Should I go on a non-denominational mission trip?

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I am a senior in a Christian high school. My school is going on a mission trip to Uraguay. I want to go. My mother is adament that I not go, because, " The people from Uraguay who will be visited on our mission trip will not be brought the whole truth. I fully believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. I say doing works of service and witnessing to Jesus’ love, sacrifice, and salvation, cannot be wrong. I think this trip would be a great spiritual experience. Is there any reason that I, as a Catholic, should not participate, with Christians of various denominations, in a mission trip? I also see this trip as an ecumenical effort. Christians serving God’s people.

Thanks.
BAnn
 
God bless you for your faith and desire to witness Jesus’ love, sacrifice, and salvation. 🙂

I ask God’s will to prevail in this. If things don’t change and you cannot go, part of being a Christian is honouring one’s parents and accepting as God’s will what happens even it you don’t like it.

I pray that the Holy Spirit will help and guide you for the best; and that He will ensure that your life is a wonderful witness to Jesus and His gospel and as a holy Catholic.

God bless you, and may His wishes be accomplished in this and in everything in your life.

Trishie:)
 
BAnn said:
I am a senior in a Christian high school. My school is going on a mission trip to Uraguay. I want to go. My mother is adament that I not go, because, " The people from Uraguay who will be visited on our mission trip will not be brought the whole truth. I fully believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. I say doing works of service and witnessing to Jesus’ love, sacrifice, and salvation, cannot be wrong. I think this trip would be a great spiritual experience. Is there any reason that I, as a Catholic, should not participate, with Christians of various denominations, in a mission trip? I also see this trip as an ecumenical effort. Christians serving God’s people.

Thanks.
BAnn
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You will need to be strong enough however to stand up for your Catholic beliefs and practices on the trip. Many people in Uraguay may still be Catholic, you may have to oppose what your school leaders are saying to them or doing and side or agree with the local people. Can you do that?
 
you plan to participate in a mission trip wherein a non-Catholic Christian denom intends to send missionaries to a largely Catholic country. why?
 
Just because a country is nominally Catholic does not mean they don’t need people to show them God’s love. I just want to serve God and His people, and this is the best oppurtunity presented to me at the moment. Plus I really want to visit a Spanish speaking country to improve my Spanish and I think it would be valuable to see a country where people don’t have nearly as much as we do in the US.I know people who have went on this trip in past years and they said it was an awesome experience being able to serve the poor people of Uraguay.
 
Also, I think it might be good for the missions team to have a Catholic with them, don’t you? I think I could stand up for Catholic doctrine, and I know the teachers that go on the trip are open to Catholicism, not judgemental against it.
 
BAnn said:
Just because a country is nominally Catholic does not mean they don’t need people to show them God’s love. I just want to serve God and His people, and this is the best oppurtunity presented to me at the moment. Plus I really want to visit a Spanish speaking country to improve my Spanish and I think it would be valuable to see a country where people don’t have nearly as much as we do in the US.I know people who have went on this trip in past years and they said it was an awesome experience being able to serve the poor people of Uraguay.
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I would agree, however make sure you will not be restricted in sharing your Catholic Faith with the local people or even your fellow youth members on the mission trip. Speak with the Knights of Columbus, they can give you lots of material in Spanish to take along and even a hundred or so Rosaries to give out. You can easily get 100 Rosaries in a shoebox. Take up a collection at your parish and pay to take along an additional bag with the material to give away.
 
BAnn said:
I am a senior in a Christian high school. My school is going on a mission trip to Uraguay. I want to go. ** My mother is adament that I not go, because**, " The people from Uraguay who will be visited on our mission trip will not be brought the whole truth. I fully believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. I say doing works of service and witnessing to Jesus’ love, sacrifice, and salvation, cannot be wrong. I think this trip would be a great spiritual experience. Is there any reason that I, as a Catholic, should not participate, with Christians of various denominations, in a mission trip? I also see this trip as an ecumenical effort. Christians serving God’s people.

Thanks.
BAnn
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I am sorry but I would like to know why your mother sends you to a Christian school. By doing that she is exposing you to heretical doctrines. Isn’t she using two different standards?
 
BAnn said:
I am a senior in a Christian high school. My school is going on a mission trip to Uraguay. I want to go. My mother is adament that I not go, because, " The people from Uraguay who will be visited on our mission trip will not be brought the whole truth. I fully believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. I say doing works of service and witnessing to Jesus’ love, sacrifice, and salvation, cannot be wrong. I think this trip would be a great spiritual experience. Is there any reason that I, as a Catholic, should not participate, with Christians of various denominations, in a mission trip? I also see this trip as an ecumenical effort. Christians serving God’s people.

