Toxic Missions: Exploitation and Emotional Readiness

We’ve all seen the photos of the starving children in Africa. Distended bellies, covered in dirt, and half naked. While these photos might be real and well meaning, they usually give the message of “We need to go save these children.” or “look at how poor these people are” There are several reasons why this can be problematic. For starters, how is it honoring to the parents of these children to display them to the masses as the “poster child” for desperate circumstances. I would also hate to BE one of these children. Imagine growing up and finding out YOUR picture had been used. Showing pictures of dirty children as a way to fundraise for missions feels really wrong. The whole cycle feels disingenuous and exploitative. These are real people and whether they are poor or not they deserve respect and autonomy, sharing pictures of people in poverty without their permission takes all of that away from them.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t take pictures. I think there is a time and a place, but we have to ask ourselves what the point is. Are the photos for a personal reason, to remember the faces of the people and pray for them? Are they to showcase our good works in a flagrant display of “look at me? There are many appropriate and inappropriate uses for photos on the mission field. Check your heart, then think about the way this could affect the people in the photo. If they were you, would you feel honored as a bearer of the image of God?

I think that’s super important to point out. I know both of us have utilized photos in both ways. We’ve even been told to “display the need” and while yes, the need IS great… I really don’t want to hurt the person or other individuals involved. Even if I think they’ll never see it, there’s a possibility. I think a great alternative is blurring the face/eye line, or taking ambiguous photos of the landscape and talking about it.

There is the argument that supporters deserve to know what it’s really like on the field, and I think this is a valid point. We have to connect the story of the person's life to their image. Missions are about relationships so we need to be about the business of connecting people. Just the photos alone to not help people interested in missions learn much. The photos don’t usually tell the whole story. Even people who live in extreme poverty experience joy, generosity, and community. Third world and second world countries are not just desolate wastelands filled with grumpy people who hate everyone and each other. Discontentment and grief are real lived experiences but they are not the only emotions materially poor people feel.

There’s the whole “a picture is worth a thousand words” and yet I feel like the person in the photo deserves a thousand words to tell their story. We need to think about whether it's gratifying the person or not. And if it’s not… delete or save it for yourself.

Some guidelines and solutions for the photo issue:

Be very careful about posting photos of children.

The point is to get away from posting ASPCA type photos of children. It leaves a toxic mindset and vision of what you think everyone in the country looks like.

Maybe post photos of the landscape, and when/if posting photos of people, have their permission and story. I know that we’re also changing how we approach photos even now.

Our promo video was a combination of footage I was able to have by being connected to Hope Church since I couldn’t take the footage myself but it still bothers me that the main photo is a kid smiling. At least he’s smiling. I just don’t know his name and that bothers me. I recognize him at least.

Let’s talk about emotional readiness.

In 2018 I was sitting in the dirt with a Roma girl. Lice in her hair, dirt on her face, clothing tattered. She was hyper and super curious about everything Jonna and I were wearing. “Ce asta” What’s that, what’s that??? We stumbled around in bad Romanian while trying to play games and listen to a story about Jesus. The girl was very comfortable with me and just plopped right down on my lap. I never learned her name. In 2019 we were back in the same village and lo and behold the same kids came out for more games and stories. More stumbling in bad Romanian, games, and a story. The kids are still dirty and vibrant. I still didn’t learn her name.

I think about her often, I wonder what her life is like at home, what her experiences growing up in a Roma village will be like. Next time I will learn her name. I will make it a point to learn many names.

I could have balked at the lice and worried about my hair or been visibly grossed out and refused to let her sit with me. Missions allow us to give up our own comfort and autonomy to show love and grace to others. If you are not emotionally ready for the dirt, lice and conditions unlike anything we experience in the USA middle class, then you need to get prepared.

Well even more dramatic stuff. Honestly, I’m oblivious so I didn’t notice lice--which was probably a GREAT thing because I have never had lice and I don’t want to start now. Lol. For me, my emotional readiness was more tested in the Dominican Republic. You get told “prostitution is legal. You will see prostitutes.” and that just… that doesn’t actually prepare you as much as you want it to. I wasn’t really prepared to see young beautiful women dancing with old men in the hotel we were staying at and maybe it’s me projecting, but you could see she was hating every moment of it. I wasn’t prepared for that. I just went to my room and was upset. So I would definitely need more training on emotional readiness for sexually abused victims since that IS something I want to work more in. I am glad I was wearing sunglasses when I went through the Red Light District in Amsterdam because hearing a girl was $35 and $25 for the tour BROKE ME. I bawled. So that is something that I need to work on myself, but is another great example of what you can see on the field.

Missions IS dirty, it isn’t just the dusty kind of dirt though. People go through extreme trauma everywhere all the time. In order to be in the ministry of healing and bringing wholeness to people we have to be prepared to hear their stories without bringing in our own trauma to their experience. We need to bring stability into the lives of other people. So pray that God grants those working with the broken strength and ability to be strong when others are weak.

Some solutions to build emotional readiness:

See if you can volunteer locally to help the people group you feel called to.

Take some classes on trauma and how to help survivors (or look some up online).

Learn the basics of good listening practices and even some questions that therapists might ask patients. (You might not be a therapist but learning how they work is extremely helpful for good listening and response practices.)

Find others who have worked in the field before you and ask them what they did to cope.

And finally, go to counseling. Working through our own painful experiences first will allow us to hold space for others.

If you would like to study more into missions, we highly recommend reading the book: Helping without Hurting in Short-Term Missions.

Also, the authors assume that you have read Helping Without Hurting first. Which is also beyond helpful.

There's another super helpful Helping Without Hurting in Church Benevolence, which is also great for those involved in church and church leadership.

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Here's the Podcast version. It's the same theme but it's not transcribed so there are various conversations we have on the blog vs on the podcast.