Posts Tagged ‘christian missions trip’

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Monday, July 25th, 2011

Debunking Travel Booking Myths: What Missionary Travelers Don’t Know Can Really Cost Them

The other night my wife and I hosted a get-together for missionary friends who are home on furlough. This family was passing through town and wanted to visit with their contacts in the area, so we invited them to our home. One of the friends who came was a retired missionary who still actively represents his mission through short term trips.

We got to discussing flights for missionaries, and I asked him who handles his missionary airfare arrangements. “Oh, I just find an Internet site and book it myself,” he replied.

“Are you aware that there are discounts available for international missionary and humanitarian travel,” I asked. You should have seen the look on his face when he realized that for years now he had needlessly been paying full airfare for his international mission trips.

“I had no idea,” he replied.

Before leaving, he thanked my several times for giving him the tip. This veteran global traveler is like many others who have bought into myths about booking missionary airfare. Their assumptions and lack of information are costing them not only money but also time and other resources. Here are three myths that I hear frequently as I interact with missionaries and mission trip leaders.

Myth #1: It doesn’t matter where you buy your airline ticket; the prices are all the same.

Between the proliferation of Internet travel sites and aggressive airline advertising campaigns aimed at driving you to their websites, it would seem that the simplest thing is to just book missionary travel online yourself. Or if you know a guy who has a friend who works at a travel agency across town, why not just call there? Does it really make a difference?

Early in my 20+ years of international ministry travel I discovered that airfare can vary greatly and that who you buy from really does make a difference. I discovered that the “secret” to getting discounted fares is knowing the difference between published fares—what you get from airlines and the Internet sites—and contract fares offered by select travel agencies.

I learned this as a young pastor taking a group from my church to serve for a week in Germany. I called the local office of a travel agency “chain” and was given one price on a particular airline, which was the same as what the airline gave me. I contacted another travel agency that I had heard about and got the same flights on the same airline for a couple hundred dollars less per person. The difference was that the second travel agency had contract fares, which are special arrangements with the airlines to sell a certain number of seats at a discounted price.

Today, most major airlines offer missionary or humanitarian contract rates for sale through a select few travel agencies. By utilizing these rates, it is not uncommon to save several hundred dollars off from each ticket. Africa is especially discounted, but savings are available to other continents as well. So it pays to know who to contact, because you can’t get these discounts from just any travel agent or even from the airlines.

Myth #2: You get the same service (or lack of it) regardless of where you book.

Although we live in a business culture that talks much about customer service, most of us who fly regularly don’t see a lot of that when dealing with airlines. Sometimes it feels like you have been dropped onto a deserted island and left to fend for yourself. When you call an airline, their job is to get your issue resolved as fast as possible so that they can tackle the 10 calls queued up behind you.

A good missionary travel consultant will explore a variety of options that not only help the bottom line, but actually make travel easier. There has been many times where my travel counselor came up with better schedules, found innovative ways to save money or suggested ways to avoid a “forced” overnight stay in a city.

Internet sites, of course, don’t provide personal interactions and there are no experts to review the travel arrangements with you. There’s no one to help catch mistakes that you might make. I know a short term mission team leader who typed in the wrong travel dates while booking online an entire team’s international flights. He didn’t realize it until hours after he had hit the “submit” button and purchased the tickets. His mistake was difficult to fix and cost him many hours and a lot of money!

Myth #3: If there is a problem, the airline will take care of me.

Who would have ever imagined that a volcano with an unpronounceable name way up in Iceland would spew ash all over Europe and shut down air travel for days on end? Yet that is exactly what we saw last year. This year, a volcano in Chile is wreaking havoc in the skies over Australia. You never think about flight attendants, pilots, air traffic controllers or even passport control officers walking off the job and airline schedules being sent into disarray, but we have seen all of this in recent days. Then there are the frequent problems like mechanical malfunctions and weather delays that can leave you grounded. You need someone on your side who will look out for your and explore all options, and you just don’t get that from the airlines.

