Missions

We are called to go out into the world and reach all nations as ambassadors of Jesus.
I've been struggling with what that looks like...I mean, we're called to do it, so does that mean that however we do it we're doing it right?!
I think about the mission trips that I've been a part of, especially where we come in contact with kids.
There is usually some sort of fun activities, and some learning activities, and inevitably, one of the youth (Kim) becomes attached to one of the kids (Sammy) and it's reciprocated. Throughout the week Kim will say to Sammy that they love them and Jesus loves them too. Sammy, in some cases, might even link the love given and received by Kim with God's love. We see this as preposterous, because we know that we can't even come close to measuring ourselves in comparison with God's eternal love...but can the child?
Finally, at the end of the week, Sammy and Kim share an Oprah moment together before they separate. Sammy tells Kim to write and she caught in the moment, acquiesces.
Then it is reiterated that God loves Sammy and will never leave her, and the next moment Kim jumps into the van and laughs at the latest inside joke among the group, pausing to wave as the van drives out of the parking lot...another person that is come and gone in the life of Sammy.

What has Sammy just learned about love? Something that might be a pretty solid reality in life: People who love you come and go without much more that a wave, and typically much less.

Will this encounter...that's actually repeated in Sammy's life for the next 10 weeks throughout the summer, be a positive impact or will it harden her to life and love...and God?
Especially when Kim promised to write...(the letter has yet to come)
Just like Kim promised that God would always love her.

Are we perpetuating a problem and offering a hollow gospel, just so that we might, individually, be missionary for a week each year?