Choosing to go on this Mission Trip has been one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made.  Even as I’m participate in a pre-retreat I have my uncertainties.

Here’s why I chose to go:

• Freedom.  I’m not tied down by school, a job, a family or any other commitments.  When else I will be able to do something like this?
• “Do Something.”  I’ve been out of work for a few months now.  My friend Jason advised me that sometimes the only right decision is to “just do something.”  
• Seeing what God is up to. Understand, I’ve never been a foreign missions guy.  I started a club in college called OutReach America to train domestic missionaries.  It’s a big world out there, and we serve a big God.  I’m excited to see what he’s up to.
• Intrinsic reasons.  I won’t lie, traveling sounds fun, and I believe God will teach me something by seeing more of the world.
• It glorifies God.  This is really all the reason I needed.  People in the East need to read about Jesus. Orphans need loving. Muslims need the gospel.  How can you go wrong?

That’s how I made my decision.  What do you think?

I hope you enjoy the Journey!

______________________________________________________

Dear Friends and Family, 

I hope this letter finds you well.  As you know, I have spent the last few months asking God, “what’s next?”  After months of prayers, God has begun to open doors for me to return to Austin, Texas this fall, where I hope to partner with a local church in reaching out to college students and young adults.  God has also answered the question of what do I do in the mean time?

This spring I was approached by a local mission organization, Global Journey, about joining them in a unique summer mission trip.  Global Journey sends young adults to countries all around the world, to help missionaries on the ground and to help the participants determine ways that God might use them all across the world.  This year’s trip will make stops in India, Uganda, France and Nicaragua.  My role on this trip would be to participate in serving the missionaries, and provide spiritual and cultural guidance to the participants. 

I would like you to consider how you might be able to assist me in covering the cost of this trip. My goal is to raise $8000, which covers the cost of travel, lodging and food.  By supporting me in this special opportunity, you’ll be comforting Indian orphans like those seen Slumdog Millionaire and sharing the gospel with the growing Muslim population of Europe. 

I realize that many of us are suffering due to the financial struggles that have hit our country. If you are like me, it is sometimes hard to remember that God is the one who provides for us, recession or not!  Remember that God loves a cheerful giver, and prayerfully consider if God wants you to help provide for this mission opportunity.  Global Journey is a part of Hope for Life Ministries, a non-profit organization.  You can give on-line at www.globaljourney.org or by mail at Hope for Life Ministry, 408 S. Seguin Ave., New Braunfels, TX 78130.  Whether you can give fifty cents, or fifty dollars, anything will be appreciated.

Whether or not you can support me financially, I hope you will commit to pray for me and to follow this journey.  You can contact me anytime at 512-461-9207 or at chrismorton82@gmail.com.  I’ll be talking about this journey, as well as the rest of my adventures at my website www.chrismorton.info, or you can follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/chrismorton82.

I cherish the friendship God has given us, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

Chris Morton

Dear _______,

I never write you letters.

That’s a weird way to open a mission trip letter. My youth minister/pastor gave me a form letter to follow but that felt even weirder. The truth is that I don’t write anyone letters and if I opened up this letter by pretending this is just the latest in a long chain of correspondence we’ve kept up oh these many years, that would feel as fake as when people run out of things to say and ask you questions like, “hot enough for you?” Wow, that was a really atrocious run on sentence, but I’m excited about this trip and I’m not going to let sentence structure stand in my way.

If I were you, I would probably be thinking, “_______ is going on a mission trip?” That’s a completely fair thought. I keep asking myself that too. I’m not the first person people think of when it comes to feeding the hungry/helping the poor/working on a coconut farm. Plus, I’m so busy. School/work is really intense right now and this is not a good time to go on a mission trip. But I’m not sure if there is ever a “good time” to go on a mission trip. And I could probably come up with a list of reasons why I shouldn’t go, but I keep coming back to the one reason I should – God loves people.

I’ve been trying to live that in the life I currently have. I mean it’s easy to pray for far off places and far off people, but loving who you live and work with is a challenge. I’ve been trying to see my life as a mission field, not just this trip. And it’s been cool to see the way God has used this new approach to everything from the way I tip at restaurants to the way I treat people in traffic. But now, it’s time to take the things I’ve learned to a new longitude and latitude.

I’m going to _______ for ________days/weeks. Going wasn’t a hard decision. When it comes down to it, Jesus laid out a pretty simple religion for us, didn’t He? Love God, love others, and love ourselves. Nope, deciding to go was easy. Paying for it however, is a real challenge.

To be honest with you, I just don’t have $#####, laying about the house, eating baked Tostito chips and watching soap operas. So, instead of selling my plasma 87 times, I decided to send letters to people I don’t usually write and ask for something I don’t usually ask for, money. I’d love if you could financially support me on this mission trip. A little, a lot, any would be great. And if you want to know more about the trip, please let me know and I will give you a call.

The one thing on the form letter I got from church that I agreed with was the request for prayer. If you could pray about the trip, that would be great. As much as God loves mission trips, other people don’t. There will be a whole host of obstacles that pop up and entangle themselves around our ankles as we prepare to go love the people of ______. And knowing that you are praying would mean a lot to me.

Thanks for reading this rambling letter. I have included the form letter version as well in case you prefer a more traditional approach to the “can I please have some of your money” letter.

Sincerely, _________

P.S. If you do give, there’s a good chance that you will be famous, or at least regionally famous because my friend Jon at Stuff Christians Like, God’s favorite sarcastic Christian blog, will probably give you a shout out. I’m just saying, something to think about.