has anyone ever heard of this--its a church trip

[rigs32]

I see fundraisers for kids extra-curricular stuff all the time these days. It's one thing to fundraise for new uniforms, but I'm not paying for overpriced stuff so your kid can travel to WDW with their dance class.

 

[Dznypal]

I sure can see kids youths groups doing fundraisers to go tourments dance groups missions charity trips youth and adults on the mission trips

what I cant see is this is a group of adults from a church so bascially by doing a fundraiser there excepting people to go to the fundraiser and in other words help pay for there vacations

which I cant see--unless like someone here said once they get there it turns out they have to do work but that should have been brought up in there meetings

I mean if you cant afford to go then you just dont go
this reminds of the I Love lucy where Lucy and Ethel try to raise money to go to Europe by raffeling a TV

difference is the church is behind the fundraising

my friend could have missed the part if they did talk about working while their theyre there my friend only hears what she wnats to hear--

this will be interesting

 

[nw6675]

I have no idea how Tanzania is about "missionaries", but sometimes (as another PP seemed to be getting at) trips have to be low key for safety purposes. It is not always viewed favorably or may have people (like the Haiti missionary kidnappings) wishing to cause harm. Again, not saying this is how it is there, but could be a reason.

 

[Dznypal]

you do have a point with the missionaries--
I did forget to mention that the pastor is from this region
not Tanzania but hes from some place in Africa so Im sure he would know where not to go
and all he keeps saying is this is a trip of a lifetime so now hes got
everyone hyper OMG Ive got to go on this
another thing Im sure at the meetings they give out handouts so I dont think my friend reads anything she gets cause she doesnt know most of the basic things

 

[sam_gordon]

my friend could have missed the part if they did talk about working while their theyre there my friend only hears what she wnats to hear--

Do you attend the church? If so, reach out to the organizers and ask what they're doing. If not, assume your friend is missing part of the picture.

 

[sam_gordon]

If it's a church group then it IS what you are thinking of as a "mission trip". They just don't use the term "mission trip" anymore because it connotes racially charged ideas of "white saviors" and old fashioned missionaries trying to convert the locals to Christianity.

The church we attend has "mission trips" all the time.

 

[rlk]

2. The part about the toilet paper isn't really weird if they are traveling to any rural areas. Many places just have a hole in the ground to squat over, so you would need to bring your own paper to wipe. Most people are going to toss the TP into the hole because it will biodegrade, but it is the norm to carry a ziplock baggie to hold any feminine hygiene products that shouldn't be left behind. (Maybe that's what they meant?)

Agree with carrying toilet paper. I've been to Tanzania and have squatted over several holes in the ground.

 

[Darcy03231]

A co-worker and her husband plan church travel trips, usually to places that involve some religious tours, i.e., Italy/Rome, Israel, Jerusalem, etc. They do fundraisers to help off-set the costs. While I personally wouldn't support something like that, there are those that do. They bring a priest along and pay for his costs, and most of the time they have enough that one of them travels for free. I will say they both put in a lot of work planning everything for anywhere from 25-50 people.

 

[tzolkin]

you do have a point with the missionaries--
I did forget to mention that the pastor is from this region
not Tanzania but hes from some place in Africa so Im sure he would know where not to go
and all he keeps saying is this is a trip of a lifetime so now hes got
everyone hyper OMG Ive got to go on this
another thing Im sure at the meetings they give out handouts so I dont think my friend reads anything she gets cause she doesnt know most of the basic things

Then I'm even more inclined to assume it's a religious trip where they will be visiting "sister" churches that they have a connection with. It is very common for churches in the US to have a partnership with a church in a different part of the world. Typically, the point of the trip is to visit your "brothers & sisters" that you have been corresponding with or donating to over the years.

The church we attend has "mission trips" all the time.

Sure, lots of churches do. I was simply stating some reasons why the terminology is falling out of favor. Trips like this still take place all the time, but many are now choosing to not use the word "mission/missionary". It's entirely possible that this trip fits the definition of a mission trip, but the organizers are purposely trying to avoid the use of the term so that's why the OP (and even the participants) may have been confused.

The term "missionary" usually evokes an image of (white) people bringing Christianity to unbelievers, but most of the places these trips take place are 90+% Christian so they have a much larger Christian population than the US. The fact that the pastor is from East Africa also leads me to assume that he may be more sensitive to the complex nature of white missionaries to African countries and therefore trying to portray the trip in a different light. Many churches are reframing these trips/visits as partnerships and mutually beneficial relationships instead of the more one-sided way mission trips have historically been viewed in the US.

 

[Dznypal]

just saw today that now there is an ebola like virus hitting Tanzania and one other area in Africa--
and theres no vaccine for it not sure if there ever will be cause ebola was there once a few years back
I said to my friend that I wonder if the church will keep on top of this there trip is the end of June so alot can happen between now and then but its just scary to think that this is happening now

I did put together a care package for her to take with TP wipes tip lock bags and hand santizer to get her started Iwasnt sure if shed get the condition but she did and started laughing so that was fun