Who goes on our Trips?
- Front line parish, diocesan front line ministers and leaders who want to bring a global solidarity perspective to their own spirituality, ministry and programs.
- Those interested in exploring further opportunities for international mission experiences, including short term mission opportunities.
- Maryknoll Affiliates, friends and sponsors.
Requirements for a short term immersion mission trip
- The ability to walk unassisted and the remain standing for up to 30 minutes. Accommodations for persons with mobility issues are not always found, such as ramps, etc.
- Ability to climb up and down stairs
- Getting in and out of transportation, accommodation sites, and from airplanes without walkways.
- Ability to carry your own luggage. Suggestion: pack light!
- Ability to acclimate well to altitude; 2,560 meters (8,396 ft) above sea level at some locations. If you are on medication, please consult your health care provider about the impact altitude may have on your health.
- Ability to not be severely impacted by higher levels of air pollution, dust and noise associated with developing countries.
- Good listening skills and a sense of adventure. Our trips focus on relationship building and the first step is being able to actively listen to their stories.
- Capacity to be humble and accept hospitality. At times it can be challenging to accept the generosity of those who live with much less.
- Enjoy table-fellowship and have the ability to eat a variety of foods; be open to the Gospel value of «eat what is offered you.» Luke 10:8. Vegetarian diets can usually be accommodated. You won’t have to eat anything too weird or strange, but meals are served «family style» with limited individual choices.
- Flexibility when it comes to accommodations. Most of the places we stay are wonderful, clean and safe with individual bathrooms, but occasionally bathrooms are shared.
- A sense of humor and adaptability to the schedule. We do our best to create balanced itineraries but in many places we need to be sensitive to the calendars and sense of timing of our hosts. Which may require adjustments.
- Be comfortable traveling as a community. Our immersion trips consists of groups of 6-12 people; bonds of friendship and comradery develop early. You must also be open to what’s best for the group letting go of individual interests and yield to a group dynamic.
- Willingness to be different/stand out in another culture, due to physical traits such as skin complexion, language, clothing and individual characteristics. We are guests and sometimes this means what works in our home culture may not work in another.
- Each country has different requirements for visas; participants generally need to be U.S. citizens or permanent residents with a valid passport that does not expire within 6 months of the first day of the trip.
- Each country has specific requirements for immunization. We suggest contacting the CDC, your physician and/or travel doctor to check the required immunizations and trip precautions/preparations.
- Openness to letting God do what God does in these situations. During our immersion trips we discover God through numerous encounters. With that comes the exciting potential to be stretched and grow in our understanding of God, ourselves, others, and creation. Often through reflection and discernment we find that God may be inviting us to something new.
