It was a bright, sunny day as I stood sorting through boxes of clothes, stuffed animals, school supplies, and bedding. As I moved from box to box, I found clothes that looked like I had taken a step back in time, stained and worn stuffed animals, used bedding, and outdated and broken furniture. Based on this scenario, you might think that I was sorting through items donated at a Goodwill or Salvation Army, but unfortunately, I was sorting through items donated by church members for people in El Salvador. While many individuals donated new and beautiful gifts, other items looked as if people had sent their trash and unwanted goods. This problematic moment propelled my rethinking what mission and service to others should mean.
In 2018, my family began living part-time in Opico, El Salvador. My parents worked to help at-risk children in gang-controlled areas get sponsorships to come to the Seventh-day Adventist boarding school in El Salvador. While I had participated in many temporary mission trips, living and establishing relationships with the people in El Salvador altered my family's and my understanding of what mission should be. As I interacted with people coming from the United States to serve in El Salvador, I began to notice some very problematic tendencies. First, when Americans came, they believed that they were coming to an extremely underdeveloped and impoverished country that would even appreciate their trash and outdated items. Second, the Americans became obsessed with taking pictures of the El Salvadorians (specifically the children) because they looked different and lived differently. Third, when the Americans came, everything had to be done their way because that was the right way. Based on these three problematic tendencies, I recognized the creation of a "them" and "us" dichotomy.
Instead of viewing one another as brothers and sisters, the El Salvadorians were sometimes only seen as a group of people who needed help. Then the Americans became the "saviors" who could provide that help. However, while I believe most of the American missionaries had good intentions, their view of the El Salvadorians as people who need saving, whether religiously or economically, created separation and hierarchy between the two groups. Therefore, I began to wonder if missions and being a missionary could be the wrong approach. What if we came as a friend instead of being a missionary?
Within friendship, a rich relationship exists, a mutual give and take, and the treatment of one another as ourselves. Instead of viewing missions as a "them" and "us" relationship, viewing missions as a friendship creates a "we." In this "we," people recognize one another as equals and value getting to know and understand one another’s culture. As these understandings between one another grow out of the friendship, you no longer see them as separate from you, but rather part of you. You want to give your best when you have a friend, not your trash and unwanted items. Even if you had a friend in need, you would never provide them with something old and worn because that would hurt their feelings and pride. When we choose to recognize every human being as a friend, the barriers of separation are broken down.
When we first arrived in El Salvador, as a white, American, middle-class family, we had many preconceived ideas about El Salvador. We had ideas for all the things that would need to be changed in order to get the school going again. However, we quickly came to realize that we had been wrong. We were not there to save anyone or change them, but rather to be friends and provide encouragement. Some of my parents’ best friends are friends they have made in El Salvador, with whom they love to go out to eat and take trips. Now, when we go to El Salvador, we never feel like we are going on a mission trip, but rather going to see friends, in a beautiful country, where we both receive a blessing from being with one another.
Therefore, while I don't believe that missions or service must be eradicated, I simply suggest that we reconsider what it means to serve and be a missionary. Are we promoting actions and thoughts that create separation between "us" and "them"? Or, are we choosing to build friendships where “we” give our best to one another?
Not everyone needs saving, no one needs your trash, but everyone needs a friend.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.