A traveler once said that the first thing to pack for your mission trip is your Faith. The second thing is your Flexibility! Equally important are the following suggestions:

Carry on luggage - must meet current regulations and restrictions imposed by the US Department of Homeland Security and the airlines

• pack your passport & ticket
• pack all medications you use regularly
• pack overnight clothes, toiletries (in accordance with prevailing security measures) and essentials
• pack at least one day's change of clothes
• include
  • reading material to use en route
  • camera, film, journal or notebook
  • pocket sized tissue packs for restroom breaks en route
  • wet wipes
  • money for tips and souvenirs-one and five US dollar bills are easy to handle. US dollars are accepted in most of the places you will visit.
  • ATM card which can be used for some purchases and there is an ATM in the lobby of the Maya Hotel (you will receive your money in Honduran Lempira - NOT US dollars!)

Personal medical kit

• allergy medicine if you use it at home
• lotion or salve to treat insect bites
• antihistamines
• over the counter analgesics and diarrhea medications
• antacids
• personal prescriptions (including anti-malarial) medications in labeled bottles

Checked luggage

• wash cloth and towel, although the hotels and the ranch supply towels
• non-slip flip-flops for the shower
• snack food, enough to share with your mission teammates
• flashlight, extra batteries
• sunscreen-at least SPF 15
• insect repellant with DEET
• personal toiletries (besides the ones in the carry on, if necessary) packed in zip lock baggies and the lids taped shut
• appropriate work clothes for four days
• appropriate casual clothes to change into after cleaning up
• enough socks, pj's, and underwear for a week
• work gloves, hat, bandana, rubber household gloves for packing mud if doing room additions
• poncho or raincoat
• small backpack or daypack to carry personal items to the work site each day
• Bible, pens, Spanish / English dictionary
• Sturdy shoes, work boots, tennis shoes-a pair to work in and a pair to change into after work
• a dressier outfit for the final evening in Tegucigalpa, such as nice khakis, a simple skirt and a coordinating top
• plastic bags for packing dirty clothes to bring home. No clothing can be left at the ranch at the conclusion of the work week.
• a bottle of hand soap to share in the bathroom at the ranch
• small bottles of hand sanitizer
• a sports bottle (e.g., a sip bottle or Nalgene bottle) that can be refilled with bottled water each day at the ranch
• games for all to play: cards, UNO, dominoes or checkers are easy to carry

Electrical appliances: Rancho el Paraiso has electricity and the dorms have an adequate number of outlets which accommodate the same voltage as is required by North American appliances (110V). The same is true of the hotels. There is no need to bring a travel adapter.

DO NOT WEAR or BRING: flashy and / or expensive jewelry.

ENROUTE TO HONDURAS
During the flight between the U.S. and Tegucigalpa, the flight crew will give you an immigration form to complete. You may list yourself as a "tourist," staying at Rancho el Paraiso, San Esteban, Olancho, Honduras.

Upon your arrival, you will disembark from the airplane and enter the immigration hall where your passport will be checked and the immigration form will be collected. You will pass into the baggage claim section. Once you and your mission team have claimed everyone's luggage, you will exit through a double glass door into a reception area where your Honduras Outreach staff member will welcome you. Your Honduran Group leader will escort you and your team members to the awaiting HOI bus. Prepare for an incredible week!

WELCOME TO HONDURAS!

DAY 1: Soon after departing the airport parking lot, you will stop at a gasoline station where you can use the restrooms and buy drinks and snacks.

Please note restroom etiquette in Honduras: at this restroom and all others, except at the Ranch and the hotel in Tegucigalpa, the bathroom will be equipped with a trash can for soiled toilet paper. Flush only toilet paper during your stay at the Ranch and at the hotel in Tegucigalpa at the end of your mission week. Elsewhere please be respectful of the plumbing and dispose of used toilet tissue in the container provided.

The rest of the afternoon is spent traveling to Juticalpa where you will have dinner and spend the night. At the hotel in Juticalpa the HOI group leader will enable your Mission Team leader to place one telephone call to the United States, preferably to the top of the Phone Tree to notify everyone at home that you have arrived safely in Honduras. If you want to take a walk in Juticalpa first ask your HOI Group Leader for permission. If he / she agrees, go together in a group, go before dark and do not travel alone.

DAY 2: After breakfast you and your teammates will continue to Rancho el Paraiso on the bus, arriving about lunchtime. After eating and getting settled, your HOI Group Leader will have an afternoon's activity planned for you, for example visiting the village where you will be working and meeting the adults and children who live there. After dinner, your evening is at leisure. The staff and village have worked hard to design a work schedule suitable to your group. Please respect what has been arranged for you.

DAYS 3-6: Breakfast at the Ranch, followed by work in your host community. Lunch will be prepared in the ranch kitchen and sent with to the worksite. Dinner at the Ranch and evenings at leisure. One evening you will meet the on-site Honduras Outreach staff and hear about the programs HOI offers to the local residents.

To celebrate the completion of the mission work in your host village you can plan a Work Dedication Service and share a Fiesta with the townspeople and children. Talk to your HOI Group Leader to coordinate the activities.

DAY 7: After breakfast at the Ranch, you will board the bus to return to Tegucigalpa. En route you will stop for lunch at La Chiquita, a cafeteria-style restaurant operated by North American Mennonites. You will arrive at the hotel in Tegucigalpa in time to swim, rest, relax, go shopping, or enjoy the spa before dinner. Evening at leisure. If you want to take a walk in Tegucigalpa, you must let your HOI Group Leader as well as your Mission Team Leader know before leaving the hotel; go before dark, go together in a group, do not travel alone.

DAY 8: After breakfast at the hotel, you will be transferred to the Tegucigalpa Airport where you say "Hasta luego" to your HOI Group Leader and Bus Driver. Each person will be responsible for carrying his/her own luggage to the airline check-in counters. If a local porter takes your luggage, it is the responsibility of the team member to tip him. Prior to passing through the final security gate, you will have to pay the mandatory $33.19 Exit Fee (this is subject to change - at times prior to HOI knowing). The exit fee can be paid with either US dollars or the Honduras Lempira equivalency -however, it must be the exact amount. No change is offered.

RETURN TO THE U.S.
Welcome back to the U.S! As sad as it is for your mission week in Honduras to end, it is always a joy to return home.

During the flight from Tegucigalpa the crew will distribute customs and immigration forms for each family (not person) to complete. You will check that you have been abroad as a tourist on a ranch and the items you have purchased are souvenirs (not for commercial or re-sale purposes) with an estimated dollar value.

Upon arrival at the gateway airport you will go through immigration / passport control. Once through passport control, you will claim your luggage and clear customs. Since you have been staying in a rural area, your ticket may be checked with an "A" for Agriculture, which means that you will have to go through the Agriculture section of customs (there is the possibility that your shoes will be dusted since you were visiting on a ranch). After this, you will check in for your connecting flight, find your gate and other team members and board the flight.

Once you have returned to your home, but haven't lost the excitement of your trip, consider what you can do to continue the work you have begun in Honduras. You heard about, and maybe even met, scholarship students while you were at the ranch. Individuals, youth groups, Sunday School classes and other groups in the US underwrite the cost of a young person's education through the Honduras Outreach Scholarship program. Call the US office to enquire how you can financially become a part of this outreach.