Having traveled to 26 countries across six continents myself, and managed teams working in dozens of additional countries, I have seen international travel counselors come to our rescue on many occasions. If you are stuck in the middle of Timbuktu, it is nice to know there is someone you can call on who can get you out!

With airfare accounting for half or more of most short term mission trip expenses, and knowing that a bad travel experience can really dampen an otherwise great trip, I’ve found that it is best to leave air arrangements to people who know what they are doing. While missionary travel specialists can’t control volcanoes or airline strikes, they sure can come to the rescue when those or a hundred other things happen. That’s good news for all of us who travel abroad to serve.

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Frank Banfill is president of MaxPoint Ministries (www.maxpoint.org). He regularly leads short term mission teams and assists other ministries with their international outreaches. He writes on behalf of Ministry Travel (www.ministrytravel.com).

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Wednesday, June 8th, 2011

Not in Kansas Anymore: Managing the Field Ministry of Short-Term Mission Teams

The plane hits the dirt runway, slows and then begins to taxi toward the small brick building that serves as the airport’s terminal. As the plane comes to a stop, you and your ministry team duck your heads and exit at the back of the turbo-prop before stepping onto foreign soil. The moment that you have planned and prepared for has finally arrived. Your international ministry has begun. Now it is up to you as the leader of this short term mission team to make sure things go right and the outreach is a success. Here are seven key items to tackle that will enable you to effectively manage your group’s field ministry.

Think 24-48 hours ahead. As the leader, you need to anticipate what is in store for your team and plan ahead. By thinking in terms of what will be needed tomorrow, you will have the necessary time to make the appropriate arrangements.

Coordinate logistics. This will be ongoing from the moment you arrive to the time that you leave. The “big three” in this category include transportation, lodging and food/water. With transportation, you will want to not only make sure that you have it lined up for all of your activities, but also that there is enough to accommodate your team and any supplies or materials that you are carrying.

If your team is staying at a hotel or similar accommodation, be sure to write down each team member’s room number as you check-in your group. Also, be sure that they have your number in case there are any problems. If you are staying with host families, be sure to get a name and phone number for each home.

When it comes to food, you will quickly discover that meals need to be planned well in advance, especially if you have a large team. So always be thinking 2-3 meals ahead to ensure that you will have what you need and when you need it. Also, check with your team members each day—even multiple times during the day–to see if they have enough bottled water. Dehydration is one of the biggest health issues we see with mission teams.

Conduct field orientation. Even if you did extensive pre-trip training, there still needs to be orientation once you reach your ministry destination. Your team may or may not have been listening in previous meetings—but I guarantee they are listening now that you are on the field. You will want to cover three areas in your orientation: logistics, health and safety.

For logistics, make sure the team knows their way around the hotel or lodging facilities and how to get in touch with you and other leaders. Remind the team about handling valuables such as their passport and make sure each person has a business card or something with the hotel’s address on it.

Health topics would include food items that can and cannot be eaten, as well as instructions about bottled water. Safety includes things such as not venturing out alone, what to do in case of an emergency, and other concerns that you might have.

Conduct daily meetings. The primary purpose for these briefings is to make sure that everyone is on the same page. Many teams find that the best time to meet is during a meal—usually breakfast. Keep the meetings concise and focused but still allow some time for questions and a brief recap of the previous day’s events. You will want to review the schedule for that day, troubleshoot any problems that have surfaced, and give a brief look at what to expect the next day. Some ministry teams also use this time for worship and a devotional message.

Take the team’s pulse. During the trip, try to spend a few minutes with each team member to see how they are doing and to help them process events. Whether a member is a veteran or a newbie, look for ways to maximize that person’s trip experience. Are there things that you can do to help him or her better utilize their gifts and abilities? Are there personality conflicts between team members or with national workers that would necessitate a change in work groups? What about fatigue? Do you need to work in some down-time so that your team can re-charge a little?

