The first thing to do in seeing how you might fit into the over-all scheme of fulfilling the mission mandate is to take a short-term mission trip. It should not be too difficult to find a group from a local church that is headed to some part of the world for a one-to-two week mission experience. In fact, the number of such opportunities is growing almost exponentially each year. In 1979, twenty-two thousand Americans were involved in such short-term mission experiences. In just ten years, that number grew to one hundred twenty thousand. In only three more years, the figure more than doubled to two hundred fifty thousand. By 1998, the total was at four hundred fifty thousand. I have been on planes to some Central American countries when it seemed that the whole aircraft was filled with different mission teams.
Getting ready for a mission trip — even one of these short-term excursions — requires preparation in your total man: body, soul, and spirit. Let’s begin with some of the physical things you need to collect. This part of the preparation is as simple as A, B, C. In fact, you need to be prepared from A to Z, so check out Appendix A for all these points. One of our first rules is to travel light — although you would never guess it from the list of stuff in Appendix A. But you really do need to limit the tonnage of what you bring. Check with the airline to see what their current baggage restrictions are. Remember that your carry-on bag must fit under the seat or in the overhead compartment. Usually, the airline allows each traveler to bring one carry-on bag plus a camera bag or a purse (for ladies) or a briefcase (for men). You may want to pack only one carry-on bag to avoid any difficulties just in case they are enforcing the one-carry-on-bag rule on the day you are traveling. What you pack will, of course, depend upon where you are headed. Generally you should always bring a sun hat, sun glasses, bathing suit, and a light jacket. Your clothes should be casual but decent. Include at least one dress-up outfit. If you will be ministering in churches, you may be surprised to find that the people in some developing nations actually dress very formally for church. You will want to be equally well attired. You may wish to bring clothes which you are ready to discard. These can be left behind to bless the nationals plus give you more room in your suitcase for the return trip. If you are to be involved in some manual labor during the trip, pack some work gloves, work clothes, and work shoes.
It is also necessary to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit when making your packing list. One friend of mine was packing for a missionary trip to Mexico to help build a school building; as he was in his garage collecting the tools he needed for the work, he felt led to include a chain saw but convinced himself that such a tool was not needed for the project he was going to do. Upon arriving at the mission base, he discovered that there was a huge tree located exactly where the building was to go! With the chain saw, he could have finished off the tree in just a couple hours. Instead, he wound up spending almost his whole time in Mexico chopping the tree down with a hand axe.
It is good to pack some English tracts and some follow-up materials for converts. Many of the people in almost every nation of the world can read English, and they enjoy having these materials to study.
Here are a few helpful hints on getting all this stuff into your limited space. Take color-coordinated clothes so that you can mix and match them. Pack with a friend. If you are traveling with a friend, put some of your stuff in his bag and vice versa. That way, if your bag is lost, you have a backup supply in someone else’s bag. Never pack valuables or fragile items in your check baggage. Include a little laundry soap so that you can wash out items which you wish to use more than once. Pack your heaviest and bulkiest items at the bottom of the suitcase and put the clothing on top. Some travelers like to roll their clothing or put it in plastic bags inside the suitcase to prevent wrinkling. It seems that as long as the items are tightly packed to prevent a lot of shifting, your clothing will arrive in good condition. Items to keep on your person are your airline tickets, passport, travelers’ checks, cash, and an extra passport photo. Copies of your travelers check numbers and a photocopy of your passport should be stored safely in a separate area of your luggage.
It may be true that there is no such thing as a free lunch, but there is such a thing as a free airline ticket. Make sure to sign up for the frequent flier program for each carrier and be sure to present your frequent flier identification card each time you check in. Also, be sure to save all your boarding passes and the ticket receipts after all the actual tickets have been used.
Psychological preparation is a must for the culture shock. To help you prepare for this culture shock, it would be good to visit your local library or book store and do a little reading. Another great way to begin to prepare for this culture shock is to take advantage of opportunities to interact with people of different cultures here in the States and do a little on-the-job training by volunteering at a homeless shelter or rescue mission.
