Post Trip Elements

Last weekend, I took some seniors from SPACE to attend a post trip presentation by a GCC medical missions team that went to Haiti a few weeks ago. Presenting stories from your mission experiences is difficult, whether from a stage or talking to a friend/supporter one-on-one. And most missionaries don't do such a great job at it, me included. [For example, ask me about reading my nonblog post-Hungary report.] We are always trying to get better at this.

I loved bringing some of our students to this and hearing their feedback when it was over. That's one advantage SPACE has - it's a working lab with young people who aren't afraid to try something new.

Here are some elements the team identified with regard to post-mission presentations:
#1 - It's important for every person to get a chance to talk about their experience, if they want to. [Contextual comment - this will require some interesting planning since we may have around 60-80 people spread across five different teams. One question - have each team do one presentation or do them all together?]
#2 - Lots of video and images are great. Shared worship time is also great.
#3 - Our stories are meant to call others to action.
#4 - We have to concentrate on taking out any insider language in what we say about our experiences. It's too easy to make others feel left out.
#5 - We like the idea of an informal open house, with people milling from team room to team room, maybe with the idea of a 'mini-passport' to go from place to place. More intimate for teams sharing, can include cultural objects like food, etc.

For the next generation of missionaries, passionate and dynamic environments are integral for telling their stories.

Photo: Those are my feet on the screen. Cameroon team leaders LB and NLind talk on stage, August 2006.