Thanks.
BAnn
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Go and have fun!

It is to help other people, not convert them. Personal charity towards others knows no religious (or non-religious) bounds. It is the best form of humanity helping other parts of humanity.
 
Sadly, most non-Catholic missions trips have one purpose, to get people “saved” (and by that they mean away from the Catholic Church).

What is the purpose of this trip? Are you going to build houses for the homeless and nothing else? Will there be “church services” where there is an “altar call” to convert people? Will they help the Catholic people find a good Parish? Drive them to Confession?

Best to find a Catholic group and go with them. Your Youth Ministry at the Parish should be a good source for finding Catholic outreach to the world.

One of the dangers of non-Catholic Christian schools to the Catholic student is that the student is indifference, not realizing that there is a HUGE difference between what we believe.

Prayers that you can find a place to serve Christ and His Church.
 
Your mother is right, you shouldn’t go. The people of Uruguay are already mostly Catholic. 66% of the population is Catholic though less than half of the population attends church regularly according to the CIA World Factbook. So in all likelihood, you’d be spreading the Protestant faith among people who are already Catholic. That is wrong. It is commonly known as sheep stealing. Unfortunately, some evangelical Protestants are notorious for their practice of sheep stealing. I wouldn’t go.
 
Holly3278 said:
Your mother is right, you shouldn’t go. The people of Uruguay are already mostly Catholic. 66% of the population is Catholic though less than half of the population attends church regularly according to the CIA World Factbook. So in all likelihood, you’d be spreading the Protestant faith among people who are already Catholic. That is wrong. It is commonly known as sheep stealing. Unfortunately, some evangelical Protestants are notorious for their practice of sheep stealing. I wouldn’t go.
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Interestingly, the CIA World Factbook says that the U.S. is over 70%, respectively, “Christian” (combining protestants and catholics). But I certainly find that hard to believe. I, personally, would not let statistics play a factor here. Oh, and just to make one correction, spreading a “Protestant faith” and “sheep stealing” got me laughing - as if it’s a competition. Thanks for that.

In all actuality, “protestants” widely share the gospel straight from scriptures without a single thought of “Sweet! If this person believes, then they won’t go to a Catholic church”. And by the gospel I mean 1) God loves you (John 10:10) 2) All have sinned and are separated from God (Romans 3:23 and 6:23) 3) Jesus came to pay the sacrifice for those sins and bridge the separation from God (Romans 5:8, John 14:6) and 4) To accept Jesus as our Lord (and not ourselves) is a free gift in securing an eternity with him. (John 1:12, Ephesians 2:8-9)

Catholic or Protestant, aren’t we all on the same page that Jesus alone fills the gap between us and God. Actually, maybe we aren’t on the same page. There in lies the crux. 😦
 
I would go, it is a terrific chance for you to witness the Catholic faith to others.

Get some material off the web and ask your mom to buy some of it for you. This will help her be on your side if you ask her to buy material that defends the Catholic faith.

I went to Mexico a few years ago and though Mexico is a “Catholic” country many are not really strong Catholics. There are some who just go to share Christ and there are some who go to sheep steal since they think that Catholics are not Christians.

I would get some stuff, like this, linky for yourself so you can study up and then you can look on other pages of that website like this for some Spanish material.

You can get some printed material from yourself here, free to read download and print. I think they also provide some spanish pamphlets but I think you might have to contact them for that.

Here are a couple more links that hopefully will help,
Fernando Casanova (convert to Catholicism, from Anti-catholic Spanish Pastor)

Padre Pedro Nunez, a Priest who has a website defending Catholicism in Spanish, plus books, etc.

If you have any questions or challenges, feel free to PM me.

In Christ
Scylla
 
fishgills said:
Catholic or Protestant, aren’t we all on the same page that Jesus alone fills the gap between us and God. Actually, maybe we aren’t on the same page. There in lies the crux. 😦
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If you think that way, I applaud you for your open heart and mind.

You should become Catholic as from what you posted shows that you believe in what Catholics believe, that Christ is the center and apart from Him we have nothing. Salvation is through Christ alone and I invite you to become Catholic and enjoy the fullness of the faith.

