We hauled rubble, we painted, we built, we (ok, I) held some babies, we cleaned, we scraped, we cut down trees, and we sweated a lot. Basically, we did everything you'd expect to do on a one week short-term international mission trip.

Keep in mind that my job and my life pretty much revolve around short-term international mission trips these days, and I'm constantly asking myself the question, "Is this trip going to actually be helpful in the country we are going to and is it really going to demonstrate the greatness of God's love to the people we meet? Or is there some other purpose or agenda behind going on this trip?"

Anyone who is thinking about serving on a short-term mission trip would do well to ask themselves that question too. People have all kinds of reasons for wanting to serve on mission trips - on a daily basis I hear comments like, "I want to be stretched outside of my comfort zone" to "I've never been out of the U.S. and I want to do something good instead of just going on an international vacation" to "I want to tell the entire country about Jesus in the week that I'm there."

Most reasons for wanting to serve are well-intentioned, if sometimes unrealistic, and most people come home from a short-term international mission trip feeling like they received more than they ultimately gave. But our brief time in Haiti reminded me of just how much these trips can and do make an eternal impact on those we meet and care for during a one week period of time.

Our team was blessed to spend some time one afternoon with three young Haitian men and women. They shared lunch with us and told us more about their stories and life in Haiti. We asked a lot of questions and then asked them if they had any questions for us about America or anything.

The first question one of the young women asked really struck a chord with us - she said, "Why have you come here to help us? We Haitians don't even help each other." This is a young woman who is involved in a church and is a follower of Jesus, and yet the idea of traveling to another country to help someone was very foreign to her and even though there are teams of Americans constantly coming in and out of Haiti on a daily basis, the question was still being asked.

"Why are you here?"

Several people from our team answered her.

"We're here because we care about you and more importantly, God cares about you."

"We're here because God asks us to serve one another the way Jesus serves us."

"We're here because your country is hurting and we want to help."

It was a sweet moment to be part of, and a moment that I think made God smile. It was a good reminder for me of how unusual and different the idea of service, especially cross-cultural service, really is to our friends outside of North America. God can and does sometimes (ok, often) use messy and unrealistic people to demonstrate His very big love for those in need.

I'm not great with numbers, so if you were hoping that I could produce charts and pie graphs with hard data on number of lives touched vs. dollars spent on all of Lifetree's short-term trips in 2011 (both trip costs and airfare), you've come to the wrong blog.  But I did have the honor to serve alongside 39 people this year in two different countries on three different short-term international mission trips and there isn't a pie graph big enough to measure the fruit that God continues to pour out both in their lives here back home in the U.S. and the lives of those touched in the countries they visited.

Here are some numbers that I do know about that have come from the 39 people I served alongside:

• 10% of those who served now financially sponsor a child in an impoverished country on a monthly basis.  Another 10% have committed to financially supporting a Peruvian ministry.  That's 20% of those serving who came back home and committed to a monthly financial sacrificial gift! 
• 1 person came home from her first international short-term mission trip and shared the gospel with all four of her neighbors for the first time.
• 2 people have decided to serve on even longer mission trips in 2012.  Several others have already committed to serving on another one week trip in 2012.
• 2,000 children received Spanish New Testaments on our recent trip to the Dominican Republic.  It's estimated that at least five people will read each Bible given to the children (parents, grandparents, siblings, etc. of those who received a Bible.)  That's 10,000 Dominican people having the opportunity to read God's good news to them because 29 people cared enough to take Bibles to them!
• 1 person single-handedly provided enough clothing, school supplies and toys to get dozens and dozens of Shipibo children through the year.  Since coming home, she's begun looking for ways to help those she works with and lives near above and beyond what she used to do.
• 30 Shipibo people now have a church they can worship in.  A U.S. church that sent someone down to help build the Shipibo church has decided to supply this new Shipibo church with 50 Bibles. 
• A family of 5 in Pucallpa, Peru now have a house that doesn't leak when it rains and their little girl now has a bed to sleep in.

I haven't even touched on the stories from the other 83 people who served on mission trips with Lifetree Adventures this year! 

Thinking about all of this makes me want to do something crazy - I'm going to try and make some numbers happen. 

