Mission Trip

Today I got an email from someone planning a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. My name is in the diocesan information as a resource for trip planning. We leave in 10 days on our mission trip! So much excitement, so much to do! Here's the list of questions and my answers.

Have your trips to the DR been typically for one week or longer/shorter?

We usually leave here on a Saturday (day 1), arrive in Santiago that evening, worship with our host congregation on Sunday (day 2), work M-F (days 3-7), take a field trip on Saturday (day 8), worship w/ host congregation on Sunday (day 9) and then drive to the north coast for a couple days at a hotel to rest and process the emotions our trip (days 9-11). We leave for home on a Wednesday (day 12). Don’t underestimate the value of the rest days at the end of the trip. It allows time for the group to share experiences with the people who really understand what happened. If you try to get together after returning home, it just doesn’t work as well.

What type of work did the group do? And what, if any, skills were needed?

We have helped build a church, renovated houses, painted a church, and run VBS. Skills needed: willing spirits, open hearts, receiving hospitality, team attitude. Additional skills that are helpful: ability to speak Spanish, familiarity with the culture, construction/home improvement experience, Sunday school or VBS experience.

What mission activities have worked well? Which haven't? Why?

Things that worked well: ~sending money ahead of time to hire local crew members and purchase supplies before our arrival ~acting as support to local construction crew paid with our donations ~vacation Bible school ~building relationships/returning to parish ~Saturday field trip with members of the parish ~worshiping with parish before starting “work” ~including parish members in our work
Things that haven’t worked well: ~underestimating the materials needed for VBS ~expecting to get a job done the way we’d do it here ~thinking that completion of the project was the most important goal of the trip

How have you handled/coordinated issues such as transportation, meals, lodging, medical needs, language barriers, etc...

We have several meetings before we leave. We talk about what mission means to us, cultural sensitivity, packing lists, passports, immunizations, work plans, how to live as a group. We have a travel agent for our airline tickets. Ellen Snow is invaluable in arranging transportation from airport to work site and helping with lodging and meals. We buy travel insurance. We’ve been blessed with at least one Spanish speaker on each trip, sometimes we have several; Ellen will also help with translation needs. Medical needs – we ask for people to ‘fess up to a “first-aider” about any medical issues they have that will effect the trip. We carry a first aid kit with some over-the-counter meds. People are discouraged from suffering in silence and encouraged to let someone know if they are having any problems like diarrhea, headaches, etc. DON’T DRINK THE WATER and avoid salads! Brush teeth with bottled water! Encourage the use of handcleaner like Purell. We have a mandatory evening meeting EVERY night. We share our successes and our challenges. Nothing is considered too trivial to discuss. We pray!

How much of the cost of the trip was absorbed by each missioner, and how much by the parish?

The cost per missioner is about $1200. We ask each person to pay $750; some will pay the entire $1200, others will seek donations from family and friends.

What type of fundraising was most successful?

We have an annual Mother’s Day car wash. We’ve also solicited donations from the congregation and brought back coffee as a premium for the donors. I’ll be happy to send you a sample letter we have for missioners to use.

What size group of missioners seems to work best? Are there age restrictions?

No more than 20 people for this trip, I think 15 or 16 is ideal. Any more than that and the group is unwieldy and transportation becomes a real chore! We take people who have finished 10th grade or are at least 16 years of age.

Has the mission work allowed interaction with the local community?

We have had better and better interaction with the community, mostly as a result of returning to the same site several years in a row.

What else can you share about the trip that you believe our team would find beneficial?

Keeping in mind that building a relationship is at least as important as any material gift you might leave behind will get your team through many rough moments. We have had times when we’ve had to sit around and wait for more “work.” We are always surprised at how meaningful those waiting times have been. We’ve learned to play dominoes, thrown wiffle balls with the kids, traded parenting stories with the neighbors, learned new songs, and shared family photos. We can leave money behind to finish a project, that’s never been a problem. It’s leaving pieces of our hearts behind that’s been painful. Did I mention you’ll need tissues?