Plan a Trip

Preparing for an Outreach to Romania



Contact Us regarding the scheduling or planning of your trip.
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1. Fund raising: There are many ways to go about this. You can be as creative as you would like to be. One great way to begin is have each team member send out a support letter to the people closest to them, asking for prayer and/or funds. Take time to review some of the following websites which are rich in fundraising ideas for mission trips:
   
   Raising Support for a Volunteer Ministry
   Shorttermmissions.com - Fundraising Discussion Board
   Simple Fundraising Ideas
2. Finances: Please know in advance that each traveler is financially responsible for all details of their trip, from beginning to end. The daily financial obligation for each traveler once in Romania will be determined in advance of the trip by Brad, in communication with the team leader/family leader/or individual traveler. team and family leaders are responsible then to communicate financial obligations to their team/family in advance of the trip. the daily amount depends on the length of the trip, activities that are done during the stay, the current exchange rates, fluctuations in gas and food prices, and the season of travel. Each traveler should expect to take care of their financial obligation soon after their arrival so we can get the money exchanged and available for taking care of responsibilities. When traveling with a team, all of the team finances should be taken care of through the team leader or other designated persons to maintain order and minimize mistakes.
**New Cash! Make sure that you bring very new bills that have no cracks, ink stains, or worn marks.

3. Airfare: There are a couple different ways to go about looking for cheap airfare.
   • Websites: The very cheapest websites tend to be hotwire.com, cheaptickets.com, travelocity.com, priceline.com. A great website that compares many airline prices is igougo.com. The down side to these websites is often you will not know the departure and return times before you book. So if you need to know that or coordinate around people's schedules this is not the best way to go. On these particular websites you can often choose options of flexible dates, and they will show you the BEST deals.
   • Travel Agents: You can call a travel agent and let him do the "foot work" for finding the best deal. However, the Romanian travel agent that our organization uses in Romania gets the best rate 80% of the time. Our travel agent is AeroTravel in Oradea, Romania. You can contact them by emailing Cornel Caba at ccaba@aerotravel.ro or his assistant Hajna Ertsey at hbodoczi@aerotravel.ro and mention you were referred by Brad hayes with Outstretched Hands of Romania. Groups of ten or more qualify for a "team rage discount".
   • Calling airlines: A couple months before you plan to travel you can call all the major airlines and find out if they have any specials or promotions coming up. Also, ask each airline what their best price is and compare. If you have 10 or more traveling ask for the group desk and often you will receive discounted tickets. Sometimes if you mention you are doing an outreach to a third world country they will offer you an even better deal. That is rare, but it will happen occasionally. If calling from the United States, I suggest calling: Lufthansa 1-800-645-3880, KLM 1-773-462-9428, Northwest 1-800-447-4747, British Airways 1-800-AIRWAYS, Air France 1-800-237-2747, American Airlines 1-800-433-7300.
   • Being part of an air miles program: We are part of Northwest World Perks Program and often they will send mailing, or e-mails with special discounted prices to their members only. In general we have found 3 out of the 4 years Northwest/KLM was the best deal to fly to Romania.
4. Passports and traveling documents: Make sure you have a current passport. If you do not have one, you need to work on that right away. Get official passport pictures taken, have your original birth certificate, and then go to your county's courthouse or main post office and apply for a passport. It takes about 4-8 weeks and costs right around $100.00 for adults and $85.00 for children under 16. If applying by mail the costs are $75.00 for adults and $60.00 for children under 16. If you do not have enough time, you can apply for a quick passport, and pay more, but you will generally receive it in a week. If needed, you can find in the yellow pages places locally where you can have passports done in 1-3 days. A great resource for step by step instructions and everything you need to know about passports is http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html.
   • You do NOT need an entry visa in Romania unless your stay is over 3 months.
   • You will need to take a valid form of ID along with your passport
   • GREAT suggestion: make TWO copies of your passport: one to leave in the USA, and one to bring with you and keep in your luggage.
5. Team building: It is best to start meeting a couple months before the trip, if time permits. If is helpful to meet once a month up until the month before you leave and then begin meeting weekly.
   • In these meetings, determine people's roles for the trip. You will need to determine who is leading the team and who the main communicator will be (you will read more about this below), etc.
   • Find out people's gifting, and/or favorite things to do and see how you can incorporate this into the outreach.
   • Talk about your fears and expectations.
   • Pray together often.
   • We found it very helpful for each person on the team to have a day of the week that they fasted, whether that was one meal or all day, and we would set aside that day to pray for the trip. We then talked about the fasting times at our meeting. This is a very good way to begin to serve the people of Romania before you even leave your home.
   • Plan and organize what you would like to accomplish and how each of you wants to change on the trip.
   • Discuss details such as packing lists (included below), luggage (you are generally only allowed 1 or 2 pieces of luggage plus a carryon depending on the airline, at 50lbs each), how to get to and from airport, etc. A great resource for any questions you may have on luggage requirements can be found at thetravelinsider.info.
6. Recommended reading: It is strongly recommended that you purchase and read one of these following books. If read, these books can greatly enhance your experience while on your short term mission trip.
   
   • Serving With Eyes Wide Open written by David A. Livermore (Barker Books)
   • How To Get Ready For Short-Term Missions by Anne-Geri' Fann & Greg Taylor (Nelson Books)
   **Both of these books can be ordered and purchased through Family Christian Bookstores.
7. Boy/Girl relationships: If any members of visiting teams are currently in any form of dating relationship with other team members we would like to be informed well before the team arrives here. And, if that is the case, we expect that the relationship respectfully be put on hold during their time with us. We want to make sure that visitors maintain a "team" perspective and do all activities together. We think it is best that a boy and girl do not go off alone apart from their team and so we discourage and monitor it.
8. Communication with Romania and with your team: Designate one person of the team to be available for constant communication with Brad Hayes in Calarasi, Romania and then back to the rest of the team as needed. Trip leaders can be sent copies of e-mails from the comminicator to stay informed.
   
