Comments on: The Essential Cast of a Great Mission Trip

By: Jody

Jody — Sun, 29 May 2011 02:32:06 +0000

I propose a secondary list that can represent the nationals- the ones the short-term team are “serving.” i.e. The Host who continues smiling every time someone asks him if he has ever had pizza… or been to America.

By: ash

ash — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 07:38:57 +0000

Most deffinetly need the token sick person. You know, the one who accidently falls of the roof, and accidently smashes their hand with a hammer, resulting in a quick visit to mexican ER. Trust me, every team has one. And I would know because it may or may not be me who has encountered their fair share of foreign doctors. In fact, an entire post about mission trip illness/injury may be nessicary.

By: Nate

Nate — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 16:19:27 +0000

I would have to be the culture expert

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 21:33:06 +0000

The Boy Scout (a.k.a. McGrubber tm)

This guy is ready for anything. He's been true to the motto and is always prepared. If there's a situation, real or contrived, he's ready with the proper tool. He's self certified on the internets in general knowledge of everything from the given destination. He is well versed in ANSI (American National Standards Institute), IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), WHO(World Health Organization), SI (le Système international d'unités), and IRCRCM (International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement) standards and techniques. He has watched every episode of Man vs. Wild and Worst Case Scenario with (the most awesome man alive) Bear Grylls. If your team encounters a scenario that he's not seem coming, you are screwed and only God's providence can save you now.

By: olivia

olivia — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:24:25 +0000

Oh, I'm the photographer all the way. Of course I actually do work and don't mind dirt, but I take a million pictures.

By: JoieLove

JoieLove — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:50:08 +0000

I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE how God does stuff like that!!! This story was just so inspirational.

By: Caleb Durham

Caleb Durham — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:04:52 +0000

I was always what someone named the Disaster. I was never upset, and never let it get to me, but well, here is an example from my last 48 hours in Peru (this was June 30-July 1). In that time I experienced:
- A holiday in the rainforest that shutdown everything that is worth seeing.
- A surprise in which my flight back from Iquitos was moved to 3 hours earlier.
- The worst strike Lima has had yet. It included rocks through taxi windows, bombs in downtown, and no functioning bus services, leaving me stranded in the Poorest area of the city (1 hour from the airport) 6 hours before my international flight.
- A cancelled flight to the US.

Anyway, an important person that I was surprised to find wasn't in any of comments was The Kid Who is Way Too Young to be Allowed out of the Country Without Genuine Parental Supervision. There is always one. And the most interesting part of this character is that they comprise about six of the worst combinations of the other characters, but each is some new, annoyingly unique combination. A few of the essential characteristics though, is the incessant ability to talk more than anyone thought possible, and the gift of lacking any hint of common sense. They always make the trip interesting and amaze the locals (who always explain that they didn't know it was possible to talk so much while breathing so little).

By: Kelly

Kelly — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 04:39:35 +0000

So true! I'm a little late commenting here, but… I would add The Snob- the girl who would never speak to you in "real life" but suddenly becomes your BFF on the trip.

I was the necker/photographer, and as someone else said, the crier!

By: JBoogie

JBoogie — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 01:17:49 +0000

well im a little late on this post but i thought id offer my experiences:

The "That" Guy - when something goes wrong it's always "that" guy. he's the one that trys to pull pranks but doesnt end up doing it. he's the one that didnt shower the whole trip, the one that forgot his underwear and the youth leader had to run out and buy some at the closest Walmart, he's the guy that's there "for the ladies"
he's not really useful when trying to get something done, but he keeps everyone happy

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:42:31 +0000

What about Eternally Thankful Guy?
"Oh sure, Jeremy lost his ring finger the first time he used the table saw but lets just be thankful a) he didn't lose his hand and b)it brought us closer together as a group as we gathered in prayer while watching him almost bleed out…which he didn't b/c THANKS BE TO GOD, he answers prayer."