A Guide For Successful Youth Mission Trips To Puerto Rico

By Angela Sanders


Recently, people woke up to the sad news of the devastating Hurricane Mario hitting the island of Puerto Rico. Property was not only destroyed, but many people lost their lives while others were left with injuries, nowhere to call home, without food, and clothes. To add salt to the injury, basic infrastructure was destroyed thus making it hard to deliver any help to the affected. Today, many organizations are working out plans to give aid to people living in these areas. If you want to join youth mission trips to Puerto Rico and show your support, here is a guide for you.

Start by finding communities within your area that organize these kind of trips. You may use the internet to find out if such relief communities within your area help those who are interested in conducting volunteer work. Of importance is to identify a relevant community since different groups have distinct tasks they want to accomplish. There are those who offer medical camps, others provide food and so forth. Choose a community that is relevant to the kind of help you want to offer.

To make such trips less stressful, people are advised to go in groups. If you can get friends who are interested the better. This way, you can form a group and since you understand each other better, then working together will be easy. These could be colleagues from college, church or even work. If you cannot meet the quorum for the required group consider joining other teams even if they are not from your area.

Make sure you are aware of any rules governing the operation of such groups. Communities advise on matters such as age groups and other requirements. There could also be basic skills required or specializations depending on the kind of tasks you are going to do there. Gather the details in advance to make sure you plan a successful trip which will be of help to people on the ground.

Always have in mind that a mission trip is not about fun or sightseeing. It involves real work where you have to provide help for hurting people. They also need moral support and sympathy. In such areas, you not even find basic amenities. So if you are envisioning a place where there will be water, electricity or time for BBQ, then you could rethink your objectives.

Most communities will provide you with some sort of training before you leave for your trip. This is critical in helping you complete your short trip successfully. A manual will be provided detailing what your objectives are, area of operations and guidelines of your work. It should also brief you on what you need to carry with you and important contacts in aces of anything out of the ordinary.

You will need to know the cost involved when taking such a trip. Here, it is when you become aggressive and get people support you financially. This is because if you are a student you may not have all the money and therefore asking your parents and relative to support you may be all you need.

Beware of the planned dates of travel. Do not arrange anything else during this day just to make sure your group does not leave you behind. If possible, attend missions when you are on a vacation. This way, you make sure you do not miss important functions of your normal life.




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