As team leader, you will want to make sure that you do not isolate yourself or spend time with just a couple “favorites” with whom you feel comfortable. Instead, talk to everyone and try to observe everyone at work. If your team is spread out, make it a point to visit each work site some time during the trip.

Plan for future ministry. It is easy to get caught-up with the activities of the moment and fail to look ahead. If you plan on working there again, take some time during your trip to prepare for your next team.

On the last evening of my last trip to Africa, our team went to a pizza restaurant as a special treat. As we were walking up to the building one of our national hosts commented that the hotel across the street was new. Knowing that we would return in a couple months with another team, we decided to visit the hotel after dinner. It was beautiful—much nicer than where we were staying, and it was less money! Needless to say, we booked it for our next group. That team will be very glad that we planned ahead!

Prepare for re-entry. As your ministry abroad begins to wind down, there are a couple items that need to be addressed. First, verify your return flights with your airline 48 hours before departure. Also, discuss with your team the travel logistics such as flight plans, filling out customs forms, reclaiming luggage and so on.

As you address these seven items during your mission trip, you will find that the trip is more manageable and runs smoother. I would encourage you to develop a checklist around these issues and work through it during your time on the field. This will keep you on task and help ensure that nothing falls through the cracks.

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Frank Banfill is president of MaxPoint Ministries (www.maxpoint.org) and is involved with community transformation in Africa. He writes on behalf of Ministry Travel (www.ministrytravel.com).

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Wednesday, May 4th, 2011

Impact of Osama bin Laden’s Death on Short Term Mission Trips

Barely 12 hours had gone by since the announcement of Osama bin Laden’s death when a church staff member received an email from a parishioner questioning what impact the event would have on the church’s international mission trips. The church member’s question was raised in light of the worldwide travel alert issued by the U.S. State Department minutes following the bin Laden announcement by President Barack Obama late Sunday.

The State Department notice warns “U.S. citizens traveling…abroad to the enhanced potential for anti-American violence given recent counter-terrorism activity in Pakistan.” It goes on to say that Americans in areas where recent events could cause violence are “urged to limit their travel outside of their homes and hotels and avoid mass gatherings and demonstrations.” The alert expires August 1.

So, should these events cause that church to alter its international ministry plans? Here are some things to consider if you or your organization has an upcoming mission trip.

First, remember that the world is a very big place. It is important that you get good information for the specific part of the globe where you are heading and not make decisions based on generalities. We have to distinguish between travel warnings that are general in nature and those that are specific to particular areas.

What is more helpful to mission teams than State Department global alerts are the Warden Messages issued by U.S. embassies. These notices are usually specific to a country and also specific to particular cities or regions within that country. They can be found at www.travel.state.gov. From there click on your destination country and then “Recent Embassy Notices for American Citizens.”

This information along with current local news (see www.AlertNet.org) can help you discover potential concerns for where you will actually work. Of course the best information typically comes from contacts living in the area, so be sure to talk to your local hosts ahead of time about any security concerns.

Second, be careful not to broad-brush a country and dismiss ministry there because of problems in limited areas. Just because one region of a nation has issues it doesn’t meant that all the others do as well. That would be like saying that if muggings are common in New York City then they also must be in Topeka because Topeka is part of the U.S. What is true about one part of a country may not be true of other parts.

Third, regardless of the current global threats, there are always certain places or events that you should avoid. Crowds of demonstrators, even if they seem peaceful, and places known for demonstrations certainly fall into this category. A ministry trip to the area may be perfectly safe just as long as you avoid these “hot spots.”

Finally, when you do travel, be sure to register with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program offered by the State Department at http://travelregistration.state.gov. This will allow the U.S. government to better assist you if problems arise while traveling abroad.

Don’t avoid travel or stop your international ministry just because of general global concerns. Instead, base your decisions on good information specific to your destination and then take the appropriate precautions.

