Practical Gifts for Missionaries

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A dear friend of mine is going on a short term missions trip to Africa in a few weeks. Watching her, and listening to her, prepare for her trip has brought back fond memories of my own short term missions trips, and I wanted to give her a practical gift for her trip.  While my short term missions trips were to Central America, El Salvador to be exact, I know that practical gifts (and money) mean a lot to the short term missionary!  Thanks to Mosquitno, I was able to give her bug repellent bracelets to take with her.

Mosquitno bands are all-natural mosquito repellent bracelets. They are Deet-Free non-toxic silicone bracelets that are infused with natural citronella oil.  Each bracelet lasts up to 150 hours, is waterproof, and comes in a resealable pouch (just in case you only need to wear it a few hours at a time). I may not be able to fit in her suitcase (trust me, I would try for a trip to Africa!!!), but I know these bracelets will.

Mosquito bites aren’t just annoying, they are a potential health hazard since mosquitoes can carry (and spread) deadly diseases and illnesses like West Nile Virus, Yellow Fever, and Malaria.  I know these Mosquitno bands will go a long way toward keeping my friend mosquito bite free AND safe.

I recently took the kids to a local park, that is notorious for it’s insect population since it has a LOT of trees, and I took advantage of the opportunity to try one of the bracelets out myself.  I always put mosquito repellant stickers on the kids clothes, but often forget to put them on my own, so the bracelet came in handy.  While I usually come home from that park with multiple bug bites, I managed to escape a four hour stay at the park with NOT ONE BITE while I had the bracelet on.  Awesome!

Anyway, as I was thinking about my friend and her upcoming mission trip, as well as my previous mission trips, I couldn’t help but think that there are some things just make practical missionary gifts.  Here’s just a few:

1. Mosquitno Bracelets- if the climate is tropical or rainy, the mosquitos are sure to be present.
2. Antibacterial hand wipes- clean water isn’t always available for hand hygeine.
3. A journal- a small notebook or journal that will easily fit in a small bag is a great way to document thoughts and experiences.
4. Light Sticks- the snap and shake kid.  They are great for low level lighting excursions AND make a neat trinket for the kids that the missionary will be ministering to.
5. Granola bars- it sounds silly, but small portable snacks are an awesome travel gift.  Just make sure you know if the missionary has any allergies you need to avoid.

What else do you think would make great, practical, gifts for a short term missionary?

Check back tomorrow, because I’ll be posting a giveaway for Mosquitno bracelets!