What to know if you want to go

By Christie M. Wills

Maybe the aching, deep-set eyes of children in a faraway country have become haunting. Or maybe a small, quiet voice has been beckoning you to experience Christ in a new place. You sense that God is calling you to undertake a mission trip abroad, perhaps with your parish or the diocesan Habitat for Humanity Lenten Build in Mexico in early 2008. Now what?

Several parishes in the diocese have had ongoing relationships with communities in developing countries that provide yearly opportunities to travel.
One of these diocesan churches-- Ted Jordan’s parish, Trinity, Staunton-- has made five trips to Honduras in four years. Jordan said that the Diocese of Honduras, part of Province Nine and the fastest growing diocese in the Episcopal Church, has emphasized building churches in communities that need and want them. The churches are then typically used seven days a week for worship and as community centers.
Each year about 15 parishioners make the trip to several work sites near the ancient ruins of Copan Ruinas. They take medical supplies but the emphasis of the trip is on building projects, even though most of the participants are construction novices.
Measured risk is part of the experience.
“You are going to a third world country. There are armed guards at banks, you can’t drink the water. Everyone who goes the first time is tense but now we know our way around. We’re cautious but not uptight,” said Jordan.
Despite the risks, Jordan said the trips are a joy because the Honduran people are extremely nice and appreciative. Jordan said most who take the trips get hooked on the experience and seek to return in the future.
Nina Salmon of St. John’s, Lynchburg, said that their mission trips have been designed for both youth and adults. “I took my first mission trip when I was 14. They became life-shaping events for me, and I wanted my children to have those opportunities too,” she said.
“We know there are many neighborhoods near us where we could go do meaningful work but we go abroad for global awareness. It’s key for kids to see that we are like others. We move a lot of dirt on these trips but we look for places to have human interaction, like the immersion that happens when they play soccer with local children,” said Salmon.
The diocesan youth visited Costa Rica in 2003 as one of their last five mission trips. It cost about $1500 per person but they raised money for expenses and supplies with a silent auction at Council. The youth had a policy of alternating mission trips within and outside the country every other year but because of the overwhelming devastation, they decided to return to the Gulf Coast this summer to help with disaster recovery. They expect to plan more overseas trips for future years.
Both Salmon and Jordan say the cost of their trips hovers around $1000 per participant for travel and accommodations. The largest part of the cost is the airfare. While most participants pay their own costs, St. John’s does supplement their missioners because it views them as parish ambassadors.
The Rev. Gary Scheidt’s church, Trinity Ecumenical, Moneta, supported his recent two-week trip to Tanzania to visit schools that the parish has raised money to construct. His trip was coordinated by Godparents for Tanzania which was started by a Lutheran pastor in Salem. About 20 families have signed up to be “scholarship godparents” of children in Tanzania and the parish raised $6000 for construction materials last year through an alternative Christmas tree project.

It is possible to join a group abroad even if your parish does not have a mission trip program. Medical and construction skills are always put to good use in developing countries, as are Spanish speaking skills in Central America. But increasingly mission trips are designed for folks with general skills.
According to diocesan Episcopal Relief and Development coordinator Nick Moga of Emmanuel, Covington, ERD is completing a redesign of their mission trip programs for 2008 and will take the emphasis off of construction projects. The new focus will be on “service learning,” such as working with women raising chickens so their families may become self-sufficient.
Moga, who has been on three mission trips to Belize, Honduras and El Salvador, said that ERD will concentrate on Central and South American destinations because of their proximity and will aim to keep the trips at about $1000 per person. Moga said that ERD plans to resume planning trips by late 2007.
In addition, the diocese is putting together a team to participate in one week of a Habitat for Humanity building blitz in Mexico in Lent 2008. Gay Eure, Christ Church, Roanoke, will be coordinating the diocesan team. She expects to raise about $12,000 to assist with travel costs and to purchase construction materials for the homes. As is the Habitat model, volunteers will work alongside locals who provide “sweat equity” in the building of their new homes.
In the end, “it’s not about what we do while we’re gone, it’s about how we’re changed when we return,” said Salmon. //

Contact ERD coordinator Nick Moga at nickmoga@aol.com or Ted Jordan at midland@ntelos.net to find out more about overseas mission trips for parishes or individuals. To find out more about the diocesan 2008 Lenten Build in Mexico, contact Gay Eure at gweure@aol.com.