Recently we were researching hotels in Africa and chuckled when we noticed that one of the hotels listed toilet seats as an amenity!

It was a great reminder of how hotels can differ, especially in Third World countries. When traveling to these places, you can forget the star system that we use in the U.S. to judge hotels. With some of these, the only stars are the ones at night visible through the holes in the hotel room’s ceiling!

So how do you decide where your group will stay, especially when you are planning the trip from the other side of the world? Here are some things to consider when choosing hotels for short term mission trips.

Don’t rely on the Internet. Many hotels in remote places aren’t even on the Internet, and if they are, there probably is not enough information about them to make a good decision.

Always preview it—either yourself during an advance trip or have someone you trust who lives in the area check it out for you. Be sure to ask to see one of the rooms.

Is the hotel safe and clean?  Keep in mind that “clean” may be relative to where you are working.

Is the hotel in a central location close to where you will be working each day? If not, then what additional arrangements and expense will you incur to get your team where they need to go?

Does the hotel provide sheets and towels? Surprisingly, some don’t—or if they do you may still want to consider bringing your own. Note that many hotels around the world—even in places like Europe—do not provide washcloths.

Do you plan to have team meetings while staying at the hotel? If so, then make sure the hotel has a room that will accommodate you. Many teams like to have a daily briefing over breakfast. See if the hotel serves breakfast and if there is an area of the restaurant where you can meet.

Know what is included in the price, and how payment will be made. Is the price per room or per person? Are taxes included? If not, how much will they be? Is there an extra charge if you use a credit card? Is it even advisable to use a credit card there? Does the price includes breakfast, and if so, then what is on the menu?

Be sure to get everything in writing from the hotel—prices, dates, breakfast details, etc.

We’re sure these tips will come in handy the next time your mission team needs a hotel. Hopefully, you will find one that includes toilet seats!

In our last post, we posed five questions to consider when deciding where to take your next international ministry or humanitarian team. We pick up that discussion today with five additional questions to ponder. 

Can you recruit for this trip?

What is the likelihood that you will be able to put together a team to go there? Will the costs for that particular place be so expensive that people will be reluctant to go? Will the conditions require that the potential team member be in great physical shape—if say you have to hike a long distance to reach the site? Do you have a large enough pool to draw from with the skills needed to work at this site?

What are the logistics to go to a place like that?

What are the transportation needs? What accommodations are available? How available are the supplies that you will need?

What is the political/security environment?

Is there known civil unrest around the site that could be prohibitive to your ministry? What will it take to get visas? Are there special permits needed to travel to that part of the country? Are there particular security concerns that need to be weighed?

What are other organizations doing there?

Would your trip be redundant to what others will do? Could it hinder the work of others? Do you need to coordinate with another organization? Experience has taught us that some national leaders work with multiple international organizations, but they don’t always disclose that to those organizations. So you show up with a team the week after another team was there and the locals do not have the time or energy to adequately work with you.

Have you prayed about it?

Have you gathered a group of people to pray about it? How is God guiding your steps? Do you have a peace about this?

While this list is far from exhaustive, it is a good starting point. Also, just because a site may be hard to access or the work may be difficult it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go there. It just means that you need to count the cost before you do. Hopefully this list will help you do that. With limited resources, this list can also help you choose between what is good and what is best.

With all the needs in the world, how do you determine the sites for your international ministry or humanitarian trips?

If your organization only works in one part of the world doing the same thing with the same people (like running orphanages, for example), then the answer to that question is simple. But what if you represent a church or other ministry that has a broader mission focus?

As you probably know, site selection is everything. A good trip very much rises or falls on where you go, who you work with there, and what you do when you get there. Here are five questions to ask in determining the right sites for future mission trips.

Does this fit into our over-all strategy?

The problem with that question, however, is that some ministries don’t have a strategy. They don’t have a clear focus or purpose to what they are trying to do in the world. So before your decide where you will go, make sure you know your purpose and have a strategy for accomplishing it.

Is it a good fit for a short-term team?

Not every site is appropriate for the type of ministry that a short-term team could do. Is there something substantive that your group can accomplish there within the limited time you have? Do the people you would work with know how to best utilize teams like yours?

Is there a point man/woman?

Is there someone on site who will take responsibility to personally ensure that things get done? Is this person reliable? Are they able to communicate clearly? Are they respected? Do they understand what a trip like yours requires and how to care for a visiting team? Do they have discernment and demonstrate maturity?

Do you have the right potential team leader(s)?

Do you have people with the vision and abilities to lead a team to that site? Not every trip is the same, nor is every work. Some may be more demanding or require more skills than others. For example, if the site needs a medical team, do you have someone who can put together a medical mission?