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Wednesday, April 20th, 2011

Layover at London Heathrow’s Terminal 5

The three-person mission team stepped off the airplane from their overnight flight from Africa and walked into Terminal 5 at London’s Heathrow Airport. Having spent the last 10 days eating rice, beans and other African “delicacies” the team wanted some familiar food.

After clearing security, one of the guys asked the purple shirt-clad airport information representative where the closest McDonald’s was. “We don’t have McDonald’s or any fast-food chain here in Terminal 5,” the man replied. “This is a new terminal and it was designed to be upscale.”

If you fly through London from the U.S., you probably will spend time in Terminal 5. So that you are not too disappointed when you can’t find a Big Mac there, here are some tips to finding other food and shops in the terminal.

While you won’t find a McDonald’s in Heathrow’s Terminal 5, you will find a Starbucks (guess a coffee chain  is in a different category) and some great specialty restaurants. There is a traditional British restaurant called Huxleys on the Departure (upper) level just past security on the north side. Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has a food stop just south of the central waiting area, also on the upper level. Wagamama, which is a noodle bar restaurant, can be found near the north seating area.

Our favorite Terminal 5 restaurant, however, is Giraffe, which features international food accented by global music. The service is quick, the food is delicious and the prices are reasonable. It is located on the upper level near security and next to the London 2012 Store.

Speaking of the London 2012 Store, this shop just opened last month in advance of the Olympics which will be held in London next summer. The store features mostly Olympic apparel but also has a selection of gift items including Olympic trading pins.

Besides the typical airport bookstores, duty free shops and convenient markets, Terminal 5 also has a Harrods Department Store, luggage store, travel store and a large electronics shop. Most of those are located on the Gate (middle) Level.

If you have a long layover and decide to venture out of the Terminal and into the city, there is no need to take your carry-on bag. Just stop by the Left Luggage center in the arrivals area near the rail station entrance. For eight British Pounds they will securely store one piece of luggage for up to 24 hours.

No, you won’t find a McDonald’s at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 but you will discover some great food and unique shops.

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Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

Preparing Emergency Sheets for Mission Trips

What happens if there is an emergency back home while you are on a mission trip in the middle of Timbuktu? Will your family or friends know how to get in touch with you? What if you experience an emergency or run into a snag in your travel plans—will you have at your fingertips the phone numbers to call for help?

Whether you are alone or leading a group, if you are serving abroad it is a good idea to maintain a single-page sheet of contact information that can be left with family at home as well as carried with you. While there are obvious things that you will want to include on that sheet such as telephone numbers where you can be reached, there are some other important items not as obvious but equally important. Here is a list of items to consider including on your emergency contact sheet.

How to dial an international number. From the U.S. you must dial 011 plus the number for international calls. Since most people do not make international calls, leaving this out can create confusion and make it more difficult for people to reach you.

Time difference. You don’t want a 3 a.m. non-emergency call!

Airline phone numbers including the numbers for the country you will visit. This is so that you can reconfirm your return flights or contact the airline should your travel plans change.

U.S. Citizen Emergency Center. This is the number in Washington D.C. your family can call to find out about arrests or your whereabouts abroad should you be unreachable otherwise. That number is (202) 647-5225.

Hotels/lodging plus the dates that you will be staying there. Dates are especially important if you will be moving around a lot on your trip.

Cell phone number of a local contact who will be with you during your trip.

U.S. Embassy telephone and address for the country you are visiting. Make sure to also note the after-hours emergency number.

Travel insurance emergency numbers. You should also include your policy number. If you book your insurance through Ministry Travel, which uses Travelex Travel Assistance, the phone numbers are (866) 930-9806 toll-free within the U.S. Outside the U.S., call collect (603) 328-1965.

Other key local contacts. Include the numbers for any organizations you are working with or key leaders at your destination.

Again, this emergency contact sheet is both for you and those who stay behind. So make sure a family member or friend has a copy and be sure to keep a copy on you (not in your checked luggage) at all times.

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