"I don't believe the man who offered the bike [to the Haitian child] ever meant to cause so much trouble for the LTM [long term missionaries] or the kid. I don't believe the VBS group meant to pay kids with gifts to become Christians. I am fairly certain that many groups have not considered that they are one of thousands of STM [short term missionary] groups that will come to Haiti this year. I don't think groups come here wanting to foster dependency and send a message that Haitians cannot do things for themselves. Sadly, for many many years we've been doing just this. Not because we wanted to - but just because we came in with the wrong attitude."
Don't make it about the things you want to accomplish. Make it about the relationships you want to establish. And in a sense, be more selfish: go there partially for your benefit. Go there to learn, and to love.
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