   • Team Member Profile. Each person traveling to Romania must fill out a Mission Trip Profile and send it by email to Brad Hayes at info@handsofromania.org well before the arrival of the team. Completion of this document helps us to get to know each traveling member and how to best utilize them. Write and ask for a copy of this document or download it from the mission's area on our website.
9. Supplies: While in communication with Brad Hayes in Romania it will be determined what supplies you will need to bring with you for your outreach. Determine a plan on how to collect those items.
   • A GREAT suggestion is to e-mail the Hayes family and ask for a few suggestions of items that you can bring to bless the Outstretched Hands team. This begins to connect your hearts with theirs, and is another way to prepare your heart to serve and bless those who are faithfully committed to the people of Romania. (These small, simple items brought by visitors bless the team since these items cannot be purchased in Romania.)
10. Attitudes: The best possible attitude you can go with is "I am here to serve". Sometimes visitors will come to Romania and think they see weaknesses in the Romanian culture or ways that they would do things "better". Try to not think this way. Instead allow yourself to see all their many strengths and how you can serve them while there. They WILL serve you to the best of their ability. Often, we do not want to receive their blessings, and can feel guilty for accepting from what little they have. Serving you is their way to bless you. Allow them this privilege. You WILL be stretched and at times, be uncomfortable and want to feel selfish. Be determined now that you will overcome those feelings. Find ways you can serve the Romanians, others members of your team and the missionaries who live in Romania daily.
11. Practical serving: Find ways you can serve the Romanians, other members of your team, and the missionaries who live in Romania daily. Some of the many practical ways that you can exhibit an attitude of serving is to help in the daily washing of dishes after your meals. We have sometimes been disappointed when visitors do not offer to help us and choose rather to talk while the rest of us wash the dishes, load the vehicles for ministry, etc. Another way to serve is to make sure you leave the place you stay cleaner than when you arrived.
12. Traveling: You may experience jet lag as you travel both ways. One very helpful and natural way to combat jet lag is Melatonin. You can buy Melatonin at any drug store or Wal-Mart. It will help you to fall asleep naturally and re-set your natural body's time clock. *This is not recommended for children under 12.
13. Housing: We can accommodate up to 20 people in our apartments and dormitory depending on how many extended short term missionaries we have staying with us at that time. Where each team member stays is determined by the team leader and our staff based on male/female ratio of visitors, team chemistry, and the age of children traveling with parents. Husbands and wives should not expect to share the same room when visiting Romania with a team.
14. Internet/phone: Each of our places to stay has internet and a computer and several of the locations have wireless too. If visitors have to make long distance phone calls to their home country they can purchase international calling cards here in Romania upon arrival. We have at times been surprised by large phone bills the month after a team leaves.
15. Clothing: Women often have questions about what kind of clothing is acceptable to bring and wear in this culture. There is a difference in what is considered to be "modest" here, what can be worn in public and to church services. So, it is good to write Nora Hayes and ask her directly. If the ladies from our team notice that visitors are wearing something that might not be appropriate they will discretely inform the visitors. Nora's email address is norahayes@juno.com
16. De-briefing: It is good to set a time after you return and are rested to meet together as a team and talk about what you experienced and how God changed you. Also talk as a team about ways that you can stay connected, whether through e-mail, sending care packages, or financially supporting people you met while in Romania. Also, as a team, talk about how you can get other people involved with Outstretched Hands of Romania. Remember to send a thank you and brief report of the trip to all those who supported you.

Sample Packing List for Romania:

• Passport and plane ticket
• Bible/journal
• Small flashlight with batteries/lots of walking in the dark
• Personal Toiletries
• Towel and washcloth (depending on how large your team is - communicate with Brad and Nora on this)
• Chap stick and lotion (your skin gets drier, if it is cold)
• Long underwear (if visiting during the cold months)
• One long skirt for women / dress pants for men
• One pair of work pants or pants that could get dirty
• One pair of either tennis shoes, walking shoes or boots
• One pair of shoes that you can wear in the MUD! (during the spring/early winter)
• Warm winter jacket, scarves, mittens, hats, etc. (Winter is Nov-Mar)
• Some kind of carrier for your money and passport (Frontpack/Moneybelt)
• We do not suggest bringing expensive jewelry (outside of wedding rings)
• It is a good idea for one or two of your team members to apply for and bring an international drivers license in case there is a need for an extra driver. Each team should appoint these drivers based on safety and experience.

A few helpful suggestions:

• Pack for about half the amount of time you will be in Romania. (Example: 10 day trip/5 days of clothing)
• Be prepared to re-wear jeans
• Bring enough undergarments for the duration of the whole trip

Laundry: Brad and Nora do have a washer and dryer, but it is expensive and slow to run them, and they have many clothes just with their household. In the past, we did laundry together -- a couple big loads of jeans, a couple big loads of socks, underwear and white t-shirts (the very basics).

There are no such things as laundry mats in Calarasi, and there is always a chance something could be wrong with the washer and dryer at Brad and Nora's (just not the same convenience we have at home). So try to be prepared as if you could do NO laundry and hopefully you will be blessed and able to do some laundry.

**We trust that the information we have just provided for you in this document will help prepare you or your team towards having an unforgettable and impacting experience in Romania.

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