One of the things about any missions trip is it reveals a couple of things quickly: the condition of the heart and body.
I may spend my life pastoring an inner ring suburb, where there are challenges of new ethnic groups, older groups not wanting change, poverty, transition, etc., that doesn’t mean I am used to ANY situation around me.
In times of going on a mission I find that my life is just too soft. I LOVE my life, but I am always challenged that I too comfortable in many ways.
I also realize that I don’t want my heart hard to the realities of life. A missions trip, even to a city in America, keeps my heart pliable. I don’t want my spiritual ears deafened to the needs of the world, even the world right in my own country.