My friend’s church would send a group of their high-school kids every year to a mission in Haiti for 10 days over spring-break.
I called it the: “hug a black child and send back photos tour”
I always wondered, why can’t the local Haitian members nail sheet metal to a roof? Or clean up the trash around the compound - which was the normal “work” the kids engaged in for a week or so.
I certainly don’t doubt these kids’ (or really, their parents’) generosity or charity - but to me, it also reinforces leftist white guilt, and woke-progressive-globalist ways of thinking for these suburban American kids.
Yes, I’m a cynical bastard - flame away.
Spot on.
Why should they? There’s plenty of well-meaning American kids to do it for them and gain virtue-signaling points. I recall there was an African leader who was telling the West to quit sending them food and clothes because relying on charity was killing their economy. Nobody was willing to do anything on their own.
I don't believe they work.
The Lord fed the 5000 and all had their fill. You know He fed them well and with good food. They came back looking for more and He was basically saying that is not how this works. You need His Body and Blood to be saved.
“it also reinforces leftist white guilt, and woke-progressive-globalist ways of thinking for these suburban American kids.
Yes, I’m a cynical bastard - flame away.”
Good post. You nailed it.
“US missionaries trapped in Haiti say they are worried nobody is coming to rescue them”
My friend’s church would send a group of their high-school kids every year to a mission in Haiti for 10 days over spring-break. I called it the: “hug a black child and send back photos tour” I always wondered, why can’t the local Haitian members nail sheet metal to a roof? Or clean up the trash around the compound - which was the normal “work” the kids engaged in for a week or so. I certainly don’t doubt these kids’ (or really, their parents’) generosity or charity - but to me, it also reinforces leftist white guilt, and woke-progressive-globalist ways of thinking for these suburban American kids.
Not all missionaries are the same, for sure, while historically missionaries went where there was no gov. to help them in particular, and usually the latter opposed them, as does the gov. here against traditional evangelicals and any conservative who will not salute the flag of Sodom.
And faithful Christians are not to be looking for the gov to help them, nor teach others do to so, aside from gov. doing their duty to lawfully protect the innocent.
As for missions trips, it can be good for kids to see something a little close to how humanity lived for most of history, and also to see the product of corrupt, non-Christian government and ideology, yet insist on training the locals to do what they can.
Germans and Japanese did that after WWII ended. Now they have the biggest economies in the world.
No flames from me!