Let's assume it cost approximately $2,000 for each of these 39 people to serve on a short-term mission trip with Lifetree Adventures in 2011.  That's $78,000 invested in missions.  If we add up the numbers from the list above, let's say that there are approximately 11,000 people, both abroad and back home in the U.S., whose lives have been touched in some way by these 39 people going to serve on a short-term mission trip.  If we divide 78,000 by 11,000, the true "cost" of touching this many lives breaks down to just $7.10/person whose life was touched.  If you divide the $2,000 each person invested in a mission trip by $7.10, you end up with 281.69.  Let's round that up to 282.  For one person who invested $2,000 and one week of his or her life into a mission trip to another country, 282 lives were directly touched in some way.  1 person + $2,000 = 282 lives touched.

Like I said, I'm not a numbers person, but that seems like a pretty good return on investment to me.

All of these numbers remind me of a quote I read not too long ago in a book called Maximum Impact Short-Term Mission by Roger Peterson, Gordon Aeschliman, and R. Wayne Sneed.  This book has been helpful to me in better understanding the role of short-term mission trips in the grand scheme of Jesus' Great Commission.  Look for a future blog to come on more that was gleaned from this book.  In the meantime, I'll leave you with this quote and a few numbers to kick around as you ponder whether $2,000 - $2,500 is too much to invest in Kingdom work in the upcoming year:

"Short-term mission is currently the one mission structure available to the entire church worldwide which, if properly put into practice, could actually release all of God's real people into the world He so loves.  Can you imagine the world's 800 million Great Commission Christians set loose across the globe over the course of the next five years?  It breaks down to roughly 13 million people a month at a time.  If logistically that's too many, then consider just a tenth - 1.3 million short-termers every month.  Could it be done?  It'd be messy, it'd be confusing, and there'd by millions of problems (literally).  But could it be done?  The massive problems it would create still pale in comparison to problems four to five billion people have who aren't yet walking in the full reality of God's love and His redemptive plan for all of creation."

Some of our friends are hungry to go deeper in their faith, and the next step for them is to take their first mission trip. Others are eager to use the skills God has given them to help a community in need. Some friends are bringing their children or teenagers with them and can't wait to walk beside their kids as they experience their first cross-cultural experience and see firsthand just how differently people in other countries live. Mostly, our friends are just sensing God saying quietly to their hearts, "It's time."

It's time to think about others first. It's time to give back because much has been given to them. It's time to leap fully into the unknown trusting that God will catch them. It's time to give one week away for eternal purposes. It's time to look at the world with the same eyes of love that God sees it with. It's time.

What is He saying to you today? Have you even had time today to sit quietly with Him and listen for His voice? Will you take a few minutes even now and pray for our friends who have heard Him say to them that it's time? Will you pray for their time in Peru and the Dominican Republic this fall and ask Him to help us bring all of the final details together? And while you are praying for our friends, if you hear Him say to you, "It's time," will you come too?

My mind wanders to the people themselves. What are they thinking today? What do they know about what's happening in the world around them? What personal issues are they struggling with today? Like us, they face joys and pains. Losses of babies. Births of new babies. Losses of a precious relative. Challenges with interpersonal relationships. But they face something most of us don't. Because of a mere lack of education, they face simple things that can kill them or their children in a heartbeat. Too many just don't know about easy steps to water purification and their babies die. Too many aren't familiar with basic nutrition to prevent disease in their toddlers and elderly. Too many aren't aware of standard health and hygiene practices that can prevent infection and the spread of disease.

You might be wondering if I still want to escape to Peru? Yes I do. I know that Lifetree mission trips to Peru provide the fragile link that they have to life-saving information. I know that Lifetree mission trips to Peru get things done when it comes to repairing flooded housing there. I know that Lifetree mission trips to Peru help to provide them with clean safe drinking water. So yes, I still dream of escaping to Peru. And I'm hoping you do too.

Our next Haiti Christian trip is full of meaningful work.

