to connect with people, both those from our church and those that we have never met before," said Greg Troutman, an 18-year-old from Lancaster who has been on previous mission trips. "It's a good way to help others and it taught us how to build relationships with people and other lessons we will take with us for the rest of our lives."
Even though mission trips of course are a lot of fun, they are not meant to be a vacation or a way to get away from parents for a week. They are meant to be a much bigger learning experience, one that a teen really couldn't get anywhere else.
"In the end, the big hope is simply that students, and adults too, learn that life is simply not all about you," said Jonathan Hobbs, director of youth and young adult ministries at HUMC. "My hope for students on these trips is that they can somehow latch onto that truth and own it."
The weeklong trips usually provide six days of work and one day for sightseeing.
Being a part of a youth group and going on mission trips can help when teens get older and start to become the adults they will one day be, Hobbs said.
"Being active in a church group can affect a student in so many ways," said Hobbs. "The hope is that a youth ministry comes alongside teenagers when they are starting to decide who they are. They are no longer interested in their parents' faith, or their parents' life for that matter, but they want to define their own life, their own faith."
Hobbs' goal is many young people will someday get the chance to experience mission trips and will be able to improve their lives by helping others.
"All this talk about love and hope and caring isn't just talk, it's real. It's really real and that a better world is possible. And we're the solution," said Hobbs. The mission experience can introduce teens to ideas broader than themselves, according to Hobbs.
"Loving your enemy, and giving, and loving without conditions, that woman aren't objects, that racism is wrong in any form, that life is a beautiful sacred thing, and that grace and mercy are not just ideas, but realities," Hobbs said.
Youth mission trips can be a way for teens to experience a new place while both serving people in need and understanding their own opportunities.
E-mail: freestyle@lnpnews.com
