Things I Wish I Knew Before Going On My First Mission Trip

“You were created to make somebody else’s life better. Somebody needs what you have- your smile, love and encouragement.” -Joel Osteen

Preparing for your first mission trip is super exciting! On my first mission trip, I instantly fell in love with the people and culture. My first time going on a mission trip I honestly didn’t know what to expect. After four years now of serving on short term mission trips, here is everything I wish I knew before going.

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Learn the Language

On my first mission trip down to Mexico, I didn’t speak any Spanish. This was super unfortunate for me because I missed out on the opportunity to speak with a lot of incredible people we met while serving.

Before you go, set aside months to prepare yourself and learn the language, I can not recommend this enough. A lot of people you will serve with are bilingual but many of the people in the community or those you will minister to are not.

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Be Prepared to Share Your Testimony

We all have a story to tell. Each and every one of our stories is unique and worth hearing. Your story is important. You want to feel confident and comfortable with sharing your testimony. Be prepared, someone may ask you to share.

If you are like me and not fluent speaking in another language, you may want to write your testimony down and have it handy on a piece of paper. That way if you are asked to share your testimony and need to share it with help of a translator, your translator has a piece of paper to go off of in case they need to lookup any words they are unfamiliar with. This also allows for your translator to know the direction your testimony is going so they can help better convey what you’re trying to say.

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Know the Currency Exchange Rate

The exchange rate is always fluctuating, but make sure to know the exchange rate at the time of your trip. This will make it easier for you with making purchases and make sure you get the right change back.

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Games

Know a few fun interactive games you can play with the community or kids that you will meet at the ministries. There are always children present at the ministries we went to, and we made it a priority to lay a group game with them. Soccer (Football), tag, or even hide and seek are a lot of fun and easy to teach if a child does not know how to play. For some of the older kids try games like musical chairs or red light green light, or duck-duck-goose. These are always a big hit!

As always, make sure the game is appropriate! I would not recommend playing games that are hard to explain or that can be misread or misunderstood. I had a team member who once told me about a time they brought a card game called Uno along on a mission trip to play. A lot of the locals mistaken the game for gambling. So, when choosing a game make sure to exercise wisdom!

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Have Contacts Ready

Often, you will connect and form relationships with someone who does not know any other Christians or believers in the area. I recommend knowing some local churches and missionaries within the community who you can refer these people to. That way you can direct your friend to them and they can continue to grow in the Lord even after you leave and return home.

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Be Flexible

Things may not go according to your plans, but everything will work out in accordance with God’s plan. It’s okay for the week to go differently than you expected. You are there to serve, be flexible.

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Spend Time with God

This is the most important. Make sure you are connected and close to God during this whole process. Do a devotion and be spending time diligently with God before, during, and even after your trip.

Preparing your heart is so important. This is going to get your ready to serve and be an example of God to everyone you come in contact with.

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