Posts Tagged ‘travel insurance’

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

Storms Impact Mission Teams–What to Do If It Happens to You

Heavy rains and flooding in Central America over the past few days have short-term mission teams there scrambling to adjust. Mission Network News (MNN) is reporting on one short-term mission team in Guatemala that was stuck in the storm and unable to continue the medical clinics it was conducting. The rains were so bad that people could not get to their clinics, and washed out roads made team travel difficult.

On Monday, the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City issued an emergency message to U.S. citizens advising against all in-country travel until the weather improves and landslides are cleared. “The recent heavy rains mean that water saturation in the mountains is high and more landslides could occur,” said the advisory.

Honduras has issued a “state of red alert” according to the British Foreign Office. The situation there is similar to Guatemala with travel also disrupted by landslides and flooding. Reuters is reporting 81 people dead and thousands of people have abandoned their homes across Central America. In El Salvador, more than 13,000 people were forced to flee the rising waters. Humanitarian groups there are concerned about long-term food supplies as the floods have wiped out much of this season’s harvest.

What should you do if you are on a short term mission trip and your ministry team faces natural or other disasters? First, make sure that you get good information. That starts before you go by registering your team with the U.S. State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program at http://bit.ly/ptDdL9. This will enable the local U.S. embassy to get in touch with you in case of an emergency or advisory condition. Also, monitor local news and stay in touch with local authorities for information about road closings.

Second, don’t take chances. Roads in developing countries can be treacherous under normal conditions let alone during severe storms. Also, many of these nations do not have the resources to quickly respond to multiple emergencies and road closures. It often is better to extend your trip a couple days and allow for the situation to stabilize. If you do that, however, be sure to contact your Ministry Travel agent so that we can notify the airlines and work on re-booking you. Failure to do so may result in losing the entire value of your ticket.

Finally, look for ways to serve in the midst of the crisis. In the case of the Guatemalan medical team, a hospital near where they were stranded asked for their assistance. Flexibility is always important for these trips, especially when hit by unforeseen events such as severe weather.

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Wednesday, September 28th, 2011

A Shout-Out from a Missions Newbie

It is easy when you do something all the time to assume that everyone else knows how to do the same thing, when they really don’t.

Take travel, for example.

For those of us in the business, navigating complex itineraries, adjusting to airline changes and enduring airport security screenings are old hat. It is easy to forget that most people travel very little, and many have never traveled internationally. At Ministry Travel, however, we strive to treat every client with care remembering that many of our clients come to us as travel novices.

So it is exciting when we hear back from “newbies” about their first ever mission trip and we enjoyed reading on our Facebook page Ric’s story about his first trip:

A big shout-out to Ministry Travel for their help in making our first foreign mission trip a breeze…Arriving in Nairobi late in the evening and looking at this lively metropolitan city of a few million people, I said to myself, ‘this is not going to be too bad’. This was, of course, before the 10 hour bus ride across the Kenya countryside getting to our final destination of Mumias, Kenya. What a ride. We started our pastor and leaders conference…then were able to travel to six village churches and share God’s precious word. We were able to hand out over 300 Bibles and make a large donation to help with several orphanages…TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

We appreciate Ric’s compliments, but most of all, we appreciate the fact that another person had the opportunity to experience international missions first-hand. Ric is already preparing for his next trip. He wrote, “The Story doesn’t end there, it’s only beginning. That was the first mission trip; we now are gearing up for a trip this year into India.”

Whether you are like Ric and preparing for your first-ever mission trip, or you are a seasoned pro, Ministry Travel looks forward to helping you! We not only provide discounted flights for missionaries, but we help you sort through the maze of international travel. Contact us today on the web at www.ministrytravel.com or by phone at 1-877-541-5726.

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Wednesday, September 14th, 2011

Severe Weather Tops Ministry Travel’s Social Media Updates

Looking back this past month at our daily Facebook and Twitter updates, we see a recurring theme: bad weather.

As we all know, Irene landed a real blow to the East Coast. But travelers also had to deal with Tropical Storm Maria in the Caribbean, Typhoon Talus impacting Japan and Hong Kong, Tropical Storm Lee in the Gulf Coast, Tropical Storm Nanmadol hitting Taiwan, and so on.

We often note in our updates that airlines have issued “travel waivers.” What this means is that airlines have relaxed their rules for cancelling or changing tickets if you are flying to or through cities affected by severe weather. We’ve noticed that since the storm-related travel fiascos of last year, airlines seem to be a little quicker to issue those waivers–which makes sense since they don’t want to deal with thousands of stranded passengers.

Note, however, that every airline’s “waiver” is different. Some will only allow you to postpone your flight for a couple days, some will let you fly early ahead of the storm, while others will let you cancel altogether without penalty. So always check the website of the particular airline that you are flying for their specific waiver details. And of course, keep watching our social media feeds for updates.

One article that we mentioned in our feeds this month was from the U.S. State Department on preparing for hurricane and typhoon season. They gave an 11 point “checklist” for travelers that bears mention here:

  1. Enroll your trip with the State Dept., (travelregistration.state.gov)
  2. Check with the airlines about travel services (the “waivers” that we mentioned earlier)
  3. Carry an international cell phone that can be used to stay in touch with family in the States
  4. Research the region so that you are familiar with local emergency procedures
  5. Pack an emergency supply kit
  6. Secure extra bottled water and non-perishable food
  7. Know local emergency phone numbers as well as the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate
  8. Have a water-proof container for your passport and other travel documents
  9. Get travel insurance prior to your trip
  10. Leave with family back in the States your detailed itinerary with local contact numbers
  11. Keep with you a photocopy of your passport, driver’s license and any credit cards that you take, and leave a photocopy with someone in the States

At Ministry Travel, we not only care about saving you money on airfare for your missions and humanitarian trips, but we also want you to have a safe trip and effective ministry. So continue to watch our blog and social media sites for all the latest information and tools to help you as you help others.

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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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