3 Reasons to Travel Light on Your Short Term Missions Trip

OK, so you've planned your short term missions trip, bought your plane tickets, and now comes the hard part.  What in the world do you pack for your mission trips?

Are you traveling to Africa?  Are you aware that they have clothes in Africa?  How about India?  Do people in India actually use soap?  What about shoes in Ukraine?  Or toothpaste in Brazil?  Of course they do!

Now that you have had some time to think about it a little, how much do you really need to take on your short term missions trip?  The answer is a lot less than you think.

Packing for Your Short Term Missions Trip

I am going to ask you to do something crazy.  I am going to ask you to take as much as you can possibly carry on the plane... without checking any luggage.  The bottom line is that you can purchase almost any item you need in almost every country you might be traveling to.  And it makes sense to travel as light as you can.

Why?  Well, there are three really good reasons to do so.

1)  People who have two shirts and two pairs of pants to wear day after day cannot relate to someone who brings eight shirts, six pants, three pairs of shoes, etc., for a ten-day mission trip.

That makes sense doesn't it?  As a missionary, you want to identify with the people you will be ministering to, and you want them to be able to identify with you.  How is that possible if you bring in more for a short term missions trip than they have for their entire lives?

2)  It is just too difficult to travel with a whole bunch of clumsy luggage to drag around.  I love being able to be the first in line at the airline check-in, customs, and everywhere else I need to get to.

When all you carry is a small personal item and carry-on bag, you can jump into a taxi quickly and you don't have to worry about your luggage being lost by the airlines; it's all on your shoulder.  And with the baggage fees that some airlines are charging these days, sometimes you can buy a whole wardrobe in another country with what you saved in fees.

A Short Term Missions Trip Secret!

3)  Almost everything (with the possible exception of a medical/dental mission) that you truly need can be bought in the host country.  Sometimes people are quick to offer to give you a case of toothpaste or 100 t-shirts or something like that before you leave to give out to people.

Although I certainly appreciate the gesture, it is usually much cheaper and more efficient to take a monetary donation instead and puchase the items once you get to the final destination of your short term missions trip.  It also helps their local economy!

Although some of the following are available in the Philippines where I usually minister, here are some of the items I pack for my short term missions trip:

3 shirts, 2 shorts, 1 khaki pants for preaching, 4 underwear, 1 long sleeve t-shirt, 1 pair of socks, and my soccer sandals

toothbrush, toothpaste, bar of soap, deodorant, razor, and small can of shaving cream (although I can normally buy these if I need to)

nail clippers, wet wipes, pen, notebook, netbook with webcam, camera, handkerchief (it's hot!), small LED flashlight

passport, copy of passport, airline flight tickets, cash stashed in various places

Some of these items, I actually wear on the plane because I don't like to be cold while I'm riding on an airplane for 15 hours.  I talk about specific tips for flying on other pages on Christian-Mission-Trips.com, but here is the best place I've found for specifics on packing with one bag from which I've learned a lot.

The bottom line is that you should pack as lightly as you possibly can for your short missions trips.  Remember, it's all about identifying as much as possible with the people you will be ministering to for the purpose of advancing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I with you the best of success on your short term missions trip adventure!