a ministry for independent, Baptist missionaries and pastors - Acts 8:31
To Bring or Not to Bring...That is the Question
You will be leaving for a round of visiting churches for a couple months. What do you bring on your deputation/furlough travels? What things should you grab if you see them in a missions closet at a church? Here are some suggestions that missionaries have found worth stuffing in the vehicle.
1. Duct Tape and WD-40 - No joke about it, these two items can become priceless. You’ve probably heard the instructions, “if it moves and shouldn’t, use duct tape. If it doesn’t move and should, use WD-40.” We have personally used WD-40 more than the duct tape, but we have been thankful to have both. We listed both on our wish list from a church. They gave us and the other missionaries at the conference each a huge bottle of WD-40 and a roll of duct tape for a good laugh, but we were serious. We have lost count of how many times we have stayed in a home, hotel, or prophet’s chamber that had a squeaky bedroom or bathroom door. For you light sleepers out there, this will save your sleep (and sanity).
2. Thank You Notes - You cannot have enough of these. Thank you’s to pastors, churches, host families, and others for the many meals, housing, gifts, encouragement, new support, prayers, etc. If you are not going through thank you cards on a regular basis, something is wrong. You may also want to have a couple birthday, anniversary, or sympathy cards on hand, too, for those unexpected occasions at churches or homes you are in.
3. Stamps - Email has blessed us with cheap, immediate communication, but the Post Office is still in business. Be sure to keep stamps on hand for mailing thank you’s, confirmation letters, and other correspondence. Also, be aware of when stamp prices go up in order to make sure you have that covered.
4. Ice Scraper/Snow Brush - This is mainly for those from the South. We’ve had the joy of being up north during the winter and south during the winter on deputation. We’ve been told we’ve been doing it backwards, but that’s okay. If you will be up north or in higher elevations during the season of snow, be sure to take an ice scraper/snow brush with you in your vehicle.
5. Direct Box - If you are like me at the start of deputation, you have no idea what this is. As you give your presentation in churches, you will quickly find out the challenges that come with getting the sound from your DVD presentation to the sound system of the church. This is where the direct box becomes priceless. You can just place a microphone on the speaker of the projector, but the sound quality will be less than desirable. You can also bring your own speakers and subwoofer, if you have room. You could also go to Radio Shack and purchase the adapters to hook your 1/8” or RCA audio cables to the church’s microphone cord, but I have personally witnessed this route almost blow out a church’s sound system.
This is where a direct box becomes priceless. A direct box provides the needed connections, filters the hum that can exist, and packs easily into your display bag. We bought the Whirlwind EDB1 Direct Box (we bought ours from samedaymusic.com for a total of $33.90 back in 2008). It has a 1/4” In jack and a male XLR output jack for the microphone cord to plug into. Depending on what devices you are using for your presentation, you will probably need some form of plug adapter from Radio Shack to get your audio cord(s) to plug into the 1/4” In jack.
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