That really must have been amazing meeting the girl your family sponsored, narnian_at_heart!

Alas, I have not yet been on any mission trips myself, but this spring I am going on a missions/school trip to Mexico with my online school for six weeks. It shall be awesome. I am very excited.

1. How many trips have you been on?
One, during July of 2006.

2. Where to?
Ome, Japan (north-western suburbs of Tokyo)

3. For how long?
A three-week mission trip but we were in Japan for just over two weeks.

4. Favorite memory from it?
We worked alone side Grace Community Church in the Ome district, near Kabe Station. The church was very welcoming - a mixture of Japanese people, North American people and some Mexican people. One of my favourite moments was when our Australian group went to the local park to talk to people, offer small gifts and sing. That was fun and the children there loved us. I also enjoyed our visits to various schools, where we would share something of our Australian culture, talk about Christ and sing some songs with actions (there were translators when necessary).

I also love how close we grew as a team. We got to know each other well.
On our day off, some of us went to see more natural sites, while others of us went to see some Tokyo sites. I visited the Studio Ghibli animation museum. It was amazing! I loved the creativity, warmth and homliness of the whole thing - it was very Hayao Miyazaki-ish. I was like a kid in a candy store, except instead of candy there were animation cels and books of inspiration, concept art etc. That was one of my high-lights of the trip.

We handed out little koala toys to children wherever we went, even some adults! They loved them. It was interesting to see how much Japanese people love anything Australian.

Also, there were several families in the congregation with Japanese wives (the pastor does too). One family I got to know well had two Japanese/American children. A girl and a boy. Both kids were great but the 4-year-old girl was super-cute and I got along very well with her and her little brother. That warmed my heart.

5. Advice about such trips?
Make sure you have a clear idea of what you're doing. I don't mean, that you shouldn't let God do what he wants with you. I mean, expect that there may be some disappointments and communication mishaps. We were working with a church and the people were lovely but the pastor was away much of the time and didn't seem to have time for us (that was a real shame and didn't give us a good impression of him, especially since he seemed to communicate to us, that he'd be helping us work alongside his Japanese/American congregation). Also, there seemed to be a much stronger American influence than we expected and desired. We expected more of a Japanese presence.

We found that there were far more Japanese women than than men in their church, it's the same with other society, but with them, it's moreso. Still, the church elders who left in charge were amazing. Some of our team joined in with the churches worship group. Some shared their testemonies, others helped with Sunday School (now, that was an experience).

If you're not used to a hugely dense country, it may be a shock. I come from a city which is about 1.5 million, so to go to Tokyo, where there are 30 million people, and that's just in the CBD, it can get overwhelming. Learn up on the do's and do not's of Japanese culture - you don't want to people with your gaijin ways.

If you're tall, like me and have big feet, maybe buy a pair of inside shoes, for inside use. Trust me, it's no fun when you have size 13 in Men's shoes and they only offer size 6 in Men's (if you're lucky).

If you're going to Japan in Summer, bring warm weather clothing. It gets incredibly humid. Also, don't forget insect repellant and sunscreen. Be prepared to pay more for things then back home (most things are rather expensive in Japan).

Get used to eating less red and white meat, it's not cheap. Fish and rice products are main-stays. If you don't enjoy them, you'll have to pay extra and travel further to find something.

Be concious of those around you and try to not be overwhelmed by strangeness of everything. Pray readily and get to know your team-mates well. You'll be spending quite some time with them.

I love reading about all your experiences!

narnian_at_heart, it's really cool you got to meet your sponsored child. That's a wish of mine for someday (our Compassion gal, who we have been sponsoring for 12 years, lives in Ethiopia).

1. How many trips have you been on?
One, waaaay back in the summer of 1978 with Sudan Interior Mission, still known as "S.I.M.", but in the 80s when a few key mission orgs combined forces, the name changed to "Serving In Mission". When I was 13 I began working there, volunteering the first couple of summers. Then at 15 I was hired and worked, mainly as a busy front desk receptionist, for the next 7 summers, through high school and university. (To show how much things have changed, the pay I received over the course of one summer was enough to basically put me through each university year! Unheard of now.)