It is likely that the people you encounter on the street when you are on your mission trip are going to see you as a tourist, not a missionary. You will be constantly offered items of their local handicrafts. Many are very beautiful and you will be happy that you bought them to remember your trip. You will also find that the economy in many parts of the world makes shopping a dream; but it can turn into a nightmare. Most venders ask you at least double of what they really expect for the items. This is called “skin tax.” They figure that the foreigners can and should afford to pay an inflated price. Never take the first price offered. Bickering over the prices is part of the culture in most parts of the world. Only pay what you feel comfortable with. Don’t try to over-do bargaining; an extra dollar to you could mean a week’s meals for the vender’s family — or — it could, on the other hand, mean some extra drugs or a visit with a prostitute. In most places, the people will not mind having their pictures taken; however, it is always polite to ask. Once you have them involved in a bit of conversation, you may find it a great opportunity to offer them tracts and a testimony.
But it is the spiritual preparation that is most important. When I took my wife on her first missionary trip to India, she had a lot of reservations — to put it mildly. However, she also had a full year to prepare herself for the trip. During those intervening months, she dedicated herself to searching the Word of God for faith-building promises to strengthen herself for the mission. That year of preparation and those six weeks in the trenches made a totally different woman out of her. T.L. Osborn took her hand just weeks before we flew to Delhi and — looking into her eyes — said, “You’ll never be the same after this trip.” And it was true! I do hope that you will have this same kind of life-changing experience as you venture into the mission field. To get you started, I have compiled a few verses for you to begin to memorize and use in your own prayers as you equip yourself spiritually for your mission. These starter verses are listed in Appendix B; I do, however, strongly encourage that you use these verses simply as starters. Dig out your own personal promises from the Word of God. If you let these Bible promises get inside your spirit and become part of yourself, you will have a successful mission ministry. I’m sure that the time Peggy spent in the scriptures before the trip was the real key to her spiritual renovation. The preparation for the trip may have actually been more profitable than the trip itself; the trip was only the catalyst that made it gel.
There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. (Joshua 1:5-8)
Remember God is the One who has called you into this mission and He will not let you down. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6) “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5)
Just a few weeks before one of my mission trips to India, I was working in my yard and needed to remove a hedge bush. Not realizing that a poison ivy vine had grown up inside the bush, I grabbed it with me bare hands to pull it out of the ground. It refused to yield, so I squatted down, wrapped my arms around it and, using my leg muscles, yanked it up by the roots. The result was that almost my total body — legs, arms, and chest — was covered with poison ivy. I finally had to consult a physician and take medication to clear up the condition in time for my trip. One night as I lay in my bed writhing with the agony of the condition, I became almost delirious. In my distorted mental state, I lapsed into the spiritual realm. Suddenly, I saw beyond the physical and recognized that the attack against me was spiritual; the physical ailment was only a manifestation of all the Hindu spirits which were whirling around me, piercing me with pitchforks and spears. Instantly, I realized what I had to do. I had to rebuke the spirits and take authority over them. In clearing out the spiritual realm, I would have victory in the physical. We must know how to “put our foot down” and tell the devil that he has no authority over us. Jesus described it like this:
But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. (Matthew 12:28-29)
Some dear friends of mine who are missionaries to Sri Lanka were infected with terrible tropical diseases every time they went to the mission field. As I shared this truth with them one day, the light suddenly came on; I could literally see it in their faces. They caught on to a spiritual truth. From that moment, they learned to take authority over the spiritual world. They now bind the hands of demonic forces before entering their territories, and the spirits cannot harm them. Instead, the missionaries can go in and take a spoil (precious human souls) out of the devil’s domain.
Shortly after my first visit to Nepal, two different airliners crashed, killing all aboard. It was not reported widely in the news, but on each of those fatal flights were missionary families. The devil was mad because religious freedom had come to Nepal. I am certain that he orchestrated those crashes in order to keep the gospel workers out. But, we know a powerful truth: we can bind the enemy’s hands in advance and walk defiantly into his territory and reap a harvest as he watches helplessly. But we must aggressively do our spiritual battle in advance. We must put on the spiritual armor of God and take our places on the front line of the battle.
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching there unto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. And for me, that utterance may be given unto me. that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that herein I may speak boldly, as ought to speak. (Ephesians 6:10-20)