A Reason to Volunteer Abroad

Last year I described why I think many overseas missions do more harm than good. The first comment was from Lindsey Jones, who recently posted her own experience volunteering abroad:

We called the trip to Haiti a "reverse mission trip," which is meant to imply that WE, the travelers, are the ones receiving rather than providing. We affirm the Haitian culture instead of fostering dependency, and we attempt to empower those in Haiti to do the work for their own nation since they are far more equipped to do it than we ever will be. We go to learn and benefit from what Haitians can teach us, and we have no intentions of teaching or telling them anything.

This is a great argument for volunteering abroad, but with diminishing effects.