One of the blogs that I follow is written by Ann Swindell.  Her style is down to earth and approachable, which is something that I so greatly appreciate in a writer.

In her most recent post, she wrote on taking her 1-year old on a mission trip to Mexico. While I was a youth leader to https://experience.tripster.ru/experience/Moscow/39410-vechernie-na-teplohode/ many MKs (missionary kids), and have seen the benefit of experiencing other countries and cultures in their lives,  I never once considered taking my young children on a short term trip overseas. My logistically minded thoughts instantly become burdened by the plethora of details that would go into making this possible. What if they were a distraction to the other people on the trip? Wouldn’t I be so focused on watching and caring for my own kids that I would neglect the people I came to serve? But then Ann said one thing that made me reconsider my entire point of view:

 I refuse to keep my child out of church and out of doing what the church does until she is “old enough.”

Is my thought process of “protecting” my children and “protecting” the experience of others on a trip actually preventing my girls from learning to live out their faith? If they grew up around living missionally, wouldn’t it make sense that they would instinctively learn that this faith is more than a religion, it’s a way of life?

Hope you enjoy a slightly different perspective than a lot of people and churches hold toward mission trips!

Church is for the Whole Family, or Why We Took our 1-year old on a Mission Trip.