How to Humble Yourself...Go on a Missions Trip

God has provided me with the opportunity to go on three missions trips since coming to Crossroads a little over six years ago.  The first was a trip to Alaska to help fix up a church camp.  I didn't know what to expect but quickly realized that I was with a great group of folks who got a lot of work done.  One night we were working late and didn't realize it was 1 o'clock in the morning.  We thought it might be a good idea to quit for the day since breakfast was being served at 7.  It was a great first rip to help prepare me for the next two.

The next trip was a trip to Haiti with 15 doctors from Geisinger Medical Center.  We went about 2 1/2 months after the earthquake hit.  I was extremely humbled and in awe of the destruction before the aircraft landed in Port-au-Prince.  What we saw from the air was just beyond comprehension.  The total experience cannot be put in a few words in an article or blog such as this.  I remembered seeing the video and pictures in the media but until I smelled it, felt it and met some of the people who endured it, it was just another news story.  That all changed when we went through the airport and travelled throughout the city and countryside.  The Haitians that these dedicated doctors treated had little or next to nothing but hey are survivors.

One incident that sticks in my mind was when we were in a village on a mountain near the highest point on the island.  A 12 year old girl carried her three year old cousin up the mountain for miles to be seen by the doctors at the clinic.  I was assigned to patient assessment and taking vital signs when she arrived.  The child was unresponsive and extremely lethargic.  He was in this condition for days.  He had no fluid intake and was extremely dehydrated.  A group of the doctors tried to start an IV on him but could not because he was too dehydrated and they could not get a vein.  He also became a little responsive because of all the needle sticks and would not be still.  Dr. Still sat with him for hours feeding him Pedialyte with a syringe.  Suddenly he urinated, which he hadn't done in days.  His 12 year old cousin was embarrassed and kept apologizing not realizing that this was a good thing.  After a few hours this young boy went from certain death to running down the mountain to go home.  I still cry knowing that many children have probably died because they didn't get the treatment that this boy did.  I came home a changed person thanking God for the life that he blessed me with and the ability to help others.

My latest trip was to Joplin, Missouri.  Again, the destruction and devastation is beyond words.  I really have to sit and search my soul to imagine what I would do if I were in the situation that those folks were put in.  Would I question why God would do this to me?  Would I feel sorry for myself?  Just how would I handle it?  To be quite honest, I really don't know how I would handle it but I do know that God's hand was definitely in Joplin that day.  Some of the stories that we heard were, without a shadow of a doubt, God centered.  Many of the survivors are here today because of God.  After seeing the devastation I really don't know why more people were not injured or killed.  Even in this horrific event God was there protecting people....His children. 

So....if you want to humble yourself and help others in a special way, go on a missions trip.  You will not regret it.  These three trips were better than any vacation that I ever went on (although I did miss my wife).  It has opened my eyes to see the world in a different way and there are places around the world that are worse than where I was.  I can't imagine what's happening in Africa and some other areas.  And if you can't go on a trip, financial help is a good alternative but  going is the ultimate humbling experience.