At the front desk, aside from the myriad of interesting work, phone calls, and visitors there, I worked for the Administrative Assistant of the mission, which opened my eyes further to both the missionaries and the countries in which they served. After a few summers of this, I finally decided I needed to see first-hand the work overseas. Summer student missionaries were called "Short-termers", and we had such a fun group from all over North America. First meeting at Orientation in New Jersey for four intensive days, then flying overseas all together, and making our respective ways to various countries brings back such great memories. We all had a common goal: as young people, seeing how God was working around the world and being able to participate a bit in this.

2. Where to?
3. For how long?
Nigeria, West Africa for two months (June 4th through August 3rd). Funny how I even remember the specific dates. The first few weeks were in Jos, mainly helping with backyard Bible clubs for children, as well as getting a real feel of the culture, city, and SIM's outreach in that area. We were then all 'doled' out to various Nigerian villages for 2-3 weeks, where we could experience even more of a taste of African life, then back to Jos for another stint of helping in various tasks, including another backyard Bible club week in a village just outside town, where we also frequently went hiking to a large hill overlooking the Jos area. This spot was also known for having 4-6 feet high anthills, which we saw periodically along the trail or road. Amazing!

And the driving ... oh man! Don't even talk to me about drivers in Nigeria! Craaaaaaaaazy! Plus with horns honking every millisecond, it constantly sounded like a dissonant orchestra blaring its distorted tune.

4. Favorite memory from it?
That's a toughie. I have so many excellent memories. Hmmm. Well, certainly a favourite would, in general, be experiencing another culture for those 9 weeks—in the city (Jos) and surrounding towns, but what stands out most in my heart and mind was living for two weeks at a 'bush station' (Zambuk—in the middle of nowhere), which only had mud huts, unsanitary running water which also ran mosquito larvae, mosquito nets, 6-8" cockroaches, dirt 'roads', donkeys braying, marriage propositions to a white girl as common as sneezing (one was from the Chief ), and the most vibrant, happy, friendly, sincere people one could imagine. I described the experience then in my journal as stepping out on to a very realistic Hollywood movie set, for even though I knew this was reality, it was so far removed from what I was used to in our western world that it seemed surreal. Here is a photo of me holding a dear Nigerian baby just outside the village of Zambuk. (Note my Canadian flag pin that I was encouraged to wear everywhere when traveling.)

In Zambuk I helped the one missionary couple there with the girls' school. These couple of weeks are embedded in my memory as such a highlight of my time in Nigeria. (This is also where I learned I couldn't stand caraway seeds. )

Another wonderful memory was the aliveness of the Nigerian churches. Services would go for 3-plus hours and no one would be antsy to get home. Much singing, swaying (Nigerians love to 'sway' to music), reading of Scripture, and praise all around was the order of the day. Our western churches could learn much. In fact, when I came home, the mediocrity of our western gatherings was a stark and sad contrast to the vibrancy of African Christians, who, I might add, have much less than we do.

Running various backyard Bible clubs over my weeks in Jos with other Short-term members was a great lesson in team work and sharing the gospel with young, eager hearts, both white and Nigerian (the latter were mostly the children of gov't officials and native mission folk, so understood English quite well ... which was good, because although I learned a few words/phrases in 'Hausa', one of the prime Nigerian dialects, I certainly was nowhere near biligual ).

5. Advice about such trips?
Read up on where you're going: do a lot of research into the country and culture. Respect, respect, respect in your time there. So many traditions and customs are totally different from our home countries. Try and take as much in as you can, and get talking to the nationals as often as possible, for they are the country.

Practice bartering! It's such fun and we became rather proficient at it after awhile.

If it is needed, make sure you get the proper malaria medication. I ended up contracting malaria while there (quite the experience) because my medication was not strong enough.

My own question: 6. How did God use the trip to change you?
That trip changed my life!
One: it gave me a far deeper appreciation for overseas missions. And bonding with the missionary families brought forth long and interesting talks, prayer shared, many laughs, and fun times together. They loved having us there as much as we loved being there!

