After all these years of involvement with mission trips, we finally had an opportunity to join with a youth group last week. It felt like participating in THE AMAZING RACE! Now, while I confess that I am a fan of some reality TV, I've never seen that particular show, BUT I have tuned in long enough to see people running as if their life depended on it.
The youth from River Glen Presbyterian from Naperville, Illinois seemed intent to take advantage of every moment in Mexico in as many ways as possible! These young people and their leaders joined us at the breakfast table at 6:30AM, hit the construction worksite by 7, reveled in waterfall bathing after lunch, played organized sports with the village children all afternoon, and then participated in 3-5 hours of evangelism services in the evenings. And before, during and after every structured activity, they were embracing, laughing and playing with village children at every opportunity! It's no wonder I was exhausted by the week's activities --- shoot, I'm exhausted just writing about it!
Youth groups definitely bring a level of energy that differs from all the mostly-adult trips that we've experienced, and yet it's important to remember that these kids need time to rest and reflect too. We are especially grateful for the ways in which the youth from River Glen embraced Holly & Maggie as one of their own, and in that way, our family was especially blessed. As facilitators of mission trips, we've learned some important lessons that we hope will guide us in the future and help us be more effective in our new roles with the Hebron Foundation.
We learned some great things from this group and others over this summer. These groups did some really cool things that we hope others consider doing with their groups! As a result, we've developed a list of pre-travel, during travel and post-travel recommendations specifically for youth mission trips and posted it on our website. If you have an interest in youth mission trips, you can check it out at: http://www.millsfamilymission.org/16.html
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