A short-term mission experience is usually defined as an experience lasting less than one year. The most common of these experiences is often referred to as a mission trip, which typically lasts 1-4 weeks. A short-term mission experience can be done individually or in a group.

If you are looking to go individually, you will need to do research to locate a site or community that can accommodate your timeframe. This may often mean direct contact with persons abroad who facilitate the project or who will be coordinating your stay. It is important that you find out as much information as you can about the organization and do not be afraid to ask the in country coordinator for references of past missioners who have worked with the organization. If you are not comfortable doing all of this research and coordinating on your own, you may want to connect with a mission sending organization that is based here in the U.S. These organizations have partnerships with various communities overseas who receive missioners. You may still be traveling as an individual but you will have connections to an organization based here at home. Two great resources to locate these different groups are the Connections Directory and the Response Guide.

Many people engage in short-term mission through a group experience. This can be a group from your school or parish, some of your family or friends, or even one comprised of many unique individuals from around the region or country. This can be a group that you may have organized or simply one that you have joined. Groups can come in all different shapes and sizes depending upon destination, interest, and resources. For example, the Global Youth Mission program, run by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, provides an opportunity only for high school students, whereas St. Joseph’s in Grafton organizes several different mission trips each year to visit their sister parish in the Dominican Republic, Los Toros, that are open to many ages. Many other parishes, high schools, and universities offer similar opportunities for their parishioners or students.

When deciding if an individual or group short-term experience is right for you, it is important to keep the following in mind:

• How long do you really want to go?
• Are you more comfortable in a group setting or would you prefer to forge your own path?
• Do you have the necessary language skills or do you need a translator in a group?
• Have you traveled outside of the country before? If not, are you comfortable doing it on your own?
• What type of experience will facilitate your spiritual growth?

Here is something to consider: a short-term experience can, in fact, really be quite short! In all mission work, there is a period of adjustment in your new surroundings, a wave of culture shock that passes through us, and questions that do not seem to be answered right away. All of this takes some time. There then comes a point when things start to fall in place; however, the timing is different for everyone. Many missioners return saying that they had an amazing experience but they wish it had lasted longer! Although most of us do not have the time or resources to make the actual trip longer, it is certainly possible to continue living mission upon your return.