When we started doing short-term medical term mission trips, we looked and looked for a book that would keep us from feeling so totally lost. We didn't find it. We therefore made most of the mistakes ourselves, tried to learn about the mistakes of others and finally decided that there was little reason for someone else to continue to make the very same mistakes. We decided to put down everything we have learned so that others would have to create their own unique misadventures!
Table of Contents
- Medical Missionary Extraordinaire
- Picking an Organization
- Support and Your Support Team
- Getting Ready to Go - Travel Documents
- Spiritual Preparation
- Responding to the Challenges of Short-term Medical Missions
- Health Tips
- Packing
- Get Ready, Get Set, GO!
- Traveling with Children
- Adapting to a Different Culture Can Be Painful
- Watering and Feeding the Family - and Yourself
- Bargaining, Buying, Bribes and Beggers
- Spouse Ministry
- Oh, for a Repeat of Pentecost! Spoken Communication When You Don’t Have the Gift of Tongues
- Personal Witnessing
- Re-entry
- If Only...
- After Volunteering
Appendices
- Suggested Bibliography
- Helpful Web Sites
- List of Organizations
- Sample Support Letter
- Travel Agencies Experienced in Mission Trips
- Packing List
- Language Phrases to Learn Before you Go
- Conversion Tables
- Testimony Worksheet
- Photography Hints
- Traveling With Your Computer to the Mission Field
- Email Solutions
It's not just for short-termers, and it's not just for medical folks. If you or someone you know is preparing to go out on the missions field, this book is an essential read; it contains information on everything from what documents you'll need, to adapting to the culture, to how to travel & serve with your spouse or children and even what to pack!
Designed to be a resource before and during your trip, we poured years of experiences into writing this handbook for you. It is full of resource material, how-to's and references to help you find additional information. The book has been published by ABWE Publishing as is available from their website for $30, or call toll-free (877) 959-2293.
What Others Think of the Handbook
In writing the "Handbook for Short Term Missionaries", Dr. Bruce Steffes has given those who may be considering possible missionary service and those who have made a decision to serve and are preparing to leave on their assignment, an excellent resource. Virtually every conceivable subject or question, which might present itself to someone preparing to go to the mission field, is addressed in a clear, concise and helpful manner in this book.
Especially noteworthy is the way Dr. Steffes has also thoughtfully addressed possible needs that spouses and children of short term missionaries might encounter. This highly informational book is well organized, easy to read, complete in content and it is sure to become a most sought after reference handbook for missionaries whether they might be short-term or career oriented. If you have a question concerning life on the mission field, you will likely find the answer you seek in this excellent book.
Melvin L. Cheatham, M.D., FACS
Clinical Professor, UCLA Division of Neurosurgery
Member, Samaritan's Purse Board of Directors
Member, Billy Graham Association Board of Directors
This Handbook for Short-Term Medical Missionaries ... needs to be snatched up and read by all healthcare students and professionals considering short-term missions service. The book brings together extensive experience around the world, and comprehensive research in helps and resources.
Every chapter flows from the Steffes' service in small clinics to large mission hospitals, in primitive remote ministries to established "full-service" institutions, and in being the only doctor in the are to a fellow worker on the team. Bruce and Micky thoughtfully lay before the reader how to take along the family, even a family with small children.
The book is thorough, well organized and well written. It is certain to become a "top of the list" resource for those looking at short-term medical missions.
Jack L. Sorg, MD, medical missionary for 15 years in Brazil, now International Director of Medical Missionary Enlistment for ABWE and team leader for short-term medical missions trips around the world.
With good humor and candor, this physician and his wife have written a thorough and interesting preparation guide to short-term medical ministry. With the high need for good training for short-term missionaries, the available material just went up a notch with this handbook.
Though its focus is medical short-termers, the bulk of the hefty 9” x 11” spiral-bound handbook is applicable to any mission trip and could be of great help to church or agency senders, hosting groups, as well as the folks who go on short-term trips. Out of the nineteen insight-packed chapters, only a few are directly related to medical work. The subjects addressed are the A to Z of short-term missions, from support raising to travel documents to bargaining, bribes and beggars. The comprehensive nature of each chapter may leave some wondering if there will be any surprises. Most of us know that answer.
The individual who is thinking about doing a medical mission trip will find ample help in subjects like choosing the kind of medical ministry (hospital or “black bag evangelist”), considerations about taking children (what kind of stroller works best) and specifics on how to practice in third world hospitals (treat with available drugs). As you might expect from a physician, the chapter covering health tips is very comprehensive and is worth the book’s cost in itself. The concerns about HIV and malaria risk are honest and a bit foreboding.
Having spent a year in Africa as the wife of a short-term physician, I appreciated the wisdom about life in a mission hospital and how to adapt to that particular part of the culture. The priority placed on putting time with people before performance in such a need-oriented ministry was impressive.
The chapter on adapting to a different culture is more than standard fare. It is a crash course in working out of culture. “If in doubt, please ask the missionaries for advice and put off making a decision or doing something until you have had a chance to discuss it.” (A tall order for most physicians). The attitude conveyed throughout the book is one of servanthood.
The material would be extremely useful for someone who is not part of a team and is going overseas alone and may not be getting any other input through a training effort. Twelve appendices cover other subjects such as travel agencies, Web sites, traveling with a computer and language helps. The sidebars and bibliography are very valuable. This handbook should be among required reading assignments from any mission hospital that hosts visiting physicians. It would bring reality to expectations in any setting.
Review of "Handbook for Short-Term Medical Missionaries" from EMQ, April 2003, 39:2 page 264-266. Reviewed by Cindy Judge, short-term missions trainer, author and church consultant.
The downloadable chapters on this page are in Adobe Acrobat format (PDF). You will need Adobe's free Acrobat Reader program, available from Adobe.com.