For decades various Christian denominations have sent summer groups from their varied churches to the Caribbean Islands as well as to Mexico and Central American countries in order to spread the Word of God and demonstrate Christian action through the good works of church building. This is the ever on-going nature of American missions, started as a strong movement in the 19th Century.

Both before the Civil War, as a result of the Second Great Awakening, and after the Civil War Protestants sent missionaries to Asia, Africa, and South America. In some cases they established hospitals and schools while teaching the Gospel. This zeal continues until this day, even though imperialistic national motives are no longer in force.

The notion that Imperialism begat missions or the other way around has been debated for many years. Liberal academics point to examples of American and European missions working side by side with their respective governments civil servants and military cohorts. As nations declared their independence, they nationalized western businesses such as oil companies and mines producing precious stones as well as needed elements such as copper and zinc. 

Additionally, missionaries were sent packing, in some areas violently. Nuns in the Congo, for example, were murdered because they identified, as a group, with the utter brutality of the Belgian overlords.

In China, missionaries were chased out of the country by the Communists and fledgling Christians started to operate underground. Large groups such as the Catholics wanted to protect their investments and assets and leaned to making deals with the Communists. The Vatican and Peking still trifle over who has ultimate say over the elevation of bishops. 

But in the twenty-first century, churches seeking to spread the Gospel plan trips to build and/or repair churches, build new structures, and basically strengthen the infrastructure of a church in the Dominican Republic or Nicaragua, or Colombia, or a dozen other South American nations. Meanwhile, their citizens long to come to America.

It could be anywhere. I recently drove past a local church advertising such a project and, of course, requesting money. It was the downtown area. Although the city has greatly improved and upgraded these streets, there are still many homeless people encamped in parks and in remote parking areas. The city has safe places like Samaritan's Kitchen, but there iare limitations on numbers served. 

Homelessness is a serious problem in the United States. In Greensboro, North Carolina, the state has bought the old, defunct Hebrew Academy and will turn it into a sanctuary for unaccompanied Mexican children up to the age of 18. So far, 800 will be housed there. But that doesn't address the indigenous homeless problem.

This points to the fact that we have people in our midst that need Jesus. We do not need to spend countless dollars to fly to another country when the need is great in our very backyard. It is a need for food, for shelter, for education, and for jobs that are skill training. 

We need the old American Settlement Houses for our Rio Grande swimming fellow humans. I myself am an immigrant as were my parents. We all learned skills and my parents capitalized on their European skills. We made it. I'm not rich by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm alive and "making it."

Foreign missions must begin in our own back yard.Christians in other poorer countries must be taught how to alleviate poverty in their communities and live Jesus everyday as a living example.