After reading an article titled 鈥淒o No Harm鈥�
This article really struck me and pleased me at the same time. 聽I鈥檓 not exactly sure why, but I have this negative connotation towards mission groups. 聽I loved hearing [the article鈥檚 author] Dennis Smith鈥檚 sharp critique on this subject. I can鈥檛 quite pin where this judgment for mission trips stems from for me, but as I have grown and have expanded my views on religion, the thought of going on a church-based trip – with the belief that it is a 鈥淕od-given right鈥� to help people in Central America – with a group who, most likely, is mostly white, does not seem very enlightening to me. 聽While I was reading Smith鈥檚 article, I couldn鈥檛 help but think about all of the week-long mission groups that have passed through CASAS; most of them white, most of them with the same sized luggage that I brought for an entire semester, and most of them with little to no Spanish skills. This article, while it brought more views and a great critique to the table about week-long mission trips, did not make me feel uncomfortable. I maybe felt embarrassed for the culture that we Americans bring to others, like Guatemala鈥檚 hospitable culture. 聽I think that鈥檚 one of the biggest setbacks I have as a student being here in Guatemala. It鈥檚 hard for anyone to set their culture aside and embrace the culture surrounding them, but I鈥檝e truly tried to make a conscious choice to be aware of the culture around me and be respectful of it.
I鈥檓 not sure if I鈥檓 correct, but the biggest 鈥渓esson鈥� that I take away from this reading is, if you aren鈥檛 willing to take the time to appreciate and learn about other cultures, a mission trip trying to 鈥渉elp鈥� the 鈥減oor third world country鈥� is really doing more harm than anything else. 聽To me, it only reiterates the subconscious dominance we feel with our American culture.
-Lori Armstrong