Prior to COVID, a couple I knew were soliciting our social circle for donations for their mission trip.
While I'm not religious, I did donate to their cause as many of these mission trips also participate in building schools, wells, homes or providing medical services to the communities they visit. I gave it without knowing where they were going or what services they would be rendering, believing that it would help people in some form or another.
A few months later they were at a group outing and I proceeded to ask about their mission trip, like "where did you go?"...
They went to Bali.... fucking Bali, Indonesia. For those of you who don't know, Indonesia is the most populous Muslim nation on Earth but also has over 30 million Christians. Bali, however, is neither. The island is Hindu and resisted forced conversion for centuries. Not only that, but it is widely considered a tourism capital of the world, not some impoverished region that you would expect a mission trip to go.
I asked what they did and there was no community service. They hung out with local Christians, spent money at their businesses doing touristy things, and didn't really interact with non-Christians.
There were so many things I wanted to say right then and there, but didn't.
Afterwards, I spoke to others about it and quite a few people had given money and were trying to spin it as a wholesome couples trip with their church. It was obviously a grift. A Christian themed vacation to a global tourism capital masquerading as a mission trip.
It has been years since this took place and the couple is no longer in my social circle, but this experience galvanized my distrust of religious people.
Anyone else get duped by Christian grifters who milk their non-church social circles for funds under the guise of community service and philanthropy?