Last week I had the opportunity to go on my first mission trip EVER. It was a life-altering experience. Along with 15 others, I spent last week in Guatemala partnered with Casas Por Cristo where we built a house in three days for a local family. (To learn more about the work of Casas Por Cristo, please check out their website at https://casasporcristo.org/). Sometimes it can be easy to simply think missions work is simply something we do for others – a way to give, serve, and impact the world. But the deeper truth is—missions changes us, too. It doesn’t just build houses, feed families, or bring the Gospel to distant places. It teaches us wisdom that can’t be learned in a classroom or downloaded from a podcast – or even read in a blog post.
Here are a few of the nuggets of wisdom I gained through missions work and a different kind of education:
1. The Wisdom of Listening/Caring
Missions will break your assumptions. It will expose the limits of your understanding. Missions work will open your eyes to the struggles and concerns of others and cause you to care more. You learn that listening is more powerful than sharing sometimes, and that empathy often opens the door to truer self awareness and wisdom.
2. The Wisdom of Dependence
When resources are tight, when language is a barrier, when plans fall apart—that’s when you learn to depend on God, not yourself. Missions strips away the illusion of control. It teaches you to trust the One who called you there in the first place.
3. The Wisdom of Cultural Humility
There is no substitute for the wisdom that comes from being the “outsider.” You quickly realize how much you don’t know, and how vital it is to respect the variety of cultures different from your own. The wise missionary doesn’t try to replicate home abroad—they honor what’s already there and honor the culture in which you are residing.
4. The Wisdom of Suffering
Missions will take you into places of deep pain and outside of your comfort zone —others’ and your own. And in those sacred spaces, God reveals Himself in ways you wouldn’t trade for anything. You learn that His presence is often clearest in the valley, not just the victory. You learn that God is truly present everywhere and he cares for all of humanity, not just Americans!
Missions Is a Mirror
More than anything, missions work holds up a mirror. It reveals your pride, your fears, your need for control. And in that mirror, wisdom is born—not because you’re perfect, but because you’re being refined. I found this to be true last week as I struggled with my own pride, fears, and the need for control – the painstaking efforts I go through in my daily life to limit my pain and suffering, control the situation, and deal with my selfishness (pride) and fears.
This is the wisdom that only experience gives:
- The kind that grows in dirt, sweat, and tears.
- The kind that comes from helping a child or sharing a meal with someone who has nothing and everything all at once.
- The kind that reshapes your understanding of the Gospel—not just as good news for others, but as life-giving truth for your own soul.
Final Thought: Wisdom as a Byproduct of Faithfulness
You don’t go on a mission trip to become wise. But if you show up with humility, serve with love, and stay close to God—wisdom will come. It is a byproduct of the faithfulness of serving others just as Christ served us on the cross.
Reflection Questions:
- What has missions work taught you about yourself?
- Where have you seen God grow your wisdom through the experience of serving others?
- How can you stay teachable, even after the mission trip ends?
- Maybe you can’t go on an international missions trip, but where can you serve others in your community through local missions organizations?
