Read today’s newsletter from Eric Miller in Jarabacoa, DR, and discover how real people are making a long-term impact in Jarabacoa, with SI.

Aren’t short-term mission trips a big waste of money? Don’t people go on international mission trips so they can “serve the Lord” and take a vacation at the same time? Don’t short-term trips do more harm than good? Why can’t we serve those in our neighborhood?

I have been asked (and have even asked myself) some of these uncomfortable questions. Over the past 15 years, short-term mission trips have often gotten a bad rep. And unfortunately, the means to an end are the issue. But, just because the standards are the problem doesn’t inherently make them a bad idea.

It simply means we need to be careful to do them with the proper focus. Students International exists with that idea in mind.

I believe deeply in short-term missions, a trip focused and rooted in discovering a bigger picture of who God is and what His mission is. When that is our expectation, God uses short-term trips in a way that can profoundly shape the lives of both those serving & being served. I know this happens, not only because I have consistently seen it happen in our work here in the DR, but because God used short-term trips in my own life to change who I am today profoundly.

Here in Jarabacoa, we finished hosting our last summer team this past week. And despite all the challenges that have come with COVID-19 this year, our team here in Jarabacoa observed time and time again as God used a short-term trip to make a transformative, long-term impact in the lives of those that came to serve.

But don’t take my words for it! Check out the outreach video below, and you can hear it directly from the participants that came!

Join us on a service trip! We are more than happy to embark on this journey with you!