You should deploy on a humanitarian mission!

[Joelcool7]

Rath said:

In reality there are many major international humanitarian organisations, however most of these do work on a larger picture than serving a hot meal to some people in the slums (which is the way Missions do it because it's more personal and therefore easier to convert people).

For example uf I were to do something humanitarian it would be with Engineers Without Borders.

Other major examples of secular aid organisations are the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders.

Yah those are great organisations, though I must say sponsoring an orphanage like Lost Planet or serving hot meals, feeding homeless cleaning up slums and building a bridge over the sewage. These things are not pointless or a smaller picture.

How come working in a slum is a smaller picture then working with say doctors without borders? Your right its more personal, though I know a doctor who went with doctors without borders and I can't say that it was in any way more important then feeding people and working in the slums. Also that doctor was a Christian. Not everything is done with the soul purpose of converting people, helping less fortunate is simply the most important part of Christianity. Love your neighbour as yourself.

I gotta say your statement is alittle demeaning. Alot of the people we fed would be dead if the organisations like YWAM weren't feeding them, alot of kids would not be in school if I and the other team members weren't sponsoring them and helping them on trips like the one I went on.

The bigger picture is that both Doctors without borders and YWAM and alot of other organisations are equally needed to improve peoples lives on the larger scale. If organisations and teams like mine didn't feed the kids and people then they would die, if doctors without borders didn't help the sick and injured they would die. If we didn't educate the children they couldn't make a better life for themselves hence they would die and leave others to die.

Though I must say Rath I am happy to hear you would consider Engineers without Borders. Its nice to see non-Christian's who aren't like Mr.Bubbles. I can't understand how anyone can make such a demeaning and hurtful comment.

Mr.Bubbles - Thats sort of my point, you should want to help the dirty poor people in your own country. Just like you should then help the dirty poor people in another country. I myself have volunteered to feed the homeless and help them here in Canada.

However Canada has a good welfare system and the homeless are homeless by choice, where as the homeless in Thailand and many other countries aren't homeless and living in slums by choice. You should really care about your fellow human beings Mr.Bubbles unless you were being sarcastic and funny, though I never caught that.

Flying across the world to help others living on under a dollar a day is a very good idea for anyone Christian or not. If you live in a country with slums and poor people who are genuinely in need then helping those people in your own country should come first. But if you live in a country like Canada with free medicare and a great welfare system then going to another country to help their people is a very good idea.