Carter Kern is a high school student who traveled with his church, Crossview Covenant Church in North Mankato, Minnesota, to Yucatán in Mexico. Here is his reflection on his short-term trip with Merge, as told to Jelani Greenidge.
I heard about the mission trip to a small village in Mexico during a Sunday service at church. A variety of things compelled me to go. I have friends who have been on mission trips before, and I felt intrigued to try one myself. And it felt like this was an opportune time to go. I know that after high school I will be busy and may not be able to take advantage of an opportunity like this. So I thought, Why not now?
On this trip there were 17 people total, including one of our pastors (along with her husband and son), my cousin, and various members of our church, such as a family of three, a high school student, a 20-year-old, a group of adult women, and a married couple. While we were there making connections and friendships, we were doing construction work, painting the walls of their community’s church (including the walls that surrounded the church grounds), and conducting vacation Bible school with kids. There was also a women’s ministry where they shared crafting skills like sewing, and the women of the village showed us some of their skills as well. We had nightly dinners prepared by the women of the village.
Over the course of the trip, I learned something special about friendship. I realized by the end of the trip that I had developed unexpected relationships. I figured that I would mostly talk to my cousin and maybe some of the other kids my age. But I talked with everybody else as well. I learned that you don’t have to be the same age, gender, or ethnicity—or even speak the same language—to care for each other. It is amazing how I’ve gone to school with some of the same people my whole life and never developed a friendship with them, but I spent seven days with a group of people of different ages, gender, and ethnicity and suddenly I care for them like my own family. You could go up to anyone in our group and chat with them. You could go shopping with any one of them and have a great time. That taught me that it doesn’t always matter where you are in life, you can always build relationships just by being you.
As we rode on the bus to various locations, it was hot and we were sweaty. But the joy I felt sitting on that bus with all of them was so incredible. It didn’t feel awkward or strange; it felt like we were all in it together. I also felt such a connection with this group when we had downtime at the hotel or someplace else.
Every day we had a morning devotional, and a nightly debrief. During both of these times, we would go over the day and think about how we would/did bring Scripture and Christianity into our work. We had a few central verses that we focused on throughout the week. One of the passages that I have recently been trying to apply to my life is Galatians 6, which reminds us that despite our challenges and difficulties we should do everything in our power to do good to all.
At the end of our time we were asked, “Why were you called to serve on this mission trip?” As I pondered my motivation, I realized maybe I didn’t have a definitive answer. All of the work I put into school, all of the time spent worrying about getting good grades, and the pressure I put on myself was something that I didn’t really need to do. Not that schooling is unimportant or useless, but I know there is more to life than trying to be the best.
On our last night in Mexico we talked about how we would process our trip once we got back. Seeing how people can live differently opened my eyes. I feel now that I have another perspective on life, and I can try to understand other people’s situations. If I am ever presented with such an opportunity again, I know what my answer will be. I have learned a great lesson from this trip. No matter who you are or what you do God is with you, and so is the global church. I am learning that the purpose of life is to lift each other up and to share our blessings. I truly feel moved by the blessings shared by my fellow missionaries and by the community we visited.