Two:experiencing quite a bit of another culture was fantastic, albeit challenging at times, yet always memorable.

Three: it was a maturing time. Traveling thousands of miles away from one's family and friends has the habit of doing that.

**Four:** my perspective! What really changed me was the simplicity and beauty of the nationals' lives, especially in Zambuk, where they only had bare necessities, yet were so utterly content. Even though there was a culture shock for me in going to Nigeria, the main culture shock was coming home: I was overwhelmed with all we had here, and the over-done emphasis on materialism, money, pleasure, and accumulating things. What a contrast to the culture of Zambuk, where the emphasis was on relationships and character ... not superficiality. I actually went into a circumstantial depression (along with contracting shingles) shortly after I came home. Our supposedly advanced world over here made me literally sick because of its off-kilter focus on possessions, the big buck, and the inordinate attention to outward appearances of both people and our stuff ('keeping up with the Joneses'-type thing). The Nigerians' values were so much deeper than ours, centering more on the things that really matter in life, rather than the emptiness of superficial pursuits. This included most non-Christians and Christians, alike, though (understandably) Christians even moreso. And they appreciated everything so much, taking nothing for granted ... probably because they had so little. How I learned from them! And that is a key reason I am so attracted to hobbits, methinks ... the simple, uncomplicated, non-pretentious life.

Yeah, I'm rather passionate about this now but I thank God that He, through and because of that missions trip, has enabled my heart and mind to rather view life more in the filter of the light of eternity.

So, yeah, that was a huge and key lesson for me: one that has stuck with me ever since ... 35 years later!

Another note: even though I think missions trips are an excellent way to spend one's time, let's not forget that our main mission field is where we live right now.

I went to Kentucky with my youth group this summer with SWAP. Since I used to live in Guatemala, I guess that counts as a long term missions trip. Both were a good experience for me, but Guatemala influenced my life obviously since I spent most of my childhood there.

1. How many trips have you been on?
Two.

2. Where to?
Mid-Western China.

3. What did you do there?
We would smuggle about 150 pounds of tracks into Beijing or Shaghai. And then we would take a 30 hour train ride to Xining(The capital of Quinghai province). Then we would go from there to small towns and put the tracks on doorsteps late at night, and jump on a bus next morning to the next town before the cops find the tracks.

4. How long
3 weeks

6. Advice about such trips?
Don't get caught

3. What did you do there?
We would smuggle about 150 pounds of tracks into Beijing or Shaghai. And then we would take a 30 hour train ride to Xining(The capital of Quinghai province). Then we would go from there to small towns and put the tracks on doorsteps late at night, and jump on a bus next morning to the next town before the cops find the tracks.

6. Advice about such trips?
Don't get caught

Wow! Did anyone on your trip ever get caught?

Speaking of living dangerously.

When I was in Peru, we did a evangelical drama set to a music/explanation track in Spanish. Well, we noticed that some cops were watching the drama so afterward, this other girl and I went up to the cops and asked if they wanted to talk about the drama and stuff and they were like no so we left. We later found out that we could have gotten shot by walking up to their car!

In Guatemala, we were shopping in a market and a couple of guys started hollering at the girl in our group (we were going about in groups of three) who was blonde. Some of the guys on our team (the entire group of 600 people were divided into teams of about 35) heard them and came running and were like "Where are they?!" and we were like, "Right over there!" so the guys went running off to tell them to leave us alone and to intimidate them. One of the guys was 6'4" (much taller than the Guatemalan guys), super husky and strong looking, and black with an afro so he could very easily intimidate people.

This one could take some time.

1. How many trips have you been on?
I have completely lost count.

2. Where to?
Juarez, Mexico

3. For how long?[b/]
First trip was March 1990 for one week during Spring Break with International Family Missions. Made 3-4 trips every year until July 1999. Then I moved to the El Paso area and did 12-18 trips a year as host until the drug cartel war kicked up almost 3 years ago.