Plan a Trip

1. Airfare: There are a couple different ways of going about looking for cheap airfare.
   • Websites: The very cheapest websites tend to be hotwire.com, cheaptickets.com, travelocity.com, priceline.com. There is a down side to these particular websites, 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.
   • 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 taking an outreach to a third world country they will offer you an even better deal. That is rare, but it will happen occasionally. I suggest calling: Air France 1-800-237-2747, American Airlines 1-800-433-7300, Lufthansa 1-800-645-3880, Northwest 1-800-447-4747, Continental 1-800-231-0586, British Airways 1-800-AIRWAYS, Fly-4-Less 1-888-359-4537.
   • 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 was the best deal to fly to Romania.
2. 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, a communicator (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 you would like to change on the trip.
   • Discuss details such as packing lists (included below), luggage (you are generally only allowed 2 pieces of luggage, each under 70lbs), how to get to and from airport, etc. A great resource for any questions you may have on luggage requirements can be found at www.thetravelinsider.info.
3. 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 to stay informed.
4. Supplies: While in communication with Brad Hayes in Romania determine 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 the Outstretched Hands team and ask for a few suggestions of items that you can bring to bless them. 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. (They are so blessed by these small simple items. I can not explain how much of a blessing your favorite items from America (that you CAN NOT get in Romania) is to some one who lives there)
5. 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 4-6 weeks and costs right around $60.00. 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. There are even places you can find in the yellow pages of 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 any kind of traveling visa.
   • 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.
6. 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.
7. Attitudes: The best possible attitude you can go with is one to serve. Often Americans will come to Romania and see all the 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 as Americans do not want to receive their blessings, and will often feel guilty for accepting from what little they have. This is their only way to bless you, and that is their heart’s desire, 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.
8. Traveling: You may experience jet lag as you travel both ways, and one very helpful, natural way to combat this is Melatonin. You can pick it up 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.
9. 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 there. Also, as a team talk about how you can get others involved. Remember to send a thank you and brief report of the trip to all those who supported you.

• Passport and plane ticket
• Personal Toiletries
• Towel and washcloth (depending on how large your team is - communicate with Brad and Nora on this)
• One 4-pack of toilet paper to share while staying at Brad’s house
• Chap stick and lotion (your skin gets drier, if it is cold)
• Long underwear (for 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!
• Warm winter jacket, scarves, mittens, hats, etc. (Winter is Nov-Mar)
• Some kind of carrier for your money and passport (Frontpack/Moneybelt)
• Bible/journal
• Would not suggest bringing expensive jewelry (outside of wedding rings)

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