According to the Boy Scouts of America, these “leave no trace” ethics include:
- Plan Ahead and Prepare
- Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
- Dispose of Waste Properly (Pack It In, Pack It Out)
- Leave What You Find
- Minimize Campfire Impacts
- Respect Wildlife
- Be Considerate of Other Visitors
Anton Flores spent his third consecutive summer serving at the Latin American Anabaptist Seminary in Guatemala. He began to wonder if there should be a “leave no trace” ethic for traveling in the Two Thirds World. Many of the people he met coming through the seminary’s guesthouse were visiting because they want to both transform and be transformed by the poor. This desire of transformation is noble and perhaps even God-honoring, but could it be that without a proper ethic of entering a new culture, especially indigenous ones, we could be leaving a trace that is caustic to the social and spiritual environment?
Tourists traveling to the Two Thirds World ignite a consuming fire of want in the midst of mind-blowing need. But what about short-term missions teams from North American churches? When they travel to developing countries to spread the Gospel, what Gospel are they spreading? Is it the Gospel of God’s kingdom or the gospel of a culture that has enmeshed materialism with a prosperity gospel that does not translate to another culture? When church groups visit countries where the majority of citizens live on less than $2 a day and come armed with the Word of God while listening to Christian music on iPods and wearing the latest Christian threads, what message is coming loud and clear? What trace are they leaving?
Anton developed a “leave no destructive trace” for short-term mission teams who need to escape from the insular world of America in order to better know God, but not at the expense of the world’s poorest inhabitants.
- Plan Ahead and Prepare—Proper missions planning and preparation helps members accomplish trip goals safely and enjoyably while minimizing damage to natural and cultural resources.
- Travel in a Way that Empowers the Poor—Support indigenous cultures when you decide on where to eat and lodge.
- Dispose of Waste Properly (Don’t Pack It In and You Won’t Have to Pack It Out)—Leave the luxuries of home at home. Remove from your luggage anything the poor of the country you are visiting don’t need or couldn’t afford.
- Take Home What You Find—When you return home, share with others what you discovered to be the strengths of the people you met. Perhaps more importantly than what you did in the name of Christ you should share how the poor reflected Christ to you.
- Maximize your Flight from Consumerism’s Impact—True discipleship is about making temporal things small and making eternal things large. Return home and review all the dead things you lived without and get rid of them! Grow in your generosity and find ways to support efforts to holistically empower the poor.
- Respect Indigenous Cultures—Quick judgments and ethnocentric noises are damaging to the people you will visit.
- Be Considerate of Other Visitors—Respectfully continue on your journey toward leaving no destructive trace so that others may feel included and invited on this sojourn.
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