“My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ…” – Colossians 2:2

Feed My Starving Children partners with Praying Pelican Missions to provide the opportunity for volunteers to see first-hand the communities that receive FMSC food and build relationships with those who live there.

On these Food in Action Trips, volunteers from across the country visit FMSC food distribution partners, participate in FMSC food distribution and participate in various other ministries including community development and children's ministry.

Whether you have the opportunity to go on a Food in Action Trip with FMSC or another short term mission trip, you will need to prepare.

Spiritual, emotional and mental preparation are just as important as renewing your passport or buying bug spray.

But just how do you prepare for something so life-changing?

We were recently inspired as we followed along with one donor’s preparation for a trip to Haiti.

Kiki and FMSC

Kiki has been volunteering at FMSC for years and has even volunteered her talents to take photos at our gala photo booths. So when the opportunity to go on a Food in Action trip with FMSC came up, she was thrilled to take it.

“Though I know the trip will not be easy, I feel the joy of helping those in need will outweigh this physically and mentally exhausting trip,” she shared on her GoFundMe campaign.

Her trip preparations inspired us to pray constantly, update faithfully and speak with love.

Here’s what we mean.

Pray constantly

Going on a short term mission trip to a developing country is intense, especially if you have never been outside of the United States. Kiki knew this, and she immersed herself in a Bible study called “See God's Heart, Be His Hands: A 20-Day Devotional Guide for Mission Trip Preparation.”

“It aims to focus my thinking away from anxiety or uncertainty and toward the confidence and assurance from God's perspective,” Kiki said.

She also made frequent updates to her GoFundMe campaign sharing what she was praying and asking her followers to come alongside her in prayer.

Update faithfully

Many of us ask our friends and family for support financing a big trip. Kiki not only created an awesome GoFundMe campaign, she updated her funders almost daily leading up to the trip. She drew people in with honest updates about where she was at spiritually and emotionally, what was happening in her life and what her needs were for the trip.

Speak with love

While you can go on a mission trip without knowing the language, Kiki wanted to be able to communicate with the kids through more than smiles and gestures. She committed to learning as much Haitian-Creole from YouTube as possible before her trip. 

"I got a great tip...that it just takes lots of repetition and practice, so for the next 58 days that's exactly what I'll be doing," she said at the start of her fundraising campaign.

"Learning some of the language of your host community will demonstrate that you care about the people you’ve come to serve," writes David Armstrong for missions website shorttermmissions.com.

It will also make it easier to find your way around and to understand what’s happening, he adds.

Finally, we were inspired by Kiki’s faithfulness despite a whole lot of life happening while she was preparing for her trip to Haiti. Holidays, birthdays and family travel fell during this time, but she wasn’t content to let her preparations fall by the wayside.

Her final update before leaving speaks to the importance of the days leading up to her trip:

These last two weeks have been an absolute blur as I tried to prepare both at work, home and spiritually for this trip. I also have come a long way in my language learning, and I feel very confident I'll be able to communicate with the people I meet.

I have been meditating on the word "connection" as that's what God has placed in my heart as the key word for this trip. The mission of the trip itself is to encourage partners and pray with them, connect people to the full circle view of FMSC food.

We’ll leave you with this wisdom from Ephesians 6:10-18

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

Do you have a tip for preparing for a mission trip? Let us know on social media using the hashtag #fmscfoodinaction or email social@fmsc.org.