Mission Trip: Jamaica

Run-down buildings, homelessness, poverty, struggling families—these are probably not the words you’d expect someone to use when describing Jamaica. But if you’ve been on three mission trips to Jamaica and witnessed these things with your own eyes, like Ross Gunderson has, they would come as no surprise.
Gunderson is the interim youth director at The Rock, a non-denominational youth center in Mora, MN. He attended Anoka-Ramsey Community College for two years and put his full-time education on hold when he was hired.
The country and people of Jamaica are special to Gunderson because they have taught him many things. Even though many of the citizens are going through tough times, you never hear them complain. Gunderson says, “When I look back on these trips I’ve been on, all I remember the Jamaican people doing is smiling. They do a great job of not judging other people and this makes Jamaica an inviting place.”
When Gunderson was a high school freshman, he went on his first mission trip to Jamaica. Being the youngest member of the group, he was nervous and intimidated. At the same time, he feels that the first time you visit a third-world country it is the time that impacts you the most. He was surprised to see so much poverty and homelessness.
Gunderson feels that one should go into any mission trip with few expectations or pre-conceived ideas. He says, “If you prepare yourself with an open mind and the ability to be flexible on the trip, the rewards will be priceless.” And those rewards can come from many different places. Whether you are helping build a school, church or house; putting on a Bible school to teach local children about Jesus; or just visiting and listening to someone who needs to talk, you are touching lives.
Gunderson explains, “The Jamaican people love to see us come. They get a temporary dose of motivation, and their spirits are lifted when they see that someone does want to help them out. Just seeing us come makes their day better.”
One of those people that wanted to talk was Alfred, a Jamaican that Gunderson built a great friendship with. The group that Gunderson was traveling with met Alfred and got to know him, and then the next trip they went on, about two years later, they came back to the same area Alfred was in and Alfred decided to come to church with them. He then worshipped, prayed, and talked with some of the people from the group and decided to become a Christian. “It was so encouraging! It was my favorite experience on a trip. Since then he still calls and keeps in contact with me,” Gunderson states.
Alfred wasn’t the only Jamaican who was moved by the group’s love, however. Many Jamaicans wonder why people come all the way to Jamaica to help them build schools and churches and spend time with them. Gunderson explains, “This is what a missions trip is all about, and it gives us a chance to show them what it means to be a Christian, tell them about God’s love, and tell them how they can become a Christian.”
Gunderson says that even though the purpose of a mission trip is to serve and help other people, you always get something out of it, too. He says that because the trips are very demanding and cause you to get very tired from little sleep, lots of work, and stress, you improve your communication and listening skills, and grow both physically and spiritually.
“The whole trip is a way God can reveal himself. I see the work He is doing through me and it reminds me of how real He is,” Gunderson says. One of the mottos for a missions trip he went on was “It’s not about me”. He explains that this reflects the core of missions—to put God and others first and yourself last.
A mission trip isn’t always filled with happy memories, as was evident when Gunderson spent time in several orphanages. Most of the children there had severe disabilities. Many of them were taken there because their parents couldn’t afford to clothe, feed, or care for them. Gunderson thinks that it was challenging to connect with them because of the cultural differences we have, but he says that because a lot of them are “starved for attention,” most of the impact you make on them is through your actions, not your words.
For Ross Gunderson, using his life to make a difference depicts the Apostle Paul’s words in Acts 20:24 and gives his life meaning, “But my life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned to me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about God’s wonderful kindness and love.”