Any objections can be posted to a PM for me, but I have found not one honest objection to Catholic in my conversations with dozens of Protestants. If you are honestly seeking Christ you should have no objection to Catholicism and I invite you to follow Christ to Catholicism, (the faith of Christ known throughout the world)

God Bless
Scylla
 
BAnn said:
I am a senior in a Christian high school. My school is going on a mission trip to Uraguay. I want to go. My mother is adament that I not go, because, " The people from Uraguay who will be visited on our mission trip will not be brought the whole truth. I fully believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. I say doing works of service and witnessing to Jesus’ love, sacrifice, and salvation, cannot be wrong. I think this trip would be a great spiritual experience. Is there any reason that I, as a Catholic, should not participate, with Christians of various denominations, in a mission trip? I also see this trip as an ecumenical effort. Christians serving God’s people.

Thanks.
BAnn
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I’m not sure this is such a good idea, but could work out. Just bare in mind that if you should want to go see a Catholic Church or go to a mass you will be doing it on your own. It could be dangerous on your own. Isn’t there some other catholic going along? Can your mother come as a chaperone? Ask your priest to find out ahead of time where a priest there would be and manybe he could connect you to a Catholic family to connect with. IN a nutshell yes it is good to serve. It will be a marvelous experience for you and as spiritual as you want it. Seek out an exchange benefit, maybe someone there would like to come to the USA. wish I could go with you. God bless and let us know how it turned out praying for a safe one.👍
 
BAnn said:
I am a senior in a Christian high school. My school is going on a mission trip to Uraguay. I want to go. My mother is adament that I not go, because, " The people from Uraguay who will be visited on our mission trip will not be brought the whole truth. I fully believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. I say doing works of service and witnessing to Jesus’ love, sacrifice, and salvation, cannot be wrong. I think this trip would be a great spiritual experience. Is there any reason that I, as a Catholic, should not participate, with Christians of various denominations, in a mission trip? I also see this trip as an ecumenical effort. Christians serving God’s people.
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Hi BAnn! I think it is wonderful that you want to do something like this. Have you done enough research with what this mission trip is going to be about? If it is to help the people of Uraguay and there will be no evangelizing, I think it would be a good thing to do.

I do understand your mother’s concern about this, though. She might be thinking that the trip is to “convert” people who are already Christians, but not the “right” Christians. (I have family who are non-demonimational/born-again Christians and they truly believe that Catholicism is not a true Christian faith and they support mission trips to Catholic countries in order to convert Catholics.) I don’t know if or assume that is the intent of the mission trip you would like to go on, so it is important to find out the intent. That said, it might be good to have a Catholic on the trip.

In the end, though, you need to listen to your parents. If they feel like it would not be a good trip for you, please try to understand their reasoning and respect their decision. I know how you feel. When I was in college and still being supported by my parents, I so wanted to go on a mission trip to work with orphans in Tijuana, Mexico with a Catholic mission. My parents were very adamant about me not going - not because of the intent of the mission as it was a Catholic mission to a Catholic country - but because it would have been my first time out of the country in a part of the city which wasn’t very safe. And for a young, idealistic and naive girl they were afraid for my safety and didn’t like the idea of not being able to get to me should anything bad happen. I was so upset at the time. I wanted to do something to help my fellow man in a place which really needed it. And even though I tried to persuade, in the end my parents decided it was better for me to do something in this country and I had to comply. I was still a dependent and could not support myself to go against their wishes - and I knew they did it out of love and after serious thought. I filled the “hole” by doing work in the city where my university was located - which was pretty dangerous, very poor and needing a lot of assistance (My parents were ok with me going there because they were only an hour away and knew that I would be escorted by police whenever I did these works at the schools, shelters, half-way houses, etc.).

God bless you. I’m sure that God will guide your parents with the right decision for you.
 
BAnn said:
I am a senior in a Christian high school. My school is going on a mission trip to Uraguay. I want to go. My mother is adament that I not go, because, " The people from Uraguay who will be visited on our mission trip will not be brought the whole truth. I fully believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. I say doing works of service and witnessing to Jesus’ love, sacrifice, and salvation, cannot be wrong. I think this trip would be a great spiritual experience. Is there any reason that I, as a Catholic, should not participate, with Christians of various denominations, in a mission trip? I also see this trip as an ecumenical effort. Christians serving God’s people.

Thanks.
BAnn
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One of the things you will be asked to do is to proseletyze Catholics to abandon their Catholic faith and go to their “non-denominational” church, instead.
 
jmcrae said:
One of the things you will be asked to do is to proseletyze Catholics to abandon their Catholic faith and go to their “non-denominational” church, instead.
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And this would be a great question to ask those leading the mission: After I share the love of Christ with them, may I encourage them to start faithfully attending their local Catholic Church?

I’m betting this is the expression you’ll get :eek:
 
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