What previous ministry has been done there?

Was it successful? What did it accomplish? Do the people involved with the past work feel another trip is appropriate?

These are a few questions to ponder as you consider the best place to send your international ministry and humanitarian teams. We’ll look at five more in our next post.

We’ve eaten Big Macs in Moscow, Sydney, London, Dallas, and even in North Pole (Alaska). They tasted great in each location. The architecture of the stores was all different. The menus had some variations and the employees may have spoken different languages, but there was a certain consistency among the restaurants.

As we have discovered in our last two blogs, consistency is important not only for fast food chains but also for organizations conducting international trips. Friday we looked at three areas needing consistency. Today we explore four more.

Materials

If your teams use evangelism tracts or tools, for example, do all your teams use the same ones (except for language differences)? Consistency with your materials makes training easier—everyone is taught to use the same thing. It also ensures that only materials meeting your organization’s standards are used.

Also, do you give team members a shirt, travel bag, or other supplies? Make sure that all your teams get these. They don’t have to all be the same style, but you don’t want some teams getting them and others not. Yes, they do find out if others got them and they didn’t; yes, it does become an issue!

Finances

Do you have the same initial deposit requirement for all your trips? Do you require every trip participant to have half of their funds in x number of months before the trip? What do you do if someone raises more than they need? Do you have a consistent policy for handling this?

Do you have consistent expectations for how team leaders will handle money and report its use?

Logistics

Who makes the airline arrangements—the participant, team leader or other coordinator? (We suggest it not be left to individuals but that there is one point person who handles it for the team). Is this the same for each trip?

Is travel insurance required for every team member? Who is responsible for ordering it? Does every team prepare and disburse a list of emergency contact numbers? Does every team register with the U.S. Embassy in the country where they are headed? Does every team make prayer calendars?

Mobilization

Does every team follow a plan to mobilize prayer and other participation? See our March 29 blog for details.

There are reasons why McDonald’s has become the global icon that it has, and one of them is consistency. Let’s learn a lesson from the golden arches and strive for consistency in mission trips.

After all, what you are offering is far better than a Big Mac!

As we saw in our last blog, Kenya is a popular East African nation and the hub for much of the missionary work that takes place in the region. The Kenyan capital of Nairobi is one of Ministry Travel’s most requested destinations, along with Entebbe and Lusaka.  In our last blog we looked at Nairobi, one of the three top places to visit while in Kenya. Today we’ll focus on Mombasa and the Maasai Mara Game Reserve

Mombasa

The coastal city of Mombasa has long been lauded for its beautiful beaches, diverse marine life and world-class hotels. It is actually an island connected to the mainland by three bridges, yet it is the second-largest city in the country.

To the eastern end of the island is the Old Town, whose elegant historical buildings date back to the 18^th century, and are a mixture of Arabic, Portuguese and African architecture. It is best to explore the Old Town on foot to take it all in, and to buy souvenirs from the countless curio shops that line its narrow streets. Old Town is presently nominated for inclusion as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Not far from the Old Town is Fort Jesus, another of Mombasa’s famous tourist attractions. It was built by the Portuguese in the 16^th century, and is now a museum housing artifacts from the slave trade era. Its interior is comprised of prison cells where slaves were kept in captivity before being traded. Its exterior is adorned with the very same canons that the Portuguese used to protect their interests in the Kenyan coast. Fort Jesus was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

Another must-see attraction is the Gedi Ruins, situated on the Mombasa-Malindi road.  These are the ruins of a 15^th century Swahili town. They are so well preserved that the foundations and walls of most of the buildings are still discernable.

Maasai Mara Game Reserve

In the southwestern corner of the country lies the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, which borders Tanzania’s Serengeti. The Mara is undoubtedly Kenya’s finest game reserve. It is approximately 170 miles from Nairobi, which is about a five hours’ drive. There are also twice daily flights from Nairobi to the Mara.

The Mara is famous for the great migration–the annual migration of wildebeests, zebras and gazelles from the Serengeti in search of water and greener pastures. The migration occurs between July and September.

All of the “big cats” inhabit the Maasai Mara, along with many other wild animals. The coexistence of all these animals in the extensive 580 square miles of the Mara is breathtaking. It is no wonder that in 2006 the Mara was declared one of the new Seventh Wonders of the World.

Despite the post-election violence that broke out in the country in December 2007, Kenyans are a very friendly people. Traveling to Kenya is an unforgettable experience. Hopefully if you do go, you will have time to visit Nairobi, Mombasa, the Maasai Mara and some of Kenya’s other great sites.

Ministry Travel offers great airfares to East Africa through our partnership with Kenyan Airways and other airlines.