Be The Person Who Asks

We just got back from Guatemala. Usually, when you say you were in Guatemala people assume it was a “mission trip.” But it really is a great place to visit. We stayed in a touristy town called Antigua. There’s all kinds of sightseeing, zip-lining, horseback riding, hiking and more around there. But, you guessed it, we were on a “mission trip.”

I put that in quotes because we don’t go with a church. At Wilson Lumber, we partnered with an awesome organization called Mission Firefly. Among other things, they connect organizations in the States (usually churches) to villages in Guatemala. The difference in what Mission Firefly does is that the organization ‘adopts’ a village and forms a long-term relationship, as opposed to a one time trip where you might go and help build a church, dig a well, or some other helpful project.

So Wilson Lumber adopted the village of El Potrerillo. It means “The Foal” in English. Well, I think it does. I’ve also been told it means “The Paddock,” but as I am clearly demonstrating, my Spanish is no bueno.

Anyway, if we don’t call it a “mission trip” then what do we call it? Well, the Caring Team at Wilson Lumber leads it so I guess sometimes we refer to it as a “Caring Trip.” That works. Especially since the point of it is to care for the people there.

You know, every time we go on one of these trips we are reminded of a few things. One of those things is that you need not travel 1,400 miles to care for someone. No need to remind you of all the ugliness in the world right now, but couldn’t you use being cared for? And couldn’t you care for someone?

I was meeting with a manager today who has an employee going through some difficulties; I’m sure you’ve seen the story. After the manager saying that he doesn’t want to make the employee feel uncomfortable, so he hasn’t asked about the difficulties, I said, “I wonder if this is a great opportunity to show the employee that you care about him. If you were having personal issues, and it was affecting your work, would you want your supervisor to ask about it?” After thinking a moment, we agreed that yes, we would want our supervisor to care enough to ask. Maybe you’re the same.

But often, we are afraid to ask the personal question. Think about it: When was the last time you were offended because someone asked you about what’s going on in your life? Now of course, there are times that it is inappropriate or maybe delivered in the wrong way. But my guess is that you are encouraged that someone cares enough to ask.

My encouragement then to you? Be the person who asks. Don’t travel 1,400 miles to do it. Do it here. With your friend, your coworker, heck, do it with me, I don’t mind sharing. And just in case you are interested in traveling 1,400 miles to do it there, our next trip is in June. Give me a call😊