Just over a year ago, Janelle returned from a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. As another group readjusts to life back in the States, Janelle reflects on what she's learned since she returned, and if the trip made any difference.

Before I left for my first mission trip, I forgot to do one thing: my homework.

And by homework, I mean properly preparing myself for the culture I was about to experience.  Oh I prayed for God to change me before I went, and to continue the change once I arrived. But I was not prepared nor will I ever forget that moment when He showed me His heart in the Dominican Republic in the summer of 2010.

Life in other countries is so vastly different. There is a huge chasm between our culture and theirs. Their world is more culturally diverse in every way: the landscape, the location, their government, their economic struggles, their traditions. Then there’s the people, and the poor. 

Every country has its own set of advantages and disadvantages, but it is in certain countries that the disadvantaged are really noticed. Seeing the poor in the Dominican Republic left my heart in pieces. 

God taught me a big lesson on that little hill the DR. We took a walk into the community to see how the people lived. We saw their living spaces. Some homes had running water and electricity and were clean; some were lacking in all of these amenities. Those that had concrete floors had luxury.

These people showed us their homes. They showed us their love and hope. And I walked away from their hopeful world knowing that I was the poorest among them.

I still can’t get over the difference. Suddenly I had a huge burden for a country that I had not known prior to that week. I was changed by what I saw. That experience was a hinge moment in my faith. I know the cultural difference between having indoor plumbing and facilities, having a decent chance at an education and not, since I know that…it continues to break my heart for missions.

So many are trapped in an unbroken cycle of poverty. They are walled in, unaware of the opportunities or advantages available, or maybe they are. But this difference continues to fracture my heart, it weighs heavy. I am motivated to communicate the message of remembering the disadvantaged – the poor among us – because of this difference.

This difference can make an impact here in our world too. We have the opportunity to reach out to the poor and the needy …just right outside our door. There are hurting lives everywhere. And as incredible as it is that God can move a heart to make a difference in the Dominican Republic, the same God can spur your heart into action to make a difference at home. Both are on God’s heart and mind. 

Upon our return, one of my team members in the Dominican Republic said something that stuck with me:

I want to challenge you to be even more sensitive now that we have returned home, because God had begun a good work in you. Let’s not be content in being people that have a changed life to minister to the poor (in all its incarnations) – as good as that is. Let’s take a step further and strive to be people that are totally sold out to God. To be people that will do whatever God calls us to without hesitation, to endure suffering for the cross; to endure heartache for the lost; to be whatever God wants us to be.

May we always see the hurting, the lost, the broken, and the lonely. May we always be willing to follow God into those homes, be it next door or to the next country. May we always allow God to prick our hearts with the people that break his. May we always know the difference, and act on it.