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Dan's Initial Thoughts

Dan RandallThe excitement for this Panama trip has bubbled up from a deep down desire to live with and to learn from other cultures, yet I do not know what to expect from this trip. I have sat down with my journal on a few occasions in an attempt to figure out the expectations I have for this trip, and as of yet I haven't discovered much. However, the following thought struck me, and it both reminds me to remain open to the possibility that God can act and excites me to think that God can work change in our lives during this trip. The thought: “God created everything in a week, and the trip to Panama is two weeks.” I want to allow my imagination to remain open to God's possibilities for this team and for this trip – whatever that may mean.

If I have one fear or hesitation about going on a work trip, then it is this: I have seen service trips easily devolve into solely working for the people to whom we go, and I would want to remember that to work with them is important, and ultimately, being with them allows us to share our stories and learn from one another.

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Jane
Posts: 1
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Response to Dan's initial thoughts
Reply #1 on : Thu July 12, 2007, 11:45:07
You are so right about service trips easily dissolving into working for rather than being with people. Several years ago I was on one such trip to Hayesville, NC. The team I was with was assigned to work on a house for a great-grandmother and her 2 preschool great-grandsons. The supplies we needed had not arrived, and the project supervisor spent most of his time at another site. Much of our time was spent just talking with the grandmother and playing with the children. I was the adult leader for the group of teenagers assigned to work there, and initially I got very frustrated because we weren't doing anything. I later learned that the team before us did not like the chldren and had not spent much time with them - they had spent the bulk of their time working. The project director was grateful that our team had spent time with the children.

I'm a parish nurse, and some of our initial training stressed that we are human beings, not human doings. And that often it is more important how we "be with" people rather than what we do for them.

I'm also Will Morrow's mom. Tell him I said hi.

I'm praying for all of you on your mission.

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Emergency Contact Information

If you need to contact a member of the team during the trip, please coordinate communication with Rev. Carl King or Synthia Foskey at the UUMC office: (919) 929-7191.