Our Family Mission – Part One

In 2010, my husband and I made a major and completely unexpected decision to take our two children (ages 6 and 8 at the time) on a mission trip to Ecuador. Our primary purpose was to spend time at Casa de Fe, a local orphanage that houses around sixty children, but beyond that we had no clue. We said yes when the opportunity presented itself at our church with no real plan in mind.

Would it be a good experience for the kids? Absolutely! They would have exposure to a different culture and see those much less fortunate. Would it look good on a college application one day? Sure! Let’s all face the fact that it’s not just about grades anymore. Would it be an experience our family would never forget? Of course! Good or bad, getting on a plane and going to a remote part of Ecuador with two small children was going to be an adventure. I wasn’t prepared for everything back then, and I’m not prepared now as we sit five months away from boarding a plane to Africa through Foundation Stone Ministries for a very similar trip.

Our Team from last year's trip to Ecuador
Our Team from last year’s trip

Tickets have been purchased and there’s no going back. Now 9 and 11, Ethan and McKenzie will be embarking on their third mission trip (we returned to Ecuador last year), and Ryan and I will be along for the ride. There are usually two responses we receive when we tell people about our trips.

Response # 1 – “I would never do that!”

Response # 2 – “I would love to do that some day!”

There’s really no in between. Those who respond that they would never consider such a trip, I actually get. I’m not immune to the fact that it’s outside the norm. I even fell into that category before our first trip to Ecuador.

The second group can be more challenging. Some people say it to be supportive but really fall into response group #1. Those are the people who begin to glaze over when I talk to them in specific detail about our experiences. Others, however, truly mean it but their reasons for using the words “some day” vs. “now” vary. In many cases, though, it all gets back to one thing – Where would I begin?

Kenzie spending time with the babies
Kenzie spending time with the babies

I’ve had the opportunity to write about our trips on numerous occasions and it’s truly an honor to tell the stories as often as people will listen, but in this and a few upcoming blogs leading up to our trip to Africa, I really felt like I wanted to share my thoughts, ideas, and personal successes and failures on how to prepare yourselves and your children if you ever decide to say yes – now or some day. There are many practical things you must do to prepare, but I wanted to start with the below mental preparations:

Prepare to Be Unprepared – This doesn’t seem like a very good way to start a list about preparation, but just hear me out. I planned everything with great precision and detail the first time we went to Ecuador. Ethan would respond one way, Kenzie would respond another. We would do this and do that, eat this and eat that. The Mom in me needed to take control. In reality, I was ill-prepared, and that lack of preparedness and element of surprise was the best part of that trip.

Lower Your Expectations – If you go in expecting your children to be perfectly unselfish because they spent time with some orphans, you’ll be disappointed. My kids still throw whole things of yogurt away because they opened it and then decided they didn’t like it. They are still children who are learning. What our time in these places does offer is a real life example that my husband and I can use to continuously teach them.

Let It Go – No, this isn’t a nod to the very popular Frozen song, but you have to be prepared to let go and are any parents really good at that? For our family, it’s our faith that helps us do that. We know every mission trip we take is for a reason, so when my kids want to swing from vines in the jungle, I let them. When the thoughts of sheltering them creep into my mind, I push them away. If I wanted to shelter them, we could have stayed home. We are planning to go back to Ecuador at the end of this year, and because of these freedoms I allowed, they now have their own ideas of what that next trip will be like.

Ethan and his Dad getting some work done
Ethan and his Dad getting some work done

Accept that Nothing Will Ever be the Same – The way we think about money, time, and basically everything is different because of our mission trips. You can’t go to a remote part of the world, see people living desperately off of nothing but faith and the reliance of others to support them and not be changed. I dare you to try.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to our experience and why it’s important to our family. We leave in July and because Africa is new to me, I’m sure I’ll forget so many of the thoughts above, but I’m excited to share more of our story and the planning of our upcoming trip with all of you.

Christie Pettus
Christie Pettus is a full time working wife and mother living her suburban cul de sac dream in Orange Park, Fl. She is Mom to two awesome teenagers, McKenzie and Ethan, who have come to accept that certain parts of their lives will be blogged about, so they should act accordingly. As graduates of the University of Florida, she and her husband Ryan can be found rooting on their alma mater every chance they get including the more obscure sports. LaCrosse anyone? When she’s not judging her kids' questionable teenage choices, she can be found hiding in a room buried in a good book or writing, editing, and dreaming about being a full-time author.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Christie, you and your family have been such an amazing inspiration for my family. As I’m sure I’ve said before, we probably would not have gone to Ecuador with you if it wasn’t YOU and Ryan who asked us to go. Your friendship was a huge factor in trusting that the trip would be right for our family. Less than 2 years ago I was in the 1st Category of “I would never do that”. I said it…out loud! In fact, I think I said “why do I need to go to another Country when there are people here in Jacksonville who need help as well?l”! However, when the time came to commit, I gave God an obstacle…money. His response was to remove that obstacle for us (in the form of a larger-than-normal tax return because of our relocation that year). And in return, I put my trust in Him. It was an amazing trip. Yes, I had some challenges and fears that I personally had to conquer, but with God’s help, I overcame. I am so excited about our trip this year. On occasion I allow that same fear to enter into my mind, but I will once again put my trust in God and just put one foot forward on the path that he has laid out for me and my family! I can’t wait to be with the amazing kids at Casa de Fe again!

  2. Enjoy Bondo. My son went there 2 years ago with theater on a mission. It was life changing. The kids there are amazing!

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