Having been in the short term Christian missions business for the past 15 years now, I've seen a lot of trip planning companies come and go. I've also seen a lot of missionaries come and go, some the worse for the wear. I've watched as well-intentioned missions leaders get overwhelmed and forget to follow-up on the smallest, but most important details. I've watched happy, excited lay-people leave the country ready to make a difference for someone in need and then come back home in need themselves. I've seen the most common mistakes trip planners make year after year and I want to save you from making those yourself. If you're planning an upcoming short term Christian missions trip yourself, here are my favorite reminders for you…

Tip One: Shop Daily and for Several Months in Advance for the Best Possible Airfares You Can Find

Purchasing airfare is one of your biggest expenses. Make sure to link up with the very best bargain airfare websites and shop them religiously, so to speak. I've seen many pastors or trip leaders wait and wait to purchase, hoping the rates would go down and instead they shoot up dramatically in just one day. That said, don't buy too early or you could end up paying 50% more than the seat next to you.

Caution: If you're not careful, airfares to the same location can vary by as much as $500 per ticket. If you miss that perfect buying window, your costs could go up by as much as $7500 if you're taking 15 people with you.

Tip Two: Have a Realistic Plan For What You Can Accomplish While There

I've watched sadly as others' trips have become mired in minutia. Leaders recruit well. Leaders get their people 2000 miles to their location. The missionaries are ready to respond and then… they have no supplies to build the home they'd planned. Or another sad scenario reveals itself - everybody is excited to build a building and then they find to their disappointment that it took twice as long as estimated. People must return home - the project only half finished - with a sense of great discouragement and failure foremost in their minds.

My best advice? Do your homework. Choose the right project that will fit your group's size and time constraints. Account for the language barriers and make sure you have someone on the ground that can speak both languages and act as a translator. Make sure you know how to get the funds there ahead of time so your contact person can have the supplies ready when you hit the ground. (As an aside, make sure you know how to wire the money - they don't usually take credit cards.)

Caution: If you haven't done your homework, your trip could fall apart when it comes to the service project piece. Book that translator weeks in advance. Wire your money, order your supplies, have the right tools and safety equipment on hand and don't forget that all important first aid kit for on the job injuries.

Tip Three: Prepare for Service Project Constraints

We've all heard it before - expect the unexpected. Never is that more true than on a short term Christian missions trip. And as the trip leader, it falls on your shoulders to have a back-up plan for unexpected challenges. What would you do if half of your team fell ill for several days with food poisoning? Who would get the service project done? You need a plan for that. What if a large storm blows in and the work site is flooded for days? What if you don't know the in's and out's of the zoning code and get shut down by local authorities? All of these things have happened before.

Caution: Poor planning can cause you to fail. The best thing you can do is research, research, research. Understand the local weather so you're prepared. Try to arrange for resources to help, should some of your participants fall ill. Educate yourself about the local zoning and health codes so you know what to do and what not to do. When you put in the time, your trip results will show it!

Tip Four: Know Your In-Country Transportation Systems

All too often, trip leaders don't know enough about the transportation challenges they'll face upon arrival. We all do it. We think, "We'll just grab a shuttle for everybody when we get off the plane." Little did we know the airport is not much of an airport at all and there are only two tiny, dilapidated taxis available for the entire region. Now, trip-goers are forced to wait in hot, sweaty, dirty conditions while expensive taxis shuttle them three by three to the lodging location 75 miles away. Not only is it an extreme inconvenience and delay for you and your team, but it ends up costing an arm and a leg.

Caution: You could be over-budget by as much as 40% if your transportation is not planned in advance. Some shuttle and taxi drivers look for situations like these and prey on those who appear to have money and no advance plans. Use extreme caution and make sure they use the most direct routes to your lodging and worksites. Get their prices in advance. Remember, transportation in the country you're serving is key to serving at all.

Tip Five: Food Can Make or Break You

Although we all know the importance of food, frequently short term mission trip leaders get distracted with the most urgent items like fundraising, marketing, airfare and lodging. They find themselves looking to the local people to help with food once the team arrives on the ground. I've seen it happen time and again. Your team needs you to look after its nutritional needs in order to serve well. Get to know the local cuisine and determine if it is suitable for your teams' palate. Learn about customs revolving around mealtimes to avoid offending a member of another culture. Be sure you've planned for balanced and proper nutrition at each meal so your team can remain strong and serve efficiently.

Caution: Food and water borne diseases affect many mission trip volunteers, if little or no planning was done for each meal. Be sure to monitor hygiene and health and safety issues closely during the preparation and storage of your team's food so you can avoid any serious health issues.

Well, friends, I've gotta' sign off for now. More to come on short term Christian missions trips later…