Ever thought of a family mission trip? While there are many things to consider, the benefits of such an experience may make it tremendously worthwhile. Earlier this year father and son, Bruce and Hayden Smith from Bray Park, joined a team to the Solomons and I asked Hayden to pen a few words about his experience. Here is what he wrote.
"When I went to the Solomon islands Bethesda mission trip I didn’t think that I would get to do much of the building, but when we started we were being taught how to do lots of things like roofing, concreting, brick laying, frame working, cladding and building a heap of things.
I would encourage parents of teenaged children to let their kids go on a mission trip because this was one of the best experiences of my life. I learnt so much, met some of the locals in the Solomon Islands and saw so many different things. If you send your child they will come back refreshed and will have lots to say and teach you about. We also had lots of fun snorkelling and swimming in the beautiful ocean over there, the ocean is clear and wonderfully warm.
There are not many rules in the Solomon islands so when we were driving we were standing on the back of cars and trucks, when I was over there I went fishing overnight and caught 3 fish it was lots of fun but it started to rain and we were under a tarp for 4 hours.
After we had done all the work in the afternoon we would go and play soccer with the locals and have lots of fun we taught them a couple of new games like clap ball and doge ball. One of the locals gave me a necklace to say good bye to me and I really liked that. The food over there was pretty good and we had the locals cook us a feast that was lovely then after they performed a music for us.
I loved this mission trip and I would go again if I have the chance.
Hayden Smith aged 14"
As parents we aim to provide experiences for our children that will help them grow into people who serve and please the Lord. A mission trip ticks many boxes in it's potential to be a wonderful formative experience. I'm sure Hayden and his father are much richer for the trip.
Have you gone on a similar trip? I'd love to hear about it, especially how it impacted your children and relationship as a family.
