When seasons get weird

It's that time of year again: when my least favorite season in Florida has ended.  For anyone living outside the south Florida region, you're probably under the misguided assumption that we have no seasons here, and that is only part true. We don't have YOUR seasons here. Florida seasons, while annually reoccurring, are quite different to those further north (though it seems all bets are off nationwide this year, so maybe no one has actual seasons anymore).  Florida seasons are as follows:

• Summer
• Lovebug season (mainly a pain for keeping your windshield clean of bug goop)
• Why is it STILL summer--it's October!?!?!!
• Snowbird season (like many other animals, this species is migratory and clogs up our traffic and early dinner specials)
• Winter (this can last anywhere from 1-3 days, and will be known by the sight of people in parkas, long pants, and socks under their sandals. Also, social media posts will be all about the fact that it's too cold to go swimming outdoors, even in the heated pools)
• Spring Break Season: where our favorite beaches are packed with tourists who are dumb enough to feed the seagulls
• Pollen Season: ick, yuck, ew. Why is my car yellow now? We don't even have any trees at my house?!?!*
• Hurricane season. (Gas up your generator and keep bottled water on hand. Also, hope none of this year's storm names match yours or jokes/scowls will be thrown your way, possibly for years to come)**
• Lovebug season, part II

*We just finished this.

Also, at least where I am, we add Strawberry season just before Spring Break, for which there is much yumminess and a whole festival.

There is also something else I see a lot of at this point in the year, both locally and far beyond: mission trips. Obviously, I believe I know a little bit about these. I've attended, I've run them, I've designed them, so naturally, I have some knowledge on the subject.  Now, the following is something I feel extremely strongly about, but know that I have not always known this, it's just the result of (possibly excessive) experience that I feel is beneficial to share with others.

One of the reasons I chose to participate in the Young Adult Service Corp was the fact that they, like myself, upheld a certain paradigm of mission work. Mostly, I think, mission tends to fall into one of 2 basic groups.

Group 1

Before: Why do you want to go on a mission trip? "To help others"

What will you be doing on your trip? "Building a _(house/school/church)_" or "Distributing _(food/clothes/medicine/etc.)_"

After: What did you learn on your trip? "I was amazed at how happy they were, even when they had so little." or "It made me so grateful for all the things I have here at home" or "I'm so blessed that I could do something to help"

Within most churches, this is where most of us start when it comes to mission.  This was where I started.  Usually, the personal goal is to complete a certain task to help others. The outcome is gratitude or encountering a different perspective. The reason, when you really boil it down, often is obligation. We do mission trips because it is what the bible tells us we must do. In the USA, I think this is the majority of mission that we do and that we hear about being done.  This was where I started, and, as a starting point, it's not terrible, but if it isn't simply a starting point, things get problematic.

Group 2

Before: Why do you want to go on a mission trip? "I find my faith to be in a state of cognitive dissonance when studying the way of Jesus and contrasting my life and surroundings to the example set in the bible. I believe I need to escape my habits and mindset in order to better understand how God is working in the world, and what my part should be in working toward the goals Jesus taught us to have."

What will you be doing on your trip? "I will be learning. I will seek to understand the differences between my self/ways and those of others. I want to know how they know Christ. I want to understand what they think of me, and I hope they can show me a different perspective of what I am, so that I can become more of what I should be and was created to be."

After: What did you learn on your trip? "I learned, and because of that learning, I am able to deepen my faith, and love others in a more Christlike fashion, both at home and away."

This kind of trip was one I realized while I was in college, and heard echoed back to me by others who gave their life over to mission and service.  The goals and outcomes are far less visible or concrete in terms of earthly value.  They are, however, far less likely to fade away or get lost in the shuffle of life. From a faith perspective, they are far more durable, more difficult, and more compelling. Because the outcomes sought are not of this world, the changes they produce, especially in the long run, often have a far greater impact on this world.

Are there houses built now because of the goal of my first few mission trips? Yeah, and I know that the people who live in them value that. All these years later, however, I can't say that I know those people. I can't say that I am assured that those people know Jesus. I don't  know if there's anything more I could be doing to help them, because I've got no idea what ever happened to them after I left. Having a home matters, but a building should not have mattered more to me than the children of God that live in it. Realizing that was the turning point in my journey of mission.

Buildings, supplies, food, gratitude, and memories are not bad. They are not useless or evil. They are necessary. And they are not enough.

They are not enough to fix the problems humanity faces throughout the world.  They are not sufficient to overcome systemic issues.  They aren't what helps us build the Kingdom of God on earth. 

I'm honestly not sure if I know what IS up to those giant tasks, but I kinda think I have a starting point: connection, compassion, community, Christ. If these things are present, and are held as the priority of mission, then the rest follow easily.  In building compassion, I learn to more easily share what I have. In fostering community, I learn what it means to care for others as I do myself.  When we prioritize the love of Jesus in our missions, those material items of food, shelter, resources, and care are far easier to give from one child of God to another.

So, if you're planning a mission trip, or joining one, or care for someone who is, I encourage you to think on some of this before the trip, to discuss it, to pray about it for at least a season. For however long a season may last in your part of creation.

**Also, Hurricane season has its own part 2, somewhere between Spring Break and Pollen seasons: Hurricane baby shower season: there are tons of parties and diapers bought for all the results of hurricane induced power outage boredom.