Summer is around the corner and thousands of young people are preparing for
a missions trip to needy/exciting/daring/dramatic locations around the
globe.

Here is my short list of tips for those who are on their way.

#1. Respect the culture you are entering.

Remember that there are hundreds of years of history behind why
things are the way they are in the place you are visiting and many of these
things have been set in place for very good reason. The key here is to
remember that cultures are not superior or inferior to each other. They are
different, (not weird or stupid) and you can get over differences. This is
not to say that every culture doesn't carry with it norms that need
redemption, but, as one who is making a visit into another country, you are
called to be respectful.

#2. Look for the clues that you can follow.

In many places you need to adhere to local standards of modesty.
This is especially true in developing countries, though there is grace in
this area as people understand that tourists are different. However, you're
not trying to be a tourist. Conversely, you might NOT want to do this in
certain beach settings in southern Europe, unless you have suddenly become
comfortable wearing a speedo or going topless in public (!)

Of lesser importance are things like volume issues. Arriving at a park
in Europe with some friends fresh from the States, our visitors called out
their (loud) greetings to the family we were joining from yards and yards
away. This didn't break any laws, but it was definitely out of place. A
quick survey of the situation would have revealed to them that no one was
using raised voices and people spoke to each other when they were close to
each other.

In short, be sensitive to your setting and look for big and little ways
to blend where possible.

#3. Expect a lot.

Expect to learn from the people you have gone to serve. Expect to
gain from their wisdom and not just dispense your learning to them. Expect
to be challenged by their viewpoints and values. Expect to return home with
new understanding.

Visitors to our home in Africa were often quick to judge the local
Christians who still practiced polygamy. It was hard for them to wrap their
minds around the fact that men had come to belief while already married to
more than one woman and that it would be wrong to create a class of outcasts
by rejecting a wife. Through conversation, our visitors were often changed
at a core level. They also began to understand that the local believers
view of Western materialism as self-centered sin might carry some weight.

#4. Take less.

Pack smart and light and creatively. You don't need as much with
you as you think you do, I promise. Buy some of the travel clothes
(especially socks and underwear) that will dry quickly after a hand wash.
Plan to give away the books you take to read on the plane and remember that
you'll probably read less than you expect to, (at least I always do) so
don't haul a library along. Roll your clothes and you'll fit what you need
in a smaller bag. Survey your bags before you leave and consider what you
could live without. And don't take anything that will leave you devastated
should it be stolen or lost.

#5. Give more.

Decide together as a group to raise a certain percentage above your
actual costs so that you can give a financial gift to the project you are
serving. I don't advocate handing out random gifts of cash as it feeds an
unhealthy expectation, but do plan to be a financial blessing. Don't feel
pressured if you are in a culture that has no problem asking for your belt
and watch and sunglasses, but do make a plan of how to give sensitively and
effectively. Talking it through with leaders in-country is usually the best
way to determine what would be a good way to give.

More importantly, give of yourself. You may feel that this is
inherent in the act of going because you are already giving your time and
talent. But there is a holding back of heart that undermines any act of
giving. Be open with your heart. The gift of yourself, to your team and to
those you have traveled all that way to be with, is easily the best thing
you'll give all summer.