Short Term Mission Trip

There are several steps involved in going on a short-term missions trip. First thing is to understand what a short-term mission trip really is. Well, it is defined as those experiences that are cross-cultural missionary assignments into another country ranging from one week to up to two years. Having now decided to go on a short-term mission trip, one must decide the destination. For me, it was Ghana West Africa.

Passport Process

My husband encouraged me to obtain my passport for my birthday in 2007. The process was an easy one, but I did not know where I was going. However, within two weeks, God revealed by his Holy Spirit the ministry I would connect with and the destination.

Connect with Ministry

The ministry I connected to was Charlene Crossley International Ministry (CCIM) of Chicago, IL. CCIM has been going to Ghana West Africa since 2000. I am the website designer for the ministry's website and was very familiar with various aspects of the ministry through that association. The president, Apostle Charlene Crossley, is building a school in a town named Assesswa. She is also over a group of pastors and ministers in the surrounding areas of Accra, the capital city of Ghana.

Begin the fund raising Project

After connecting with the ministry and obtaining the associated cost, the work of fund raising began. This was a tedious yet rewarding project to speak to persons about what I believed God was sending me to do. And, along those lines it is important to know upfront what your specific role will be, to the extend possible. My Lead Missionary encouraged the team with these words "a missionary is always flexible" as anything is subject to change when one is going on a short term mission trip in this case to Africa. Additionally, my spouse admonished me to go with the "flow". For me, these words were key to my having a God-driven experience in Ghana West Africa.

Immunizations and Medications

A very crucial part of the preparation for the short term mission trip is that of Immunizations and Medications. For Ghana, there were several shots to be taken. One day I remember taking 5 at one time- I wont do that again. I later discovered that I could have spread them over several weeks. Then, there are the malaria pills and the other pills (antibotics) one must bring just in case there is a need. What about insurance? My plan actually had doctors listed. However, I spoke with one of my doctors who had a contact in Accra should I have need of one. It is also good to have a doctor whom you can call should you have to - I experienced that first hand.

Cost of the Trip

For my trip, the costs were allocated as those that were included in the price assessed by the ministry and those that were not:

• The visas, transportation(airline tickets and transportation while in Ghana), meals, housing, and bottled water were included in the cost paid to the ministry.
• The passport along with photos, supplies including clothing items and personal items, immunization and medication costs were out of pocket expenses.
• It is also necessary to budget money for phone cards as your cellphone will probably not work there, unless you have something called a sims card. It would be good to budget for spending money for miscellaneous items such as gifts, snacks, and food.

The Flight

It was a long flight that had a lay over in Amsterdam. Hopefully, any future trips will be non-stop.

On The Mission Field

It is important at all time to follow the lead of the Ministry Leader.

Reflections

A time to muse over every aspect of the trip. Writing and talking about it helps to make for a smooth transition. Thank you letters with various tokens of appreciation are always in order. This also helps to put things in perspective and back to normalcy.