A Tale of Two Missions Trips

Dear Cousin,

     I wanted to write to you to let you know what a great and life changing experience I had on my recent missions trip. The people were so warm and friendly, and grateful I might add, since we were there to build them a new rec center. The food was delicious. I've never had so many different foods in one place. We were so stuffed. We saw so many of the countries tourist sites, places I'd never thought I would get to see. The culture and atmosphere were so stimulating. It was almost like being on vacation with a great bunch of people. Speaking of those people, my group was great. Everyone got along well, and we just had fun together, singing and dancing the night away. We got to pass out some gospel tracks after we put on a great show in the city square. It was truly the experience of a lifetime. I can't wait to go on my next mission. Thanks again for all of your prayers and support.

                                                                                            Yours in Christ,
                                                                                              Bobby


Dear Cousin,

    I wanted to write to you to let you know how our mission trip went. God gave us great opportunity to preach the gospel, and allowed us to see a few saved. The majority of the people, however, were brutal to us. I myself was cursed at, hit, thrown in prison many times. There were also numerous attempts on my life, and one particular beating that brought me to the gates of death itself. We were many times cold and without food. We often encountered violent thugs in our travel from city to city. If the thugs didn't greet us on our way, the wild animals had us on the run instead. We were met with snarls in every place, and people just wanted us to leave. I admit, I just wanted to go home myself. People within our group often argued because of the hardships and some even split from us to the point where they began to slander us to the very people to whom we were trying to minister. It was a total nightmare. I never want to go on another missions trip again, but this isn't about me. It's about Christ and exalting Him in this world by proclaiming His awesome work to all He has marked out to hear it. So we will press on, even though I wish I could just settle down and live my life in peace and safety. I truly hate the mission field, but I love the mission. So at the sacrifice of myself, and for the sake of Christ and His beloved, I will endure this horrible thing called "missions." But I will tell you, this is anything but a vacation. Again, thank you for your prayers and support.

                                                                                                                   Yours in Christ,
Paul, an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