As the Director and owner of Mission Travel I have had the opportunity to expose my children to the Third World. Well really it is now known as the Majority World which refers to the FACT that 80% of the world’s population lives on less than $10 a day of which 50% of world (3billion) lives on less than $2.50/day. This is not something we are going to really experience in most parts of Australia.
So why spend money on taking your kids to a poverty-stricken part of the world?
Based on my own experiences and those of a large number of clients and friends who have done the same, there is no guarantee that your children will have some sort of revelation and hand over their Nintendo DS to be donated to the "poor people". In fact it is best to keep your expectations really low (and let God take care of this!). It's really whether you as a parent have a desire to expose them. I do joke that out of my 3 children one of them will surely end up in the mission field, but who knows!
Some of the comments I have had from families who have been on mission include:
Since returning, a lot of Josh's youth leaders have commented on the change in him since coming back from Africa. They say he's matured greatly and is a lot more responsible and keen to help the leaders in any way he can. He is quite serious about his faith. He confidently shared with his Sunday morning group and youth group about his trip and put together a little slide show.
Natalie's school teacher (who is not a Christian) was blown away by what we did in Cape Town (we let her read the e-mails so she'd know what Natalie had experienced). She also has seen a great change in Natalie and her enthusiasm to share and talk about all things African as well as generally being more socially active in relation to poverty issues etc. Whenever she has opportunity for public speaking she will always choose a topic which encourages others to think about helping those less fortunate than themselves. She is a good Compassion ambassador!
Another family just last week did an event called Food for Famine. These kids had recently returned from a month in Africa and when confronted by the horrendous footage of the famine on TV, young Lachie said "Mum, we've got to DO SOMETHING!". So they ran a massive fundraising dinner with all of the kids (aged 5-13yrs) cooking & serving the dinner to over 130 guests. Brilliant!!
So we move on continuing to offer you our clients an opportunity to expose your family (and your friends), to immerse yourself in another culture, another class setting, another world. A place where you can say 'How can I help?', a place where you can hold the hand of a person who is struggling and lift them up in prayer to our Heavenly Father. A place where your child can skip or kick a soccer ball with a child whose mother has just died from AIDS.
We have no idea what you are going to "get out of it". All we do is make family mission available and let God lead the way for it's purpose in your life.
So please prayerfully consider joining us on the one of the following child-friendly mission trips we have on offer.
Blessings,
Lisa Scerri
Schoolies Philippines - November 2011
Cape Town Sports Mission - April 2012
Zimbabwe Orphans Mission - April 2012
Vietnam Swim Mission - June 2012 (details TBC)
