Mission Trip Information
Things to bring/know:
Passport: Your passport is your most important item to pack! This should be the first thing you pack. Also take a picture of your information page in case it is lost.
Fasting: We fast as a team to pray for our trip. Our daily fasts will last from the evening after dinner to the evening after dinner. It is basically a 24-hour fast. It can be from breakfast to breakfast. That does not matter, but when you register, you are registering from dinner one day to dinner the next. You can fast food, social media, etc. The purpose of fasting is to remind you to pray. Please click the Fasting Registration Link to participate.
Medical providers, please bring the following:
Blood pressure cuffs, small ones for children
Otoscopes
Stethoscopes
Thermometers (exterior) - we will be using only skin thermometers
To help make sure we have enough supplies for the trip, we are asking that everyone buy and bring the following:
EVERY TEAM MEMBER BRING:
One Bottle of Hand Sanitizer. (med-large)
One Sharpie Pen
Adult and Child Toothbrushes
Mosquito Protection: Bring mosquito repellent (you can find good options at sporting goods and camping stores). Malaria, Dengue, Zika, and Chikungunya are diseases spread by mosquitoes. These are rare but a possibility. Regular application of repellent has been sufficient in the past.
Cooling Cloths: Cooling towels for your neck help with the heat. Check Amazon. A cool, damp cloth around your neck is a great relief. Although the weather in Honduras is usually beautiful, where we will be.
Translator/Servant Gifts: We are going to honor our translators and those who served us throughout the week. In order to do that, we ask each team member to bring a simple gift, something perhaps that reflects the part of the country you're from/your favorite sports team/college or school (a lot of people bring hats/shirts). Some people find gifts at the Christian bookstore. If you want to bring a Christian book or devotion, you can bring it in English if it is for a translator. Some bring small handbags for some of the young ladies. This is a time of great blessing. We want our translators and partners to know how much we love and appreciate them.
Money: You will need some cash for incidentals (snacks, coffee, drinks outside of team meals) and souvenirs. Credit cards are widely accepted, but be sure to notify your card provider that you will be traveling. Carrying a lot of cash on your person is not advisable.
We will take up a collection for our in-country partner at the end of the trip to be a blessing for everything they do for us to make these trips possible. Some of the funds will likely go to each church we are serving as well. This is optional. With a team this large, we can raise $1000. Also, please plan to leave $5-$10/person/night/room as a tip for the housekeeping staff when we check out. They make very little money. This is a huge blessing for them. You can leave Christian material in Spanish if you would like as well. We will collect a tip for our bus drivers. My hope is people will experience the love of Christ through the generosity of Christian servants.
Items for Children’s Ministry: This is a great opportunity to reach children for Christ. Please click the Children’s Ministry Supplies link to see how you can help.
For you:
Snacks you may want to have like granola bars or whatever.
Scrubs/thin pants/jeans and scrub tops/nice T-shirts/polos
Closed-toed shoes/sandals
Bible/Journal
Bring 1 or 2 outfits for church
Men: pants/button down shirt or polo
Women: skirt/dress. Knees or lower. No shoulders or midsection showing.Bathing suits -
Women: One-piece suits
Men: TrunksClinic attire - Scrubs or pants/jeans (no shorts can be worn at the clinic). Closed-toe shoes/sandals are required. Nice T-shirt, polo shirt, or scrub top. Shirts must have sleeves and touch the pants. Name tags must be worn.
Hotel attire - Casual, modest dress required. Shorts can be worn at the hotels. No yoga pants or short shorts. No shoulders showing. Shirts must touch pants or shorts.
Personal Medications/Vaccines: Bring all of your medications as you would on any trip. Best to bring in your carry-on in case your luggage gets lost. You should also bring Immodium AD, 2-4 Azithromycin 500 mg, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Zofran, and any other OTC medications you may need.
GHO does not require any vaccines. Some recommended Vaccines: TDAP, Hepatitis A (one shot now and 2nd in 6 months for lifelong immunity); Typhoid shot gives 2 years immunity or the live vaccine 5 years immunity. Both are typically food/beverage-borne viruses. All of our food/beverage is well-sourced.
DO NOT DRINK THE LOCAL WATER!
Prayer List
We are constructing a Prayer Distribution List in which we are going to send your prayer partners prayer requests and updates while we are serving. This is important as we want to have the needed prayer covering and support while on the mission together. While we are serving they will be getting daily updates and prayer requests from the team. A link to enter the emails you would like to include is provided in an email. Please click the Prayer List link.
GHO BOX
You should be getting a box from GHO shortly. In it should be your GHO shirt, name tag, green luggage tags, EvangeCube and other assorted items. Bring it all with you. Also note on the back of the nametag is EMERGENCY CONTACT INFO. Make a copy and give it to a spouse or family member. The green luggage tags will be placed on all of your luggage to be checked as well as the suitcases carrying supplies from GHO. If the tag is for a GHO supply bag, please put a large black dot on the back with a Sharpie. This helps us identify all of our supply bags quickly at the airport for customs.
Please wear your GHO shirt when you travel on Saturday so we can easily identify each other in the airports.
GHO SUPPLIES
If you are bringing a box of supplies for GHO like medications, please do as follows.
Unpack the box from GHO and place contents in a suitcase with nothing else.
Place the inventory sheet on top of the items in the suitcase.
Using a Sharpie, put a big dot on the back of a green luggage tag and place it on the case.
Be sure this suitcase has your contact information on it.
DEVOTIONS AND TESTIMONIES
Below is our schedule for devotions and testimonies.
COFFEE ORDERS
We have the luxury of being able to order coffee directly from a coffee plantation because Pastor Melvin and his brother are in the coffee business. We can order whole bean or ground for $10/lb. This is premium coffee. Be sure to account for luggage space/weight when purchasing. I usually get 10 lbs. Makes great gift for donors.