The Romance and Reality of Short-Term Missions

Growing up in a very mission-focused church, Pamela Fane says she was interested in missions from a very young age. "When I was 5 years old, I was set up as a pen-pal with another child from a missionary family our church supported. I think I had a bit of a romanticized idea of mission work and the lives that missionaries lead, until I went on my first short-term trip when I was 15. Volunteering at an orphanage in Mexico was not a very romantic experience, but it was the beginning of my more adult view of the world. When you've waited your whole life to do something, you're always afraid you're going to hate it, but it was a fantastic experience and it solidified my desire to do missions."

After getting to know Jeremy Horne, Director of the International Teams Canada ministry Life Change Adventures, Pam helped him organize his yearly short-term trips to Ecuador, going herself for the first time in 2009. Together with a team of Canadian volunteers, they ran a day camp program for sponsored kids at the Lighthouse of Hope Camp in Bastion. She returned in 2010 with her mother to work alongside a small team of nurses and other volunteers to provide health education and assessments to the families living in a remote jungle community along the Onzole River.

Pam's husband Chris, ITCA's Director of Online Services, spent a week in Onzole with Life Change Adventures prior to her last trip there. "It was really cool to arrive in Onzole and be immediately sought out by the family that hosted Chris in their home for dinner. The time Chris spent with them set me up for a truly unique connection with that family. It's great as a couple to share a similar passion to serve God. Having someone participating alongside you is a great gift!"

After five short-term experiences, Pam believes that short-term mission truly changes the lives of both the team and those they are going to serve. "For the team members, it changes your life because you meet people and start building relationships, and you can't ignore the problems they face and how we contribute to those problems. For the people you meet, they see us come from very comfortable, affluent lives and make ourselves vulnerable. The fact that we do that, that we've come to just be with them, is very significant. It's about going and participating in what God's already doing, having that privilege and knowing that we are as much a part of it as they are." 

To learn more about what Life Change Adventures has planned in Ecuador for 2012, or to get involved, visit their website.