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Consider Summer Missions
A profitable way to spend your summer.
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You can secure details about summer programs by writing to the headquarters of the mission boards you are considering. Check any doctrinally sound board you are interested in, even if you have not heard that they have a summer program. Many mission boards, though they have no formal apprenticeship programs, can place individuals seeking summer service with missionaries from their board. If a mission board's program does not suit your situation, there is still the possibility of going with a program sponsored by a local church or school. In such programs, contacts with the missionaries are made through the church or school, as are travel arrangements. However, you will usually go as a member of a group whose goal is some specific project such as clearing a jungle base or house-to-house visitation. A final option is personally arranging for service and going alone. This method is best reserved for one who has traveled abroad previously and already has friends or contacts on the field. It is unfair to the missionary to invite yourself as a stranger to work with him. If you plan to go alone, you must remember that preparations and arrangements for travel are fully your responsibility. Without help and advice such arrangements can be frustrating, although not impossible. Preparing to GoThe smoothness of your summer service depends largely on early, careful preparation. Start with travel plans. If your work takes you to a foreign country, you will need a valid United States passport. You must make application in person at the appropriate federal office and allow six to eight weeks for your application to be processed. Check with your county health department to find out what inoculations may be required. You may also want to get an international driving permit. These are issued through the Automobile Association of America (AAA) for a minimal fee. If you plan to drive abroad, ask your insurance agent if any of your coverage applies outside the United States. Another document you may find helpful, especially in travel and sightseeing, is an international student identification card, which in many countries allows reduced travel and entrance fees. If you are going under a mission board's program, the board may advise you about travel plans. If you are making your own arrangements, it is best to contact a reputable travel agent, who usually is able to arrange not only flights to another country but also land travel within that country. As you make your travel plans, consider your own finances and what would be convenient for the missionary who will meet you on arrival. Investigate every possible means of transportation. Consider second-class travel, round trip tickets, sharing a ride to an embarkation point, special rates for specified lengths of time between departure and return, charter flights, and group rates. The missionary with whom you will be working may have suggestions, as well as someone who has recently traveled in that part of the world. |             |
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